Out-sourcing Out of Control

From right out of the "Must be Seen to be Believed" department, The "discussion" regarding the purported "first blush" on the Balckwater investigation reads thusly: The two-page report, described by a State Department official as a "first blush" account from the scene, raises new questions about what transpired in the intersection...The report, by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, details the events as described by Blackwater guards -- details that are now at the center of an intense debate in Iraq and in Congress over the larger role of private security firms in Iraq. I see. It seems that a "first blush" report involves writing down what the Blackwater guards said. I'm sure that the investigation will find mountains of damning evidence there. Now, you might say that this, in and of itself, is not as out of control as the post title may suggest. However, let's move to exhibit number 2. The report was written by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security - specifically, by Darren Hanner. The problem is that - are you ready for this? - he was another contractor from Blackwater. I'm not even making this up: A Blackwater contractor wrote an initial U.S. government report describing contractors' involvement in a September 16 incident in which Iraqi civilians were shot, government and industry sources told CNN ... Blackwater contractor Darren Hanner drafted the two-page spot report on the letterhead of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the embassy's Tactical Operations Center, said a source involved in diplomatic security at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Hanner, listed on the report as the center's watch officer, was working for Blackwater at the time the report was written -- just after the shooting occurred, said a highly placed industry source. He was to rotate out of Iraq last week, the source said. Here, we have excessive out-sourcing of military functions to private contractors. When Blackwater oversteps its bounds, we out-source the investigation of Blackwater to ... Blackwater. Confusion abounds.