‘Pentagon’ Archives
Under Scrutiny: Contractors in Iraq Named
The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has investigated individual projects in the past to identify mismanagement, waste or fraud. Now investigators are setting their sights on a top-to-bottom review of all contracts within a single company to determine if companywide problems contributed to the projects' success or failure, SIGIR [...]
Baghdad Laborers Train for Jailer Jobs
Three thousand Iraqis are rushing through prison-guard training at the U.S.-funded academy in Jordan so they can guard the detainees being rounded up during the "surge" in Iraq. Former farmers, shopkeepers and restaurant workers will train for six weeks before being deployed at tent cities for the detainees now being erected in the Baghdad [...]
Abu Ghraib: Faulty Response and Investigations Found
Abu Ghraib Revisited: "Allegations of detainee abuse were not consistently reported, investigated, or managed in an effective, systematic, and timely manner." That's the finding of a new classified report released in redacted form last week by the Department of Defense Inspector General. Crediting the News Media: Although the report fails to [...]
The World Bites Back: Wolfowitz Gets the Boot
The World has Spoken: Wolfowitz's lasting legacy may very well be his role in planning and managing the Iraq war while serving at the Pentagon. The Petty Salary Rigging: for his girlfriend at the World Bank meant nothing. In the world's eyes, his executive handiwork only reflects the more lurid bid rigging for contractors in Iraq. Contractors [...]
Accused of Labor Abuse, Gulf Catering Wins More Business
By David Phinney May 17, 2007 -- Target for Constant Whining: Although repeatedly accused of labor abuse and possible human trafficking of workers, Gulf Catering won another multimillion-dollar contract to feed US troops. Rest assured: The Pentagon looked into the allegations and found no substance to them. The unfounded badgering and rumors [...]
The Slick Wolfowitz Oil Plan
What a Banker: "There's a lot of money to pay for this (war) that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people...and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 (billion) and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three year..... We're dealing with a [...]
Democrats Adding Up the Numbers
Congress Does the Math: Not only are there 145,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, there are over 100,000 private contractors working U.S. funded contracts. Many of them are doing jobs that the military once did. They may not be Americans, but they are drawing their pay stubs from the U.S. treasury -- making them the largest deployed private military force [...]
‘Top Secret’ Material May Have ‘Devastated’ U.S. Iraq Mission
June 16, 2007 -- Massive amounts of "top secret" material stored in the living trailer of the former Camp Cropper prison commander was "extremely sensitive" and could have devastated the U.S. mission in Iraq if it had been leaked, an investigator said Tuesday. The hearing on allegations that Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele aided the enemy by [...]
Smokin’ Saddam: Cuban Cigars?
The latest from Camp Victory Hearing: At Tuesday's hearing to decide if the former military commander at Camp Cropper prison in Iraq must stand trial on charges that he aided the enemy, it was said that Steele bought Cuban cigars for one-time prisoner Saddam Hussein. Misappropriation of Funds? Two witnesses said Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele [...]
Civilian Contractor Casualties
Latest SIGIR Report: Since Iraq reconstruction began, 916 death claims for civilian contractors working on U.S.-funded projects in Iraq have been filed. In the quarter ending March 31, 2007, the Department of Labor reported 146 new death claims. reports that 16 U.S. civilians died in Iraq this quarter. Since the beginning of the U.S. [...]
