Clinton's memory lapse on military contractors

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

Today, we reported that Hillary Clinton, who has been going after the Bush administration for its heavy use of military contractors in Iraq, said she didn't know until the investigation into the recent shootings by Blackwater USA that the US occupying power had given contractors immunity from Iraqi law.

"Maybe I should have known about it; I did not know about it," she told the Globe's editorial board.

It's been pointed out to us by a rival campaign that at one point, Clinton knew. She attended a Senate armed services committee meeting in April, 2004 where Paul Wolfowitz spoke about "immunities that pertain to foreign forces providing for security in Iraq."

Clinton even commented at the hearing, expressing concern about "very sticky" legal issues involving the role of the U.S. in Iraqi territory. "And then you throw into the mix all these private contractors running around, heavily armed, I think it becomes even more of a challenge," she said.

Even senators forget things. But Clinton's knowledge gap is a bit surprising in this case, given that she has made a point of highlighting her military and national security know-how.