Colorado Secretary of state defends story of Iraq town meeting

[angka]

Source: Rocky Mountain News, Coloradopols.com

Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, responding to questions raised by a political blog, has defended his service as a Marine working in an Iraqi town where 24 civilians were killed the month before he arrived.

On Wednesday, Coffman posted a statement on ColoradoPols.com, asserting no mention was made of the civilian deaths when he held his first meeting with members of the Haditha City Council in January 2006.

Coffman was there in his capacity as a civilian affairs officer, trying to develop interim governments in three Iraqi towns.

On Saturday, The Washington Post reported a group of angry Haditha residents, including the mayor and 14 town leaders, met with Marine officers the week after the killings and demanded a war crimes investigation. That article prompted a posting on ColoradoPols.com Monday under the headline "Did Coffman Lie About Haditha?" The story stopped short of accusing Coffman of lying but raised questions about his previous statements that Haditha officials made no mention of the killings at the January meeting...

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5574288,00.html

Read more: http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3443

[hlthe2b]

1. I don't know one way or another, but Coffman LOVES to tell his story....

He was invited to discuss issues related to the Secretary of State position before a leadership group several months ago and immediately (and for the duration) spoke only of his time in Iraq.

While all were respectful and interested in his service, I think, that was not at all the purpose for the discussion and all left scratching their heads. As one who personally has experience working in the Middle East, I noted a tremendous lack of understanding of Islam, the factions within Iraq, and certainly any appreciation for the history of the region from his discussions-- yet Coffman does seem to feel he has tremendous "expertise." :shrug: