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State Dept. inspector general found the agency under @SecPompeo failed to take proper steps to limit civilian deaths in Yemen from US bombs sold to Saudi Arabia & UAE. And it avoided congressional review by cutting sales into small packages. w/ @laforgia_. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/pompeo-state-inspector-general-saudi-weapons-civilian-casualties.html
2. State Dept. @statedeptspox office tried shaping news coverage of today's IG report by pulling what some call a "Bill Barr" — putting out a statement before the release to obfuscate. It avoided mentioning the civilian deaths. The report summary below says this is a key finding.
3. The civilian casualties issue is discussed in a classified "annex" to the report. This is heavily redacted. Some US officials said this is unusual for a report on a public action. State Dept. insisted on labeling the material as classified and making redactions.
4. Even the public version of the report has redactions, requested by State Dept. But we got a copy of the unredacted version. The redactions hide info that raise doubts over whether there was ever an "emergency" on Iran that required the US arms sales. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/pompeo-state-inspector-general-saudi-weapons-civilian-casualties.html
5. Trump fired Steve Linick, the inspector general overseeing the investigation, at Pompeo’s urging. Linick said 2 senior State Dept. officials close to Pompeo tried pressuring him to drop the inquiry — Marik String, top lawyer, and Brian Bulatao, undersecretary for management.
