Iraq - Whistleblower evidence re Custer Battles
Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing: [14th Feb 2005] My name is Alan Grayson. I am an attorney. I represent whistleblowers in the first case involving fraud by a government contractor in Iraq to be unsealed by the court. My testimony is based on what these whistleblowers have told me, and the court.
I wish that I could tell you that the Bush Administration has done everything it could to detect and punish fraud in Iraq. If I said that to you, though, I would be lying. In our case, the Bush Administration has not lifted a finger to recover tens of millions of dollars that our whistleblowers allege was stolen from the Government.
Link to Alan Grayson testimony (pdf)
Link to DPC web page - includes the other witness statements
These documents make interesting and shocking reading. Given the enthusiasm with which the oil-for-food case against the UN is being pursued, the stark contrast in the Bush administration's pathetic response to these allegations, which are closer to home, indicates that the notion of integrity for this US government is, as always, subject to the higher laws of greed, politics and power. What is more, given the current theme of CUTS that Bush articulated at his State of the Union Address, it is plain that it is those in America that can least afford to who are paying corporate highwaymen such as Custer and Battles - and yet these crooks may well escape accountability. Bush and Co would no doubt see that as a splendid result.
For further background reading regarding Custer Battles and the games they play see an interesting item posted in October 2004 by The Moscow Times........
It's another story of the American Dream come true, the kind you see every day in George Bush's blessed realm. All the usual inspiring elements are there: a couple of plucky kids starting a business with nothing but hustle and a whole lotta heart; a few lucky breaks crowned with big-time success; a duffel bag stuffed with millions in cash from a war-zone slush fund; a father and son held hostage at gunpoint to block a corruption probe, then dumped in hostile territory with no papers, no money, no protection.
Yes, it's the story of Custer Battles LLC., a mercenary firm run by two former covert operators and Bushist Party bagmen who sharked up more than $40 million in the usual no-bid conquistador contracts from the rape of Iraq - and may have skimmed an extra $50 million in fraudulent cream, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Custer Battles is not, as you might think, named for that earlier undermanned, overconfident military incursion that ended in disaster at Little Big Horn. No, the ill-omened moniker comes from the company's founders: ex-Army Ranger and "Special Operations" vet Scott Custer and his partner, fellow Special Opnik Mike Battles, who also brings his experience as a clandestine CIA officer, FOX News commentator and failed Republican congressional candidate to the mix.
Although CB had no previous security experience, the plucky firm somehow won a $16.8 million no-bid contract to provide security for Baghdad Airport. This was followed by $24.4 million to take part in the gargantuan porkfest surrounding the replacement of Iraqi currency, along with sundry other hired-gun work - including a sideline in supplying military dogs for raids on Iraqi homes, which the company called a "beneficial interaction with civilians, lessening the cultural divide." Link to full article, and further interesting external links
I wish that I could tell you that the Bush Administration has done everything it could to detect and punish fraud in Iraq. If I said that to you, though, I would be lying. In our case, the Bush Administration has not lifted a finger to recover tens of millions of dollars that our whistleblowers allege was stolen from the Government.
Link to Alan Grayson testimony (pdf)
Link to DPC web page - includes the other witness statements
These documents make interesting and shocking reading. Given the enthusiasm with which the oil-for-food case against the UN is being pursued, the stark contrast in the Bush administration's pathetic response to these allegations, which are closer to home, indicates that the notion of integrity for this US government is, as always, subject to the higher laws of greed, politics and power. What is more, given the current theme of CUTS that Bush articulated at his State of the Union Address, it is plain that it is those in America that can least afford to who are paying corporate highwaymen such as Custer and Battles - and yet these crooks may well escape accountability. Bush and Co would no doubt see that as a splendid result.
For further background reading regarding Custer Battles and the games they play see an interesting item posted in October 2004 by The Moscow Times........
It's another story of the American Dream come true, the kind you see every day in George Bush's blessed realm. All the usual inspiring elements are there: a couple of plucky kids starting a business with nothing but hustle and a whole lotta heart; a few lucky breaks crowned with big-time success; a duffel bag stuffed with millions in cash from a war-zone slush fund; a father and son held hostage at gunpoint to block a corruption probe, then dumped in hostile territory with no papers, no money, no protection.
Yes, it's the story of Custer Battles LLC., a mercenary firm run by two former covert operators and Bushist Party bagmen who sharked up more than $40 million in the usual no-bid conquistador contracts from the rape of Iraq - and may have skimmed an extra $50 million in fraudulent cream, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Custer Battles is not, as you might think, named for that earlier undermanned, overconfident military incursion that ended in disaster at Little Big Horn. No, the ill-omened moniker comes from the company's founders: ex-Army Ranger and "Special Operations" vet Scott Custer and his partner, fellow Special Opnik Mike Battles, who also brings his experience as a clandestine CIA officer, FOX News commentator and failed Republican congressional candidate to the mix.
Although CB had no previous security experience, the plucky firm somehow won a $16.8 million no-bid contract to provide security for Baghdad Airport. This was followed by $24.4 million to take part in the gargantuan porkfest surrounding the replacement of Iraqi currency, along with sundry other hired-gun work - including a sideline in supplying military dogs for raids on Iraqi homes, which the company called a "beneficial interaction with civilians, lessening the cultural divide." Link to full article, and further interesting external links
posted by exoplanet at 9:29 PM
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