Back in 2006, Stuart Bowen, Director of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), had issued a huge number of reports of massive fraud, corruption and mismanagement by our own military and their contractors. A great deal of waste had been uncovered by Bowen and his staff. Can you believe that while Bowen was uncovering such waste, our U.S. Congress voted to eliminate his agency? Let's repeat that: OUR U.S. CONGRESS VOTED TO ELIMINATE BOWEN'S AGENCY. This provision was added to a defense authorization conference report at the last minute without the knowledge of members. So when they voted to authorize military funding, almost none realized that this provision was burried in the bill. Yet, a handful in Congress appeared to want waste and corruption to continue unabated. Why would some in Congress NOT want misuse of American money uncovered? Could it be that some in our defense department and its defense contractors did not want their mismanagement and waste scrutinized? Could it be that our military and their contractors did not want unfinished work or inadequately performed work to be discovered?“It appears to me that the administration wants to silence the messenger that is giving us information about waste and fraud in Iraq,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, a member of the House Committee on Government Reform.
Soon after this provision was discovered, it was changed. Bowen's office will now be closed 18o days after only $250 million in reconstruction remains unspent.
For more see: Stuart Bowen's Report and NYTimes
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