Quote :

"In a confidential memo, a long-time Republican operative who has served in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for the past year says the State Department's efforts in Iraq are so poorly managed they "would be considered willfully negligent if not criminal" if done in the private sector. "We have brought to Iraq the worst of America -- our bureaucrats," writes Manuel Miranda in the memo, which was addressed to U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and cc'd to "ALCON" or "all concerned" at the State Department. "You are doing a job for which you are not prepared as a bureaucracy or as leaders," Miranda writes. "The American and Iraqi people deserve better." Asked to respond to the allegations made in Miranda's memo, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Miranda is entitled to his opinion, but "We think Ambassador Crocker and his team are doing a very good job under extremely challenging circumstances. We have great confidence in their ability to carry out their mission." Miranda previously held senior Republican leadership positions on Capitol Hill, including counsel for then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. While on Capitol Hill, Miranda was embroiled in a controversy when he obtained a confidential memorandum written by Senate Democrats and leaked it the press. Democrats accused Miranda of hacking into their computer systems. Miranda said the Democratic staffers had left the memo on a computer server accessible to all Senate staffers. "

Link to the news story: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=4263378

Link to his memo (it's 10 pages long): http://tinyurl.com/36xemu

2/13/2008 11:24:18 AM

Quote :

"abcnews"

Just a part of the liberal conspiracy to discredit our fearless leader George W. Long Live King George

2/13/2008 11:42:49 AM

Ok, so I read the memo and it pretty much condemned the entire culture of the State Department. The particular criticism was pointed at Iraq but the culture permiates the Department.

As important as it is, it recieves practically no attention from the Bush presidency and, in fairness, to an aggressive president, I can see why.

2/13/2008 3:23:17 PM

like many things that call out the current administration for their handling of Iraq (or anything really) it'll be swept under the rug and ignored...

2/13/2008 3:41:13 PM

Quote :

""We have brought to Iraq the worst of America -- our bureaucrats," "

Hell, tell him not to come home. We are getting ready to give them our healthcare.

2/13/2008 4:01:06 PM

^ Dude, you are the biggest fucking broken record ever.

2/13/2008 4:11:44 PM

^nah, the record LunaK and a bunch of you other TSBers are playing ^^^ has had the needle skipping on it for years and years

2/13/2008 4:36:34 PM