Here is an excerpt of an excellent article that was published today (August 24, 2011) Billy McKenna and Kevin Wilkins survived Iraq—and died at home. The Oxford American sent filmmaker Dave Anderson and journalist J. Malcolm Garcia to Florida to investigate this deadly threat to American soldiers. “Smoke Signals,” by J. Malcolm Garcia Published in […]
Toxic Trash: The Burn Pits of Iraq and Afghanistan
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How private firms have cashed in on the climate of fear since 9/11
The past ten years have seen the growth of a national security industrial complex that melds government and business Paul Harris in New York – (Guardian UK) – September 5, 2011 – Charles Smith always enjoyed visiting US troops aboard. Though a civilian, he had worked for the army for decades, helping to run logistical […]
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Iraq: We Lost $1.2 Billion in Equipment Going in; How Much Will We Lose Getting Out?
Dina Rasor – (Truthout | Solutions) – September 21, 2011 – On December 31, 2011, the United States has committed to the government of Iraq that they will be removing their troops and contractor personnel. The US State Department will remain in a diplomatic role with limited Department of Defense (DoD) personnel and some State […]
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Foiled by FOIA and other news
Many western multinational companies have been indicted for paying bribes to Nigerian government officials to secure contracts running into billions of dollars. One of the high profile cases involved former US vice president, Dick Cheney. He was head of the American oilfield services company, Halliburton when its engineering subsidiary, KBR, allegedly paid bribes totaling 180 […]
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Fluor Drops Protest of $500 Million KBR Iraq Support Contract
Tony Capaccio – (Bloomberg) – September 30, 2011 – Fluor Corp. (FLR) has dropped a protest filed last month with the Government Accountability Office challenging a $500 million award to KBR Inc. (KBR) for a logistics support contract in Iraq, according to KBR and a government website. Irving, Texas-based Fluor withdrew its protest Wednesday, according […]
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Not in my backyard and other news
Monsanto cannot toss claims that it caused damage to a woman’s nervous system by practicing “open pit burning” of a chemical used in “Agent Orange,” a federal judge ruled. Lead plaintiff Mary B. Spaulding, who lived near Monsanto’s manufacturing plant in Nitro, W. Va., says she developed “peripheral neuropathy” from exposure to dioxin, one of the […]
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Senators, experts to watch for DOD contract reforms
Matthew Weigelt – (Federal Computer) – October 19, 2011 – A member of the Wartime Contracting Commission asked senators to question the depth of support that defense officials have for major reforms in contracting operations during wartime or emergency situations — what are technically called “contingency operations.” “Policies are easy to make. Implementation is really what counts,” […]
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Prosecutions, corruption, greed and other news
More are being prosecuted for crimes in Afghan, Iraq rebuilding effort, reports show (Washington Post) – WASHINGTON – October 29, 2011 – A Marine in Iraq sent home $43,000 in stolen cash by hiding it in a footlocker among American flags. A soldier shipped thousands more concealed in a toy stuffed animal, and an embassy employee tricked […]
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Short changing taxpayers and other news
The State Department has never faced a challenge anywhere close to this magnitude, and I am concerned that the current plan could therefore expose billions of taxpayers’ dollars supporting diplomatic and development goals in Iraq to the risk of being lost, wasted or stolen. While the State Department will continue to rely initially on the […]
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Senate Investigates Counterfeit Parts in Military Equipment
Washington, DC – November 8, 2011 – A Senate Armed Services Committee investigation found over a million suspect parts in the Pentagon’s supply chain, mostly from China. Committee leaders say the counterfeit parts are a danger to U.S. troops and cost taxpayers. Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and ranking Republican John McCain (R-AZ) gave several examples […]
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The Pentagon’s “revolution”& other news
Debarment Report Shows How Some Agencies Use it Well Six agencies, including the U.S. Department of Labor, had zero suspension and debarment cases during the past five fiscal years, GAO’s report states. (Occupational Health & Safety) – November 20, 2011 – The federal government uses a practice named suspension and debarment to exclude firms or […]
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McCaskill calls for greater accountability for contractors
Following new report from federal watchdog, Senator calls again for suspending federal work with bad contractors PoliticalNews.me – WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 17,2011 – Citing the case of a private contractor that was never held accountable for negligence in the death of a U.S. servicemember, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill used a Senate hearing to renew […]
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Fraud Fight Has U.S. Seeking to Ban Record Number of Suppliers
Wishing the Government Accountability Office and the agencies in charge of oversight, a banner year of suspensions and debarments in 2012. Here’s hoping the DoJ grows a set in the new year and prosecutes those who have “gotten away with it” for far too long. Honestly Eric (Holder) you can’t possibly believe the American taxpayer is gullible enough to believe the […]
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Not so fast and other news
Contractor linked to mistaken deaths After deaths of 15 Afghans in 2010, Army learned that U.S. civilian played a role using drone video feeds. David S. Cloud – (STL Today) – WASHINGTON – December 31, 2011 – After a U.S. airstrike mistakenly killed at least 15 Afghans in 2010, the Army officer investigating the accident […]
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You’re dismissed and other news
Defense attorneys were critical of the FBI’s reliance on the informant [Richard Bistrong], an executive of a Florida body armor company [Armor Holdings] who they called a sociopathic liar with a devious mind. They said he was able to persuade federal agents to let him plead guilty to a single bribery count for more than $4.4 […]
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How does your garden grow and other news
The Department of Defense plans to exempt records of internal law enforcement investigations from Privacy Act disclosure requirements. The act, which governs record systems maintained by federal agencies, normally requires that individuals be allowed to view records that pertain to them unless the records were gathered for law enforcement purposes, congressional investigations or administrative purposes […]
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Defense procurement problems won’t go away
The Department of Defense (DoD) is taking a major step in stopping the waste of taxpayer dollars. POGO recently learned that DoD sent a legislative proposal to Congress to narrow the definition of a “commercial item” to mean goods or services that are actually sold to the general public in “like quantities.” This proposal is […]
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Internal Review Shows Gross Mishandling of Military Whistleblower Reprisal Investigations
Bryan Rahija – (POGO) – May 7, 2012 – Pentagon investigators mishandled more than half of a set of whistleblower reprisal cases, according to a damning internal assessment report obtained by the Project On Government Oversight. The Washington Post and iWatch News published stories on the assessment over the weekend. As POGO Executive Director Danielle […]
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Audit free zones and other news
GSA Employees Who Work from Home Racked Up $750,000 in Travel Expenses Matt Bewig – (AllGov) – June 03, 2012 – The Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the General Services Administration (GSA) has yet another scandal on its hands. PBS has been plagued by a series of scandals since April 2008, when GSA Administrator Lurita Doan […]
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KBR vs. Army: On largest services contract, ‘things have gotten very nasty’
Jim McElhatton – (Federal Times) – May 5, 2013 – Army contracting officer Robert Egan gave contractor KBR Inc. a rare ultimatum: Provide a firm, fixed price on remaining work to close out the largest government services contract in U.S. history. Or else, he added, he was finished talking. “Until I see that FFP deliverable, […]
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