Pentagon wasting so much money, it stopped investigating who wasted $800 million

[DetlefK]

Last edited Fri Nov 13, 2015, 11:41 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/its-cam-american-way-war-21st-century

In 2011, the final report of the congressionally mandated Commission on Wartime Contracting estimated that somewhere between $31 billion and $60 billion taxpayer dollars had been lost to fraud and waste in the American “reconstruction” of Iraq and Afghanistan.

A $75 million police-academy in Iraq where feces rained through the ceiling. The american construction-company promised to repair it... for another $75 million. There's still feces and urine dripping through the ceiling.

$40 million for a prison that was never finished.

$3.4 million went to an iraqi construction-company to build a teaching-center in Afghanistan. They took the money and walked away.

$300 million to build roads in Iraq. 25% was siphoned off by the company and the rest was used for 100 miles of road... 10 times what other roads cost.

$2.58 million for a chicken-processing-plant in Iraq that never processed a chicken.

$50 million for a military-headquarter in Afghanistan that the US-military didn't want and tried to stop from being built, but Congress forced it through.

465,000 small arms that the US shipped to Afghanistan and lost track off.

Most recently, there was the Task Force for Business Stability Operations, an $800-million Pentagon project to help jump-start the Afghan economy. It was shut down only six months ago and yet, in response to requests from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the Pentagon swears that there are “no Defense Department personnel who can answer questions about” what the task force did with its money. As ProPublica’s Megan McCloskey writes, “The Pentagon’s claims are particularly surprising since Joseph Catalino, the former acting director of the task force who was with the program for two years, is still employed by the Pentagon as Senior Advisor for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism."

$43 million for a compressed natural gas station (10 times the cost of an ordinary gas-station)... in an area in Afghanistan where there are neither natural gas nor cars who run on natural gas.

$15 million in fuel sold by US-soldiers to Afghans on the black-market.

$25 billion to create an iraqi army... that employed 50,000 "ghost soldiers" who only existed to have their salaries siphoned off by corrupt commanders.

25% of the afghani police are estimated to consist of such "ghosts".

$384 million to train 200 US-friendly syrian rebels. According to congressional testimony, out of those 200, only 4 or 5 are still in the field in Syria. The General who oversaw this program is in line for a promotion.


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2014: Pentagon says 90% of its funds can now be audited
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-10-02/pentagon-says-it-s-ready-for-audit-after-years-of-delays

2015: Marine Corps fails audit, auditors get overruled, Marine Corps magically passes audit
http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-marines-audit/


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You know what the Pentagon needs?

More money.

[Rex]

1. Of course! We must let 30 million children starve each night in America.

Social welfare...bad. Death welfare...good.

[phantom power]

2. Military spending is the only 3rd rail in modern politics. Everything else is "on the table."

[Dustlawyer]

14. They will not even think about cutting the budget of the biggest tax waste we have.

There would be no need to cut the social safety net if we audited the Pentagon, in fact we would see that we could eliminate probably half of what we spend and still not weaken the military at all. The Pentagon's budget is where the MIC steals our tax money, so much that we could fund all of the regulatory agencies as they should be, fund education, and increase the social safety net among other things.

Our priorities have been to give the corporations whatever they ask for since the corporations bought our Representatives to do just that. If we attack the root problem of campaign bribes and lock the revolving door we would find that we have the money to do what we really need without taking it from the poor and middle class. TPTB would lose their control of our politicians if we can fight for and get Publicly Funded Elections (PFEs)! Currently there is only one candidate that is calling for PFEs, Bernie Sanders!

[liberal N proud]

3. Whats' important is the money wasted on welfare

Forget about all the billions that are being wasted on military things, concentrate on those people who are on welfare and make sure were not giving a few million to people who are in need.

What would billionaires do if the government stopped giving them more billions? You can't expect them to spend money they already have put in offshore accounts.

[n2doc]

5. Don't forget climate research !

All them eggheads making millions off of bogus global warming studies

[bemildred]

4. The Pentagon is so corrupt that it cannot affort to let itself be investigated.

And no, I am not exaggerating.

[erronis]

8. A five-sided House of Cards that War and Fear built. You nailed it.

Whip out those flags and patriotic slogans. That'll take care of the whiners who wonder why the money can't be spent on keeping the people and the infrastructure in good shape.

Slap some flags on the coffins and blow a bugle slowly to honor those that gave their lives so the brass and the beltway bandits can enjoy their dishonor.

[kwolf68]

6. Liberal Media? Hello? Hello?

I have seen this stuff in the Liberal media every day and twice on Sunday. Yea, I can't get enough of it. It's everywhere....so much news about the waste at the Pentagon. Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media Liberal media

Wait, what?

[Fred Sanders]

7. The Great American Sacred Cow is milking it's owners...when is that going to be corrected?

Why do weapons always get a pass in America...it makes no sense and verges on insanity.

The media must be all over these massive wastes of hardworking taxpayers hard earned money, am I right?

[valerief]

9. Don't most people know the military budget is a welfare program for war profiteers?

Oh, no. They think it's actually for FreeDUMB.

[Plucketeer]

11. And WHO

on the Democratic ticket - do these MIC cretins support??? Hmmmmmmmmm.... that's a tough one.

[libodem]

10. Bookmarked

OMFG!

[bbgrunt]

12. this. k and r.

[bulloney]

13. What's a few hundred-million when you regularly deal with trillions?