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Investigating What Went Wrong in Iraq (and Congress' Blissful Indifference)

Some $9 billion managed by the Coalition Provisional Authority and intended for the rebuilding of Iraq has gone missing, journalists Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele report in Vanity Fair, and the U.S. government doesn't seem particularly interested in finding out where it went. Barlett and Steele describe the Wild Wild Middle East atmosphere, in which two guys with no experience can get millions from the C.P.A. to protect civilian flights in and out of Iraq, and Bahamanian P.O. Boxes are the business addresses of choice for those supposedly keeping the books. Perhaps the most disturbing bit among many was just how out of touch Congress was on the doings in Baghdad during the C.P.A.'s tenure starting in 2003:

Over the next year, a compliant Congress gave $1.6 billion to Bremer to administer the C.P.A. This was over and above the $12 billion in cash that the C.P.A. had been given to disburse from Iraqi oil revenues and unfrozen Iraqi funds. Few in Congress actually had any idea about the true nature of the C.P.A. as an institution. Lawmakers had never discussed the establishment of the C.P.A., much less authorized it—odd, given that the agency would be receiving taxpayer dollars. Confused members of Congress believed that the C.P.A. was a U.S. government agency, which it was not, or that at the very least it had been authorized by the United Nations, which it had not. One congressional funding measure makes reference to the C.P.A. as "an entity of the United States Government"—highly inaccurate. The same congressional measure states that the C.P.A. was "established pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions"—just as inaccurate. The bizarre truth, as a U.S. District Court judge would point out in an opinion, is that "no formal document … plainly establishes the C.P.A. or provides for its formation."

"Confused members of Congress" seems like both a phrase that should be far more common in news coverage, and an inappropriately charitable description. In any case, it's an incredible story from two of the best investigative reporters in the business -- well worth reading (and don't miss the Q&A

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grey line divider Written by Bill Allison on September 11, 2007 - 12:47am.
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Case shines light on how war contracts are awarded

Written by Paul Blumenthal on February 16, 2007 - 10:45am.
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Source Name

San Diego Union Tribune

Link

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070215/news_1n15contract.html

Snippit

When Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes heard that the United States was going to go to war with Iraq, he was ecstatic, say several former colleagues. “He and some of his top executives were really gung-ho about the war,” said a former employee of his now-defunct firm ADCS Inc. “Brent said this would create new opportunities for the company. He was really excited about doing business in the Middle East.”
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Legislation to require White House disclosure of military contracting

Written by Paul Blumenthal on February 7, 2007 - 10:36am.
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Source Name

The Hill

Link

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/020707/disclosure.h...

Snippit

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a House Intelligence Committee member, introduced legislation requiring the Bush administration to disclose to what degree it relies on private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iraq and Afghanistan Contractor Sunshine Act would require the departments of Defense, State, and the Interior and the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide Congress with descriptions of both contractual work performed in Iraq and Afghanistan and task orders in excess of $5 million.
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Water Deal Exposes Secret Iraq Contracts

Written by Paul Blumenthal on February 6, 2007 - 5:14pm.
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Source Name

AP

Link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020600847....

Snippit

CIA officers operating in northern Iraq bought drinking water from a bottling plant there for years prior to the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. That changed soon afterward. A CIA officer handling logistics for the Middle East and other regions recommended that an American company provide water and other supplies, according to former government officials. The U.S. contractor that benefited from the multimillion-dollar deal wasn't just anyone. The company had personal ties to the officer, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who would soon leave his logistics post in Frankfurt, Germany, and move to Washington to become the CIA's third-ranking official.
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Contractors and Cash Under Congressional Investigation

Written by Paul Blumenthal on February 6, 2007 - 4:49pm.
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Source Name

ABC News

Link

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/02/contractors_and.html

Snippit

Stacks of cash, some filling entire transport crates, are pictured alongside grinning contractors in Iraq. The images have been made public today in a report for a congressional oversight committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., which is investigating financial improprieties in the Iraq war.
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Millions wasted in Iraq reconstruction aid

Written by Paul Blumenthal on January 31, 2007 - 10:22am.
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Source Name

AP

Link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16895294/

Snippit

The U.S. government wasted tens of millions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction aid, including scores of unaccounted-for weapons and a never-used camp for housing police trainers with an Olympic-size swimming pool, investigators say.
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A woman's rights advocate is slain by gunmen in post-invasion Iraq. A corrupt defense contractor dispensed large sums of money to her. The money is missing and the contractor cannot account for it. The New York Times has more on this sordid tale in Iraq ruled by the American Coalition Provisional Authority.

-- Paul Blumenthal
  • The Associated Press reports that Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) has publicly blamed his early Thursday morning car crash on a combination of prescription drugs (Phenergan and Ambien) that his doctor prescribed him. He has said that no alcohol was involved in the crash. Note to Congressmen: Don't drive on Ambien, it's a sleeping pill!
  • According to the Wall Street Journal, authorites are investigating "whether a senior Navy official tried to steer business to" Custer Battles, a defense contractor that has already been ordered to pay $10 million in fines for defrauding the U.S. government. The Navy official is Douglas Combs, who served as "special assistant to then-acting Secretary of the Navy Hansford Johnson in 2003".
  • Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (R) has imposed a ban on administration employees from receiving any lobbyist gifts amidst an FBI probe of his administration, according to the Kansas City Star.
  • The Associated Press reports on the ongoing fight between the defense and prosecution in the David Safavian case over the prosecution's release of emails between Safavian and ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
  • Alternet provides a one-stop round-up of all the information regarding the Duke Cunningham-Brent Wilkes-Prostitution scandal.
-- Paul Blumenthal

According to the blog Muckraked! the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction is pursuing 72 investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption by contractors in Iraq.

-- Paul Blumenthal
  • If you're looking for a job you might want to become friends with Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), says Ken Silverstein at the new Harpers.org blog. Or you could become one of his daughters.
  • Another U.S. contractor in Iraq pleads guilty, this time for bribery. According to the Washington Post, "Philip H. Bloom admitted his part in a scheme to give more than $2 million in cash and gifts to U.S. officials in exchange for their help in getting reconstruction contracts for his companies. Bloom's firms won $8.6 million in reconstruction deals, with an average profit margin of more than 25 percent."
  • Tom DeLay is like Waldo. He's in every page (scandal) - you just have to look hard enough to find him. From the Houston Chronicle.
-- Paul Blumenthal