State Department

09 October 2007 -- Iraq's government is asking American security firm Blackwater USA to pay $136 million to the families of Iraqis killed in a recent shooting.

The demand is included in a report of an Iraqi government investigation into the September 16 incident in a western Baghdad square. It charges that Blackwater security guards deliberately killed 17 people in the shooting.    » read more »

04 October 2007 -- A key Democratic lawmaker says the State Department risks an escalating confrontation with his committee over the issue of U.S. government assessments of Iraqi anti-corruption efforts. The warning came during a hearing in which a former anti-corruption judge said rampant corruption is blocking progress in Iraq.

In his first appearance before U.S. lawmakers, Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi described corruption as rampant, affecting virtually every government ministry, and involving some of the most powerful officials in Iraq.    » read more »

02 October 2007 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he expects to order several steps to improve the supervision of security contractors working for the U.S. military in Iraq.

Secretary Gates said he read a report early Tuesday from a five-member team he sent to Iraq last week to assess the use and supervision of security contractors. The secretary ordered the review two weeks ago after contractors from the Blackwater security company working for the State Department were accused of killing at least 11 Iraqi civilians during a shootout in Baghdad.    » read more »

02 October 2007 -- The United States said Tuesday it has approved a draft six-nation accord under which North Korea will declare and disable its nuclear programs by the end of the year in exchange for aid and diplomatic benefits. China is expected to release the document within the next day or two.

U.S. officials say the latest round of six-party talks, which ended Sunday in Beijing, was not originally intended to produce a document.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- September 21, 2007 -- Freedom House, together with six of the U.S.’s most prominent human rights organizations, issued a letter today to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging her to strongly oppose a bid by Kazakhstan to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009.    » read more »

U.S. agency uses system for pollutants, private sector for greenhouse gases

20 September 2007 -- Washington -- As air pollution and climate change rivet the attention of everyone from global leaders and corporations to nongovernmental organizations and schoolchildren, an environmental policy tool called “cap and trade” is showing promise for lowering a range of emissions.    » read more »

Journalists in United States protected from defamation suits

20 September 2007 -- Washington –- Press freedom advocates are expressing concern that many governments worldwide are jailing reporters on specious charges of defaming or insulting heads of state.    » read more »

September 20, 2007 -- After receiving an insufficient response from the State Department, Chairman Waxman reiterates his request that Secretary Rice make available information pertaining to the Committee’s investigation into corruption in Iraq.

Following an initial review of documents at the State Department, the Committee requests that State provide copies of reports prepared by the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) relating to the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity and that OAT officials be made available for the Committee to interview.

Documents and Links    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- According to seven current and former officials, State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard has repeatedly interfered with on-going investigations to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment.

Chairman Waxman wrote a letter to Mr. Krongard describing the allegations and asking for his cooperation in the Committee’s investigation. According to the letter:    » read more »

14 September 2007 -- A U.S. State Department report said Friday that political violence in Iraq has significantly impaired religious freedom there. But the annual world-wide survey cited improvements in conditions for religious adherents in, among other places, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

The annual report, which this year covered 198 countries and territories, is required under an act of Congress, and countries found to be significant violators of religious freedom are subject to U.S. sanctions.    » read more »

Senators Dick Durbin, Barack Obama Call on State Department to Publicly Ask France to Follow American Example of Cooperation on Manuel Noreiga's Extradition and Extradite Hans Peterson Immediately

Methane to Markets membership has grown to 20 nations, 600 organizations

23 August 2007 -- Washington – Methane is a greenhouse gas that is second only to carbon dioxide as an atmospheric contributor to climate change. It is also the main component of natural gas, and countries around the world are working together to put harmful methane emissions to work as a clean energy source.    » read more »

23 August 2007 -- The State Department Thursday rejected comments by Austria's defense minister that the U.S. missile defense system planned for central Europe is unnecessary and amounts to a Cold War-style provocation. U.S. officials say the system, to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, is intended to counter a potential missile threat from Iran.

The State Department is vigorously defending the anti-missile plan in the face of comments by Austrian Defense Minister Norbert Darabos that the program makes no sense, and will only re-ignite Cold War debates in Europe.    » read more »

Security and Prosperity Partnership to be discussed by nations’ leaders

17 August 2007 -- Washington -- A trilateral partnership among the United States, Canada, and Mexico is undergoing intense scrutiny as President Bush prepares to meet August 20-21 with Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.    » read more »

Hybrid form of communication is a “key to open the American door”

15 August 2007 -- Washington -- Spanglish, a hybrid form of English and Spanish especially popular among young people, is one of the most striking ways two of the world’s most widely used languages are evolving in response to immigration and globalization.

Spanglish is “a very creative, jazzy way of being Latino in the U.S. today,” said Ilan Stavans, a professor of Latin American and Latino culture at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, who has studied and defended this hybrid language.    » read more »