Government officials have revealed that the Blackwater forces involved in last month's deadly shooting in Baghdad have been secretly given immunity by the State Department. Officials said the immunity deal has undermined efforts to prosecute anyone from Blackwater for the deaths of the 17 Iraqi civilians killed on Sept. 16. The immunity deal has also delayed a criminal inquiry into the shootings. The State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security gave immunity to all of the Blackwater guards involved in the killings even though they did not have the authority to do so. The director of the state department's diplomatic security bureau, Richard Griffin, resigned last week. The New York Times reports prosecutors at the Justice Department had no advance knowledge of the immunity deal.
Report: U.S. Upgrading Diego Garcia Base For Attack on Iran
The Scottish newspaper The Herald is reporting the US is secretly upgrading special stealth bomber hangars on the British island protectorate of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for possible strikes on Iran. The U.S. has used Diego Garcia during the first Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Bush Requests $88 Million To Fit Bunker Busting Bombs on B-2 Bombers
In Washington the Bush administration has requested $88 million to fit bunker busting bombs to B-2 stealth bombers. Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned if the proposal is linked to an attack on Iran. Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia said "My assumption is that it is Iran, because you wouldn't use them in Iraq, and I don't know where you would use them in Afghanistan."