Congressman Tierney blows it in opening statement

In his opening statement on private security contractors in Iraq, Congressman John Tierney (D-Mass.) made the erroneous statement that the number of security contractors has allowed the US to "double" its troop presence in Iraq.

Tierney has his facts wrong. There are well over 100,000 private contractors in Iraq, but they serve mainly civilian roles, from truck drivers and cooks to mechanics and cleaning crews.

Only about 25,000 are armed security contractors. In posturing before the cameras, Congressman Tierney confused the two. He apparently doesn't know what he's talking about.