Posted by D. Cupples | After repeated State Department stonewalling, the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena yesterday, seeking documents related to construction and safety problems at the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
In July, we learned that the $592 million embassy (our nation's largest in the world) suffered major construction problems due to shoddy work on the part of contractors, including faulty wiring that caused fires. In October, we learned that the embassy project was months behind schedule and about $140 million over budget, bringing the cost of the poorly constructed complex up to more than $730 million.
Construction and safety problems came to light last May, after a mortar shell crashed through the embassy walls. McClatchy reported:
"The State Department contractor in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene of the blast [i.e., tampered with evidence], according to government officials familiar with the incident. The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents....
"U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker banished Golden from Iraq, but he continues to oversee the construction of the embassy in Baghdad... and to supervise other projects for the State Department."
This is not the first time that bush Administration officials seemed averse to investigating contractor-related problems. According to an Oversight Committee letter from September 2007, former State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard blocked investigations relating to contractor waste, fraud, and abuse.
In 2005, former Defense Department Inspector General Joseph Schmitz was accused of impeding investigations; he resigned. In 2006, congressional Republicans tried to eliminate the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, after it uncovered contract-related violations (NY Times).
Other BN-Politics' Posts:
* High Cost of Private Contractors
* Embassy in Iraq: Waste, Bad Planning, and Contractor Fraud?
* Oversight Hearing: Rice was Evasive, Republicans Oppose Probe
* Blackwater Hearing: Poor Media Coverage, Republicans Oppose Probe
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