Wartime contracting getting new scrutiny on the ground

By Nick Schwellenbach

Here comes the cavalry, of sorts. Fifteen members and staff from the congressionally-created Commission on Wartime Contracting have left sta

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… n on Wartime Contracting have left state-side comforts behind to travel to Iraq and Afghanistan. They’ll be checking first-hand how contractors and the …"

"… Michael Thibault. “There are about 200,000 contract employees working in Iraq and Afghanistan, outnumbering U.S. troops in the area. The unprecedented r …"

Night-vision devices unaccounted for in Iraq

By Te-Ping Chen

The Pentagon seems to have some trouble keeping track of its materiel. The latest items to go missing? Night-vision devices....

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… Inspector General notes that of the 50,740 night-vision devices shipped to Iraq, eight percent are now unaccounted for. What’s more, the report says, U. …"

"… another 30,740 devices.News that the U.S. lost track of 190,000 weapons in Iraq and another 87,000 in Afghanistan sparked a flurry of recent stories. Yet …"

Pentagon contract reform: A decades-old conversation

By Nick Schwellenbach

President Obama told us last week that "the days of giving defense contractors a blank check are over.” Well, maybe. Reforming Pentagon cont

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… of the Bush administration to 74 percent in fiscal year 2008. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and growth in the base Pentagon budget led to a doubling o …"

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Afghanistan: Where have all the weapons gone?

By Te-Ping Chen

Two days after Afghanistan's heavily fortified capital reeled from brazen attacks that killed 20, the Government Accountability Office has d

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… 2007 the GAO documented similar concerns regarding weapons gone astray in Iraq — some 190,000 of them. Likewise last October, the Pentagon’s Inspecto …"

Review launched on payments Army made to KBR over auditor objections

By Nick Schwellenbach

Controversial charges by contractor KBR for work done in Iraq are getting new scrutiny from the Pentagon, PaperTrail has learned....

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… e further details. …"

"… ess of related Army official decisions.”KBR is the biggest contractor in Iraq and a lightning rod for critics who claim it benefited from its relationsh …"

"… before the Democratic Policy Committee, which has held several hearings on Iraq contracting. "In 31 years of doing this work, I have never seen anything l …"

Leaked report details failure to get armored vehicles to Marines in Iraq

By Nick Schwellenbach

The report featured in USA Today. When Marines in Iraq urgently asked for armored vehicles particularly resistant to improvised explosive d

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… ation with his complaints. …"

"… eakdown by Pentagon brass – the failure to anticipate the use of IEDs by Iraqi insurgents. “DOD was aware of the threat posed by mines and improvised …"

"… ability of mine-resistant vehicles years before insurgent actions began in Iraq in 2003,” the report states. “The department entered into operations i …"

"… n 2003,” the report states. “The department entered into operations in Iraq without having taken available steps to acquire technology to mitigate the …"

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Lost, stolen, sold? Tracking U.S. weapons in Afghanistan

By Te-Ping Chen

When the headlines first appeared in August 2007, they seemed ironic: Four years after the United States invaded Iraq in search of Saddam Hu

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… ugust 2007, they seemed ironic: Four years after the United States invaded Iraq in search of Saddam Hussein’s weapons, according to the Government Accou …"

"… difficulty in keeping tabs on the weaponry it ships isn’t restricted to Iraq. PaperTrail has learned that the GAO is now focusing on U.S. weapons that …"

"… port, however, attracted none of the media furor that followed the GAO’s Iraq release.But the pending GAO report on weapons possibly gone astray in Afgh …"

"… ave gone unaccounted for.The pile of weapons to pilfer, while smaller than Iraq, is nonetheless huge. From 2005 to 2008, the United States provided the Af …"

The U.S. military delves into cultural intelligence in Iran

By Nick Schwellenbach

PaperTrail has obtained an exclusive copy of the military’s field guide for cultural intelligence for possible military operations in Iran,

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… njoyable as the U.S. Army’s 1943 Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq During World War II, this “For Official Use Only” intelligence documen …"

"… Other Cultural Intelligence for Military Operations field guides exist for Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ky …"

Billions for KBR

By Sarah Laskow

Whistleblower Charles M. Smith, who oversaw Pentagon contracts in Iraq, says he was forced out of his job in 2004 after refusing to pay defe

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… re years. …"

"… worth between 2004 and 2006, according to an analysis of contract data in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Center for Public Integrity.The Center’s analysis …"

"… veals that KBR received the largest single award of any company working in Iraq between those years — over $14 billion. KBR is the largest U.S. contract …"

"… en those years — over $14 billion. KBR is the largest U.S. contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan, a fact first noted by the Center back in 2003, when KBR w …"

The Abu Ghraib supplementary documents

By Alexander Cohen

WASHINGTON, October 31, 2004 — Classified documents, obtained and posted by the Center for Public Integrity, reveal the extent to which prob

Excerpts from this story referencing "Iraq":

"… problems at Abu Ghraib prison were mirrored in other confinement camps in Iraq. Above all, what emerges from the documents is a picture of troops tasked …"

"… g accounts to date of the several prison camps run by the U.S. military in Iraq and Kuwait. They were provided to the Center by Rolling Stone contributor …"

"… eased roughly 6,000 pages of material related to the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. These released documents include most of the supplements …"

"… Ghraib, investigations document escapes and shootings at several camps in Iraq and Kuwait. Testimony and documents also shed light on one of the earliest …"

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