An Afghan Surge - In Waste And Corruption
Welcome to the next exercise in throwing money and guns out of airplanes. The AP reports on an assessment delivered to the Wartime Contracting Commission that says Afghanistan is headed along the same path as Iraq: rampant corruption and waste via mismanagement of tens of billions of dollars in US taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects.
There are 154 open criminal investigations into allegations of bribery, conflicts of interest, defective products, bid rigging and theft in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, said Gimble, the Pentagon's principal deputy inspector general.
...Gimble's office found that a small number of inexperienced civilian or military personnel "were assigned far-reaching responsibilities for an unreasonably large number of contracts."
He cited an account tapped frequently by U.S. military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan to build schools, roads and hospitals. More than $3 billion was spent on these projects, which were not always properly managed.
"In some instances, there appeared to be scant, if any, oversight of the manner in which funds were expended," Gimble said. "Complicating matters further is the fact that payment of bribes and gratuities to government officials is a common business practice in some Southwest Asia nations."
In "Hard Lessons," Bowen said his office found fraud to be less of a problem than persistent inefficiencies and hefty contractor fees that "all contributed to a significant waste of taxpayer dollars."
The most senior American official or officer so far indicted in these investigations has been a Leiurenant Colonel who was one of General Petraeus' closest aides during the period when he was in charge of training and re-arming the Iraqi security forces. During that period, 110,000 assault rifles and other arms, valued on the black market at up to $800 million went missing, partly to turn up in the hands of Kurdish terrorists in Turkey, and Petraeus' aide is believed to be involved in at least some of that trafficking. During the same period, half of the entire Iraqi defense budget for a year was stolen. We already know from previous reports that the Bush administration turned a willing blind eye to much of this corruption and if you believe a Lt.Colonel is as high as the baksheeh rose then you're smoking the good stuff in your hookah.
No wonder the generals are plotting to slow down any Iraq withdrawal while advocating escalation in Afghanistan.
The best line in today's report is this one:
"Before we go pouring more money in, we really need to know what we're trying to accomplish (in Afghanistan)," said Ginger Cruz, deputy special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. "And at what point do you turn off the spigot so you're not pouring money into a black hole?"
When all the right pockets are filled to overflowing, of course.
Crossposted from Newshoggers
Can't say I'm surprised
If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders.
George Carlin
immediately and bring the troops home.
Cut the 'Defense' Budget in a half.
Start making things that don't blow up.
Start the War Crimes and War Profiteers tribunals.
Investigate Prosecute Punish - Top to bottom.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
And here's just a taste of the waste and corruption that has occurred in Afghanistan recently..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_BS83BmTIQ
rember when ALL flights were grounded, well Not All flights. bush let his friends go home while Americans were sitting at airports. I guess when bush had the telaban at his ranch in texas they became friends.
This is so much more important than the silly stuff posted on beckboy or limpballs.....thank you.
I ask you, how could petrayus NOT KNOW? I WANT MY MONEY BACK, DON'T YOU GUYS??
And at what point do you just leave and let the country deal with it's own problems. When did this become everyone's problem? With all the poverty, hunger, and sheer economic meltdowns in the world, how does any nation justify being in Afghanistan or Iraq? They can't.
Afghanistan produces tons and tons of the stuff.
Theres lots of money to be made doing whatever there.
by 'Kurdish terrorists in Turkey' I presume you mean the PKK.
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
Kurdistan (in concept) is divided between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The legacy of colonialism, imperialism and the balance of power. One take here.
I am not suggesting that the PKK is necessarily a benign group, I need to know more.
I am suggesting that I don't trust the Turks or the US Government on face value to make assessments in such a case.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
Whether they're insurgents, terrorists, freedom fighters or criminals is sorta irrelevant to the Catholic priest in Turkey who was shot with a Glock pistol recorded missing from US arms shipments to Iraq. The original Newsweek article I cited in the post I linked to above is now offline - but here's the link to the Truthout mirror of it. The lede graph:
Someone sold that gun and 20,000 like it through the black market into Turkey. They ended up with the PKK, other militant groups and criminals. At least some of the 110,000 missing AK47s went to Iraqi insurgents, and were used to kill US troops, according to indictments against conspirators charged in association with Lt Colonel Levonda Joey Selph. Selph was Petraeus' cheif aide for arms procurement in Iraq in 2004 and according to one eyewitness source I've spoken to was very close friends with Petraeus.
Regards, C
I'd forgotten, but Selph pled guilty to reduced charges of accepting bribes.
http://www.atlargely.com/2008/06/former-petra...
is not irrelevant. What do words mean. If you use one word and it is irrelevant whether it is the appropriate word, what is your purpose.
My bottom line is unchanged, that I don't trust the Turks OR the US Government at face value.
Nor my statement that one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. I chose my words carefully, sometimes I eat them but it is, on the whole, not a bad diet.
Quoting one anecdote is a typical ploy of the government manipulators and propagandists, of which there are many. It is the age old rumor of atrocity.
