Waxman to Bush: Live up to the promise of "transparency" on bases in Iraq

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Amy Weiss

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to President Bush Tuesday requesting that he declassify documents that would reveal the administration's true plans for military bases in Iraq, in light of contrasting statements on how long the U.S. government intends to maintain the bases.

Waxman's letter quotes members of the Iraqi Prime Minister's party this month saying that the Bush Administration offered an agreement that would "allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely."

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker responded during a June 5 press conference saying, "we are not seeking permanent military bases in Iraq. That is just flatly untrue." He also promised transparency on the issue of base establishment.

In an effort to reveal the administration's intentions to a concerned American public, Waxman requested relevant parts of The Joint MNF-I/U.S. Embassy- Baghdad Campaign Plan, as well as a report issued Monday morning by the Government Accounting Office titled "DOD Should Identify and Prioritize the Conditions Necessary for the Continued Drawdown of U.S. Forces in Iraq," a document that describes the changes to the Joint Campaign Plan in the past year.

Crocker also said in the press conference that there would not be "any secret provisions, attachments, protocols or whatever," something Waxman has asked the president to live up to by ordering the documents declassified.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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