Michigan Republicans and CIA-bought Mercenaries

The NY Times headlines a story with Michigan ties. It now seems that the CIA as early as 2004 was in the business of hiring mercenaries from Blackwater to assassinate al-Qaeda figures. The Bush administration regarded it no big deal, but Obama CIA director Leon Panetta saw major issues of accountability here, and blew the whistle.

The NYT also quotes Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, to the effect of saying, what's the big deal. Or, more precisely, “I think there was a little more drama and intrigue than was warranted.”

Or perhaps Hoekstra is trying to cool off this story before it does more damage to the Michigan GOP, whose latest candidate for governor was businessman Dick Devos, whose wealthy and politically connected wife is the sister of Erik Prince, who just happens to be the president of . . . did you guess? . . . Blackwater (which was recently renamed Xe).