In baseball terms, Eric Edelman pitched a lollipop at Hillary Clinton, and she's about to hit a four-bagger.
In a new letter to Defense Sec. Bill Gates, Clinton calls Edelman's contention that congressional oversight helps the enemies of the U.S. a "political attack."
And now, as a direct result of the letter, she plans to introduce, with Sen. John Kerry, legislation requiring the Pentagon to tell Congress about its contingency plans for Iraq withdrawal.
"Senator Clinton sent a serious letter on a matter of national security to the Secretary of Defense, and in response, received an unacceptable and outrageous political attack from an under secretary," a Clinton aide said.
Kerry and Clinton will hold a joint press conference with reporters this afternoon. The latest Clintion letter can be found after the jump.
July 19, 2007
The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
The United States Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Suite 319
Washington, D.C. 20301
Dear Mr. Secretary:
On May 22, 2007, I wrote to you to request that you provide the appropriate oversight committees in Congress – including the Senate Armed Services Committee – with briefings on what current contingency plans exist for the future withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq. Alternatively, if no such plans exist, I asked for an explanation for the decision not to engage in such planning.
I am in receipt of a letter from Eric Edelman, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy who wrote that he was responding on your behalf. Under Secretary Edelman’s response did not address the issues raised in my letter and instead made spurious arguments to avoid addressing contingency planning for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
As I noted in my original letter, “the seeds of many problems that continue to plague our troops and mission in Iraq were planted in the failure to adequately plan for the conflict and properly equip our men and women in uniform. Congress must be sure that we are prepared to withdraw our forces without any unnecessary danger.”
Rather than offer to brief the congressional oversight committees on this critical issue, Under Secretary Edelman – writing on your behalf – instead claims that congressional oversight emboldens our enemies. Under Secretary Edelman has his priorities backward. Open and honest debate and congressional oversight strengthens our nation and supports our military. His suggestion to the contrary is outrageous and dangerous. Indeed, you acknowledged the importance of Congress in our Iraq policy at a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee in March, when you stated, “I believe that the debate here on the Hill and the issues that have been raised have been helpful in bringing pressure to bear on the Maliki government and on the Iraqis in knowing that there is a very real limit to American patience in this entire enterprise.”
Redeploying out of Iraq will be difficult and requires careful planning. I continue to call on the Bush Administration to immediately provide a redeployment strategy that will keep our brave men and women safe as they leave Iraq – instead of adhering to a political strategy to attack those who rightfully question their competence and preparedness after years of mistakes and misjudgments.
Other members of this Administration have not engaged in political attacks when the prospect of withdrawal planning has been raised. At the June 7 Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, I asked General Lute “what level of planning has taken place” and “whether the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs have been briefed about the level of planning.” I also asked General Lute to determine “what kind of timeline would exist if a decision for either military or political reasons were taken to begin withdrawal” and if he considered this kind of planning to be part of his responsibilities.
General Lute replied, “Thank you Senator. I do think such an adaptation, if the conditions on the ground call for it, will be part of this position.”
I renew my request for a briefing, classified if necessary, on current plans for the future withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq or an explanation for the decision not to engage in such planning. I also renew my concern that our troops will be placed in unnecessary danger if the Bush Administration fails to plan for the withdrawal of U.S. Forces. Finally, I request that you describe whether Under Secretary Edelman’s letter accurately characterizes your views as Secretary of Defense.
I would appreciate the courtesy of a prompt response directly from you. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
CC: General Peter Pace, USMC
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral Michael Mullen, USN
Chief of Naval Operations
Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute, USA
Assistant to the President and
Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan
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Dear Marc:
There are over one hundred and thirty comments explaining why you are everything that's wrong, broken, corrupt, immoral, lazy, incompetent, stupid, and destructive to the country about the DC political press (and why political journalists in the last decade or two have sunk to about the level of serial killers in opinion polls of professions respected by Americans)...
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/07/romney_wore_makeup_film_at_ele.php
...and there are posts about it by the most widely-read bloggers in the country, with a readership literally in the millions, including one titled 'This Is Why We Revile Them' (and yes, that means you)...
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/this-is-why-we-revile-them-by-digby.html
..and still not a word from you. No wonder all you sycophants to power have such hot-and-bothered man-crushes on Bush and Cheney -- you are men of the same cloth in your arrogance and disdain for truth, for fairness, and for anyone outside of your little insider clique.
And now the man-crush is turning full on to Romney and Thomson, with their 'manly wide shoulders', 'distinguished graying hair', and 'smell of English leather'. In your words, the DC political press believes it's its role to protect Republican front-runners and to 'bury' Democratic candidates. For the rest of us out here in the country, you are a nauseating bunch. And, for all your self-importance, when push comes to shove, you are nothing but predictably well-behaved little water-boys for the heinously corrupt Republican establishment.
Posted by mz | July 20, 2007 12:56 PM