Private Security Puts Diplomats, Military at Odds By Sudarsan Raghavan and Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post A confrontation between the U.S. military and the State Department is unfolding over the involvement of Blackwater USA in the shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad square Sept. 16, bringing to the surface long-simmering tensions between the…
By Susan Jo Keller, New York Times A federal judge in Oregon ruled Wednesday that crucial parts of the USA Patriot Act were not constitutional because they allowed federal surveillance and searches of Americans without demonstrating probable cause. The ruling by Judge Anne L. Aiken of Federal District Court in Portland was in the case…
David Edwards and Adam Doster, Raw Story A classified program used by U.S. military snipers has come under scrutiny in recent days. The Washington Post reports that, “A Pentagon group has encouraged some U.S. military snipers in Iraq to target suspected insurgents by scattering pieces of ‘bait,’ such as detonation cords, plastic explosives and ammunition,…
By Karen DeYoung, Washington Post An ongoing battle between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a House committee investigating Iraqi government corruption and the activities of the Blackwater security firm erupted into another skirmish yesterday as Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) accused Rice of interfering with the committee’s work and preventing administration and Blackwater officials…