It is not desirable to fall into or for their modus operandi.
Journalism is about finding all the facts possible, including and especially the ones the powerful do not want found.
The individual anecdote is as likely as anything to be bullshit. If you will pardon the expression.
The one that you have used shows a definite bias. If a Catholic priest was killed, that is tragic for him. The details of the story, as we are able to know them, and his passing saddens but it does not necessarily lead to the wider case that is inferred.
That is a false logic.
I recall the vivid testimony of Kuwaitis before our congress in the manipulative run up to the first Gulf Scam talking about the horrid Iraquis overturning babies' incubators in a nursery.
Except it never happened. It doesn't make the Iraquis good guys, they just didn't do what was said.
It was much later shown that among other undisclosed points, one of the people testifying was a member of the Kuwaiti Royal family. The entire propaganda campaign was funded by the Kuwaiti government.
All of this, of course, is not to dispute the underlying premise that there is enormous waste, fraud and abuse in these so called 'Wars'.
War is a racket. It attracts racketeers.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
its time for the dummercrats under the intelligent managment of the obameracs to get thiers !
And we didn't even get kissed first.
Oil companies run our foreign policy so I'll assume it was Exxon Mobil.
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
It IS interesting that ExMob has record profits *yet again* and no excruciatingly high gas prices to make it seem justified. They are doing something seriously right (note use of "right" is not the "moral" definition of "right").
[Deleted. As you are a long time poster, I'll let you off with a warning. But that was a heinous bit of bigotry you posted, jnratliff. Another post of that flavor will get you banned-Sitemonitor]
exactly exactly its like i been telling yah all along! the us governments one of the biggest scams of all times! yipeee were all gonna get screwed!
And Unocal wanted a gas pipeline in Afghanistan, not binladen.
Just ask Karzai. he worked for Unocal just before becoming pres of The Afghan Puppet Show of the United States of Americorp.
In fact, he chaperoned a bunch of Taliban bigwigs to a Unocal function in Houston back then.
Where is ZalKhal nowadays anyway? What's he up to? Seriously, if any CnL reader can find out, I'd be greatful.
Just check with his last known employer, you are going to hit yourself.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/50305.htm
And now to here.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/83777.htm
Though, in the last 2 weeks, I can't say where he went.
No I didn't put where to, that's the punchline when you click.
"Exit Interview" Jan. 26th, possibly going to work on something related to projects on education in Afghanistan.
It's just that he's long been rumoted to be looking towards a possible Afghan presidency bid himself. Rumors his off-the-books holidays with Pakistani Prez Zardari last year did nothing to dispel.
Regards, C
And Zardari, or as one Pakistani neighbor calls him "Our Bush".
Please send more troops and money so we can sort all this out and make it better.
Oh yea and hurry, no time to think about it, its urgent, time is of the essence, if we don't act now the consequences will be an absolute disaster of incredibly dire and desperate proportions and the world will never forgive us for not act. Cash no checks please.
when it comes to helping nations become democracies!!
Its funny while we are making them become democracies our democracy at home becomes unbecoming.
Especially since they really aren't going to end up democracies at all and after the bribe money runs out in both Afghanistan and Iraq, that they will return to the way they were before, making the entire fiasco a waste of time, money and lives.
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail
...an ain't chint proverb...
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
I have a screw, will that work?
screwed too many times and now the threads are all stripped...maybe some superglue and a big clamp?
on the other hand if we get out of Afghanistan, maybe we won't need a horse...shod or unshod!
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
Mon, 02/02/2009 - 17:05 — Milquetoast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlmmui8iq50
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I felt it was as ridiculous a proposition as converting them to Christianity, but you know that is essentially what the neo cons had in mind for a stable mid east.
There's no way someone who believes in Alla can ever be stable. They eventually blow up. That's how seriously thinking folks see the issue.
DB Cooper lives!!!
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
how 110,000 assault rifles and other arms 'go missing'? Did they abscond with all those missing pallets of cash?
What a freaking nightmare.
who had access, passes and the required amount of trucks to move the stolen stuff about.
Time to audit and check the bank accounts and price tags of Bushco officials and CPA/mil staff, ask them where they got the money from to buy their mansions.
Remember when Rumsfeld was fired but allowed to keep his office at the Pentagon? That was, to say the least, unusual.
there was talk of some of the troops playing football with bundels of cash. 9 billion dollars gone. what a fucking joke on the american people.
Good post Cernig . . . thanks. Many things are rushing together all of a sudden again.
1) US Generals are openly opposing Obama (treason?)
2) Obama wants out early in Iraq, likely Afghanistan.
3) Financial institutions are being investigated (hearings soon)
4) Ships from all nations are building up in The Gulf.
5) Israel is shouting DO IRAN! Again.
6) Israel continues to abuse Gaza. Again.
7) Taliban are making great inroads in Pakistan.
