WASHINGTON -- A pair of U.S. senators investigating reports of waste, fraud and mismanagement in defense contracts in Iraq reported from Baghdad Saturday that they see some improvement but the military has a long way to go. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Tom Carper, D-Del., were in Iraq meeting with Pentagon officials to discuss reports of waste, fraud and mismanagement in defense contracts. Uncountable billions of dollars have been squandered, McCaskill said, but there has been improvement in centralizing contracting oversight and increasing the number of fixed-price contracts containing incentives not to pad costs. That's a departure from the early days of the war when reconstruction money and other aid to Iraq was shoveled into the country with little oversight. She said criminal charges may be filed in some cases and that the government might get at least a little of its money back.
Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Tom Carper, D-Del., were in Iraq meeting with Pentagon officials to discuss reports of waste, fraud and mismanagement in defense contracts.
Uncountable billions of dollars have been squandered, McCaskill said, but there has been improvement in centralizing contracting oversight and increasing the number of fixed-price contracts containing incentives not to pad costs.
That's a departure from the early days of the war when reconstruction money and other aid to Iraq was shoveled into the country with little oversight.
She said criminal charges may be filed in some cases and that the government might get at least a little of its money back.
Uncountable billions of dollars have been squandered
q.v. 'business-friendly programmes' as above.
BAGHDAD - Security forces in Baghdad have full control in only 40 percent of the city five months into the pacification campaign, a top American general said Saturday as U.S. troops began an offensive against two al-Qaida strongholds on the capital's southern outskirts. The military, meanwhile, reported that paratroopers had found the ID cards of two missing U.S. soldiers at an al-Qaida safe house 75 miles north of where they were captured last month, but there was no sign of the men. The house contained computers, video equipment and weapons. Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said American troops launched the offensive in Baghdad's Arab Jabour and Salman Pac neighborhoods Friday night. It was the first time in three years that U.S. soldiers entered those areas, where al-Qaida militants build car bombs and launch Katyusha rockets at American bases and Shiite Muslim neighborhoods.
The military, meanwhile, reported that paratroopers had found the ID cards of two missing U.S. soldiers at an al-Qaida safe house 75 miles north of where they were captured last month, but there was no sign of the men. The house contained computers, video equipment and weapons.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said American troops launched the offensive in Baghdad's Arab Jabour and Salman Pac neighborhoods Friday night. It was the first time in three years that U.S. soldiers entered those areas, where al-Qaida militants build car bombs and launch Katyusha rockets at American bases and Shiite Muslim neighborhoods.
It was the first time in three years that U.S. soldiers entered those areas, where al-Qaida militants build car bombs and launch Katyusha rockets at American bases and Shiite Muslim neighborhoods.
Dosn't that just show everything? Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
I hope smintheus crossposts over here. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Q&A With the Yes Men's Andy Bichlbaum By Brandon Keim EmailJune 15, 2007 | 3:52:49 PMCategories: Climate, Energy, Politics Bichlbaum_2 The Yes Men, a corporate ethics activist group, have become famous for impersonating company officials and delivering satirical pronouncements about industry practices and policies. Their latest target was the Gas and Oil Exposition 2007 in Calgary, Alberta, where Yes Men members Brian Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum impersonated industry officials and announced a plan to turn human flesh into fuel. Wired Science talked with Bichlbaum today. [...]
Bichlbaum_2 The Yes Men, a corporate ethics activist group, have become famous for impersonating company officials and delivering satirical pronouncements about industry practices and policies. Their latest target was the Gas and Oil Exposition 2007 in Calgary, Alberta, where Yes Men members Brian Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum impersonated industry officials and announced a plan to turn human flesh into fuel. Wired Science talked with Bichlbaum today. [...]
Other links:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070615/b0615116A.html: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3244,36-924173@51-924176,0.html
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070615/b0615116A.html
http://www.hns-info.net/article.php3?id_article=11488
Can't find a detailed account in english MSM yet.
