Buck Naked Politics

Officials Say U.S. Can't Manage War Contractors

by D. Cupples | Since the Iraq War started, our government has relied more heavily on private contractors than ever before -- and even honest contractors tend to cost us taxpayers far more than government employees would cost for similar services.

According to congressional testimony from Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen (an others), our government failed to ensure that enough trained personnel were available to handle contracts and monitor contractors.  In other words, the taxpayer money pot hasn't been fully guarded. The Washington Post recently reported:

Obama Praised Reagan, but for What? [Updated]

by D. Cupples | Ronald Reagan wasn't our worst president. Certainly, he did less damage to our nation than some other presidents have done.  On the other hand, we're still struggling with consequences from some of his policies (e.g., the taxing of seniors' social security benefits and bigger tax breaks for people who don't need them...).

Thus, I was surprised to read a few days ago that presidential candidate Barack Obama -- now painted as a "change" candidate -- offered praise for Reagan and Republicans over the past 15 years.  It wasn't surprising that Hillary Clinton and John Edwards took exception to Obama's remarks. The Associated Press reports:

FEMA Wastes Tax Dollars on Trailers Again

by D. Cupples  (photo of Bush posing on new, stand-up lawnmower from White House)

 FEMA rushed to buy nearly 150,000 trailers through a no-bid contract to house victims of Hurricane Katrina, according to the Washington Post .  Many of the trailers were unused, because (among other reasons) they were tainted with formaldehyde. 

From July 2006 - July 2007, FEMA sold nearly 11,000 of those tainted trailers to the public for 40 cents on the dollar.  Now, FEMA is offering to buy back those trailers at full price. 

Instead of putting even more tax dollars into the useless trailers, why hasn't FEMA sued for a full refund the company that supplied those tainted trailers?

GAO: Defense Dept. Failing to Protect Weapon Technologies

by D. Cupples (photo by Andy Dunaway, U.S. DoD ) |   Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released yet another report that will likely upset Department of Defense (DoD) higher-ups, this one stating that DoD has failed to establish effective anti-tampering programs to protect our technology in cases where our weapon systems end up in non-U.S. hands. 

One example of anti-tampering technology is a protective design that makes it hard for people to extract (and analyze) hardware components without damaging them.  This recent report is a follow-up to another critical report the GAO released nearly four years ago about the same topic.  In part, the GAO states:

Blackwater Reportedly Destroyed Evidence

by D. Cupples |  After Blackwater guards allegedly shot Iraqi civilians in September, the company repainted and repaired  the vehicles that were on the scene (including removal of at least one radiator) -- essentially destroying evidence that might have helped investigators determine whether or not the guards were responding to enemy gunfire.

Now, investigators will have to rely more on witness statements.  Making matters worse, efforts to obtain some testimony have been "hampered by a State Department deal that gave Blackwater guards limited immunity for their statements following the incident." (Washington Post)

This latest news isn't surprising, because Blackwater has come under fire for all sorts of questionable conduct.