The New York Times reports this morning that some of the ammo we have been supplying the Afghan Army is over forty years old and was obtained from Albanian surplus dumps like the one above. How did this happen? Well back in the late 80’s a Secretary of Defense came up with a brilliant idea. Let’s outsource to private companies many of the functions of military procurement.
The mammoth growth in private military contracting didn’t begin in Iraq. It’s been under way for a couple decades. So who came up with this bright idea? He didn’t start the process, but many of the key decisions that led us to where we are today were made by none other than that fount of bright ideas — then-Secretary of Defense and now-Vice President Dick Cheney.
What’s more mindboggling about The Times story is that the company that supplied the dud Albanian ammo was run by a 21 year old kid from Miami, Efraim E. Diveroli and his Vice President, a 22 year old masseuse. Having just watched on Tivo the second part of Bush’s War, the staggering level of incompetence at the Defense Department and the White House is unparalleled in history.
Several military officers and government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the investigations, questioned how Mr. Diveroli, and a small group of men principally in their 20s and without extensive military or procurement experiences, landed so much vital government work.
“A lot of us are asking the question,” said a senior State Department official. “How did this guy get all this business?”
If there is a polical corruption unit still extant at the DOD, I suggest they let us know how this happened.
19 responses so far ↓
Morgan Warstler // March 27, 2008 at 7:42 am
“The Clinton Administration has presented its defense budget request for fiscal years 1998 through 2002. While the amount requested for defense is $19 billion higher in budget authority than sought last year, it is still inadequate to fund the current defense policy, which was established after the Pentagon’s now-discredited 1993 Bottom-Up Review. President Clinton’s new budget falls about $105 billion short of fully funding the forces that this Administration’s review identified as necessary to defend American security and freedom.”
http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/EM467.cfm
Jon, I agree with you. We need to spend more money to buy better supplies for our troops and the our allies (Afghan Army).
The article you cited is a great read, I thought it made clear this was from cost cutting.
Business Blog // March 27, 2008 at 10:10 am
OMG
Are you kiddin’?
Jon Taplin // March 27, 2008 at 10:11 am
Bargain basement Ammo is never a bargain.
rhb // March 27, 2008 at 11:01 am
How about we lead the nuclear disarmament parade by quadrupling the tax on the sale of all armaments, munitions, and use the monies in Jon’s 40 to the Fed/60 to the states split to fund all those health care and education cuts that this war has brought about in the name of security?
Morgan Warstler // March 27, 2008 at 11:21 am
rhb, you mean you want to tax foreign purchases? or domestic?
Alex // March 27, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Hey Morgan, instead of listening to Limbaugh, Hannity and Bortz from a firehouse, why not head on over to PBS.org and take a look at that Frontline special that Jon mentioned? It might provide a little more insight as to why Republicans such as me are so damned pissed at the incompetence and iodicy of this administration.
Josh C // March 27, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Bush’s War made me hit my head so hard… To hear the succession of mistakes is just the biggest… I can’t even put into words how …
Seriously unreal.
rhb // March 27, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I mean that I want to tax the munitions business until it feels the hurt. If it takes an International Treaty, I’m all for it. It’s another reason why I favor Obama. He seems to recognize the necessity of resolving issues like these from a different perspective. But I didn’t say tax purchases, I said sales. I would even recommend this tax be extended to cover any item that could be construed as weaponry. As I, also, said, if we’re going to preach nuclear control, then let’s start at home.
Morgan Warstler // March 27, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Alex, I watched it and commented on it - it is in the thread. And I don’t listen to Hannity & Rush, but I would suggest everybody set their Tivo’s to “Red Eye” with Greg Gutfeld on Fox news - he comes on at 3:00AM EST. Like watching early David Letterman.
So, rhb, you want U.S. munitions companies / jobs to driven out of business, so we have to buy our weapons from foreign governments?
Look, if this is just a serious, “Arghh, I hate that people are violent!” just say that, but if you are suggesting some kind of violence tax, let’s suss it out.
Webtacs // March 27, 2008 at 3:46 pm
A 21 year old managing that big operation is just crazy.
rhb // March 27, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I am willing to bet that American ingenuity can come up with plenty of alternative ways to turn those munitions factories green given the right economic incentive like there is more profit in making sustainable goods than destructive ones. And yes Morgan, I am anti-war, peace loving, energetic, and willing to stand up and be counted for my ever-loving hippie ways.
Asad // March 27, 2008 at 7:46 pm
The DOD was buying ammo from a masseuse? It’s reminiscent of Michael Browne heading FEMA after running horse shows.
Son of Bill Brasky // March 28, 2008 at 5:17 am
Military privatization is stupid. They’re motivated by profit. That reason alone is enough to not allow it. For things like construction in peaceful situations I think it’s alright. But private citizens have no place in a war zone. Our soldiers shouldn’t have to train employees of private companies to do the job the soldier was trained to do. I’ve seen nothing to show that it makes the military more efficient or that it’s saving tax payers money.
Also when we send US soldiers to war.. shouldn’t saving money and doing the operation on the cheap be the last thing on our minds???
Support the troops my ass. This administration uses the military as a pawn.
Son of Bill Brasky // March 28, 2008 at 5:25 am
Oh yeah.. and whatever Bush has done wrong.. and whatever has gone wrong during his Presidency…it’s all Bill Clinton’s fault.
John Hurt // March 28, 2008 at 12:58 pm
How many Private Contractors are in Iraq?
http://theiraqinsider.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-many-private-contractors-in-iraq.html
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32419.pdf
Rick Turner // March 29, 2008 at 7:49 am
Privatizing the military should be a Libertarian’s wet dream, right Morgan? Private enterprise can do anything better, eh? All you are seeing here is what happens when capitalism is unfettered…this is the free market at its most real…
Morgan Warstler // March 29, 2008 at 8:04 am
It reads like the number is 25K US contractors. I can understand 100K “Iraqi citizens and third party nationals work for companies operating under U.S. government contracts.”
I don’t mind removing 25K, if it means expanding the military’s tasks and duties, and they themselves think it is right.
Meaning if the armed forces look at contractors, as it has been reported,as competing for soldiers - it should stop. I’d think you have to trust the generals to decide all this stuff, no?
At the same time, I think the Armed Forces should allow illegal immigrants to gain status by serving, don’t you? I mean, any who wants to serve, certainly has a rightful claim on being here.
Rick Turner // March 29, 2008 at 9:12 am
Morgan, how about putting Army recruiting stations right there at the Mexican border? Just sign ‘em right up. They wouldn’t even have to ever live here as civilians. Cross the border and go directly to boot camp. All the drill instructors might have to learn Spanish, mind you, but we’d have our all volunteer army…volunteer or be deported (oh, never mind that they’d be deported to another land of sun and sand…)…and then the body bags could be sent back to Mexico or Guatemala or El Salvador, further avoiding embarrassing pictures in the papers here in the US. Morgan, I think your idea may just have some traction…
But to a libertarian, isn’t that bigger government?
Morgan Warstler // March 29, 2008 at 9:23 pm
So you are against patriots becoming citizens?
Rick, I’m in favor of the draft. But I’m a big open door immigration guy, and one way to convince conservatives to let people come here freely, is when they see something in return.
Service for Citizenship is just one way of making both sides (liberal and conservative) give and get a little. It is a compromise. We’d hear a lot less about “illegal” immigrants with this policy, and to me, and you liberals, that is a good thing. Now take your half a loaf and be grateful.
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