Friday, August 03, 2007

HILLARY CLINTON

Hillary Sees "Disavowal" of Edelman in Gates' Letter; You Decide

Hillary, in her latest e-mail to supporters:

Secretary Gates quickly disavowed Edelman's letter, saying he encouraged Congressional oversight and promising to respond to my original inquiry.

Gates, in his letter:

I agree with you that the planning concerning the future of U.S. forces in Iraq – including the draw down of those forces at the right time – is not only appropriate, but essential. Under Secretary Edelman, along with the Department of Defense’s senior civilian and military leadership, shares my views on these matters.

 

Specifically, I emphatically assure you we do not claim, suggest, or otherwise believe that congressional oversight emboldens our enemies, nor do we question anyone’s motives in this regard. My statements to this effect have been frequent and unambiguous. That said, we all recognize that there are multiple audiences for what we say, and need to be careful not to undermine the morale of our troops or encourage our enemies – the point I think Ambassador Edelman was trying to make in his letter.

 

With respect to your specific request, the Department’s policy is to share appropriate information regarding policies, posture, and administrative plans with appropriate Congressional oversight committees. But as Under Secretary Edelman and officials from many previous Administrations have stated, it is also the Department’s long-standing practice and policy spanning decades and multiple administrations that operational policy plans, including contingency plans, are not routinely shared with Congress (or with other departments of the Executive Branch).

 

There are a number of time-proven reasons for this policy, including considerations of operational security, the fact that plans are continuously modified as required by changing security conditions, and the need to protect the operational commander's ability to implement the plan as flexibly as the situation warrants...

 

Finally, I want to close by expressing my continued strong support for Ambassador Edelman.  Dr. Edelman is a valued member of the Department of Defense team and his wise counsel and years of experience are critically important to the many pressing policy issues facing the military and our nation.  Eric Edelman is a career foreign service officer who received his first senior Presidential appointment in 1998 as United States Ambassador to Finland.  He has served our nation with distinction through multiple administrations and I rely on his able assistance in addressing the many challenges facing the Department in the months ahead.

Some "disavowal," huh?

08/03 01:02 PMShare