State Department

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2008 – Washington and Baghdad are close to reaching a status of forces agreement, but negotiations on the deal to determine the future U.S. military role in Iraq are ongoing, a Defense Department official said today.

“We’ve made good progress on it; we are close,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. “There are still some issues to work out, but … it’s very premature at this point to say that we have an agreement.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a surprise one-day visit to Baghdad today, said the discussion about the status of forces is possible only because of recent security progress leading up to negotiations.    » read more »

12 August 2008 -- A new report says the United States has spent about $100 billion on private contractors to support operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

At the height of last year's military surge in Iraq, the United States had roughly 168,000 troops deployed in the country.

Blackwater security guards, Republican Palace, Baghdad: US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) photograph by ACoE photographer Jim Gordon.

But America's armed forces have been outnumbered by what some see as a private army funded by the federal government: contractors that provide a wide array of services, from security operations to rebuilding projects to logistical support.    » read more »

06/17/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to express his grave concerns over the Burmese military junta’s restricting foreign aid to millions devastated by the recent cyclone, and to ask whether the junta’s actions may constitute “crimes against humanity” under international law. Kerry has requested a legal opinion from the State Department.    » read more »

12 June 2008 -- The United States said Thursday it has "persistently" expressed concern about human rights in Ethiopia with top officials in Addis Ababa, including alleged abuses in the Ogaden region. The comments follow an assertion by the monitoring group Human Rights Watch that the United States and key European countries have been silent on Ogaden rights violations.

Rural Addis Ababa: Photo by Travlr (CC)

The State Department says it is giving the Human Rights Watch report on the Ogaden careful study but it is rejecting out-of-hand the report's assertion of U.S. silence on Ethiopian human rights.    » read more »

21 May 2008 -- The U.S. State Department said Wednesday a pending international treaty banning cluster munitions could have unintended consequences for international military cooperation in such areas as disaster relief. The United States and several other major military powers are not taking part in the 100-nation treaty talks in Dublin.

B-1B Lancer releashes cluster munitions: Air Force photo

State Department officials say they share international concern about civilian casualties caused by cluster bomb munitions lingering in former battle zones.    » read more »

May 18, 2008 -- SECRETARY RICE: I thought that I might just come back and recap a little bit some of the impressions of the trip and some of what we were able to do here, what the President was able to do here, and then I'll take your questions. I'll be pretty brief.

I think first and foremost, of course, the President came to celebrate Israel's 60th. And Israel is a remarkable place. If you looked at the pictures of those Israelis arriving at the time of the partition, and you look at Israel now, you can't help but be impressed by all that's been achieved.    » read more »

12 May 2008 -- Two former U.S. State Department officials say the Bush administration has done little to fight corruption in Iraq. In testimony to a congressional panel Monday, they said administration policy has allowed corruption to fester - an accusation the State Department vehemently denies.

George W. Bush with John and Cindy McCain: Photo by Talk Radio News Service (CC)

Arthur Brennan briefly served as director of the State Department's Office of Accountability and Transparency in Baghdad last year.    » read more »