8) North Korea is makin war noise (just cuz they is bein neglected)
And the US and Global economy is in the toilet, and the handle to flush is being pulled.
A cross roads is at hand. Within a few months, perhaps.
How will all this turn out? Heats up, pressure's on it all. Stock up on the popcorn. *G*
(aka dubya, dick and don) ride off into the sunset, smirking and smiling, free and clear, to enjoy their 'golden' years.
Sickening.
I am going to respond to all of the points made above.
1. Generals "opposing" Obama, it is unproffessional but not treasonous. Look at the constitution which actually defines what treason actually means. Side note, Thomas Jefferson accused Aaron Burr of treason and was shot down in the courts because his accusation did not follow the definition and he made the accusation while he was president. So if you are going to libel the fine men and women that protect your freedom to say the things you say you might want to actually know the definition.
2. Damn right Obama wants an early out in Iraq. It is a big reason why this country elected him. So lets not sugarcoat it, he is actually trying to do what he said on his platform. who knows he might, but if Iraq falls after our pullout, it won't be bush blamed it will be Obama. (though people on this site think obama is to messianic to take blame for anything).
3. Ya so what financial institutions are being investigated. you mess up your taxes you're investigated. I hope it keeps them honest but you never know.
4. The area is and has been an unstable area that has a natural resource that is valuable. So it is in every industrialized nations interest to have a presence in the area, especially when Iran has proven that it is willing to interfere with the oil trade aka The Oil Tanker War.
5. Iran is probably the single biggest threat of destabilization in the region. It has started a war with Israel via Hezbollah to take international attention off of its dubious nuclear program. Their president has said the holocaust never happened and that he would like to erase Israel off the map. If it was Mexico saying it to us, wouldn't you be shouting bloody murder? I think so.
6. As far as the "abuse" in Gaza. With their military supplied by the US they can afford to be highly selective with the target packages and minimize collateral damage. As for ground operations, I am sure that they are under orders to do as little harm as possible. By removing the Hamas leadership they are seperating the head from the snake. In the absence of organized leadership the possibility exists. It is unfortunate that it will not work. If there is to ever be peace in Israel the mothers of slain on both sides (remember Hamas is a terrorist organization elected to political power that still launches rockets and sends suicide bombers again the Mexico analogy, what would you do)and they need to come to an accord where the Palestinians trade information for food. I agree it is a shame the conditions in Gaza but both Palestinians and Israelis continue in a cycle of death and revenge led by men. Let the greiving mothers have their turn to try to make a difference.
7. Yes the Taliban and Al Quada are making inroads in Pakistan. But what are our options. Pakistan has told the US to keep out. Do you propose we start another war. I think not. Violence, whether or not it is controlled by governments, has failed to solve the issue of terrorism. Maybe it is time we take a crack at it with compassion. If we maybe look at situations with compassion and empathy instead of scorn and ignorance, all of us would be better off.
8. As for North Korea, I think one of Bush's finest diplomatic moves during his presidency was to let China take the lead in dealing with North Korea. China is seeking to become a super-power. One of the responsibilities of being a superpower is to manage any usurpers of peace in your sphere of influence (before anyone makes any anti-bush anti-iraq remarks let me just say that I do think Bush overstepped his bounds by going into Iraq but the situation is what it is). So let China take care of North Korea.
As for the US economy being in the toilet...well lets just say it isn't as bad as it could be. We have lost more market share in this crisis then we did at the outset of the great depression yet I don't see hundreds of people in soup lines or migratory groups of farm laborers. So before you claim economic armageddon think about it in those terms. besides, you know what turns economies around the quickest? Major wars. Hitler's invasion of Poland almost immediately brought about the end of the Great Depression in America. Do our political leaders and the American people have the guts to fight a major war. I think not, look at how many despair at the losses in Iraq when they are actually very small given the length of time in the country.
"Iran is probably the single biggest threat of destabilization in the region."
Do you know anything about Iran? With the exception of perhaps Jordan and Kuwait, Iran is the only thing we have going towards stabilization.
Regarding China taking the lead on negotiating with North Korea - read: exerting regional authority - why is that not good for Iran too? By the way, that was "one of Bush's finest diplomatic moves" only in the sense that it had nothing to do with Bush. Relations with N. Korea were much better before Bush and only stabilized in spite of Bush.
I want to see a lot more stories like this one, along with stories that follow up on every single conflict of interest, illegal war, lie, & crime committed, until they are prosecuted & held accountable. I so could no care what Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck or Bill O'Riley says,... I skip over those articles, I have enough stress in my life without listening to their blather. But sites like this can make a real impact.
Keep up the call for investigations, prosecutions, & bring the criminals to justice.
I'm not sure most people have a real "holistic" view of what's going on over there... the truth is so incredibly complicated. For an insight into the mentoring of the ANA, and the ridiculousness that is a modern military apparatus, read "Don't Clean the Table with a Floor Mop," by a Naval officer who spent a year mentoring the Afghan National Army.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1440493987?tag=hubp0...
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