David Phinney: October 2007 Archives

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October 31, 2007

Private Security Protecting Army General

US Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4075

Q That's okay. Help us understand why senior U.S. military officers, such as General Dorko yesterday, are protected by private security contractors and not U.S. troops.

MR. MORRELL: My understanding of that is limited, but let me suggest this. I think this is a very limited case. I don't think this is indicative of how general officers operate in Iraq. He, as I understand it, was from the Army Corps of Engineers and works with a group that is basically comprised of civilians. And this, I think, has to do with Iraqi reconstruction and so forth. And for that reason, I believe that there were contractors procured for his protection.

I think this gets back though, Jamie, to the overall issue of dedication of resources. We simply do not have the resources to do everything that perhaps we would like to do. And so you have to make choices about where they can best be used. And it's our belief that our highly trained and competent U.S. military personnel are best used going after the enemy, going after al Qaeda, and that's why certain fixed structures are protected by contractors and that certain personnel, as you mentioned with General Dorko, are protected by contractors. I also think it may be in the case of that group an effort to prevent less of a militaristic face to the endeavor, to reconstruction.

Q If you had more resources, if you had more troops, would it better if U.S. generals were protected by U.S. troops? Or is it just as good or fine for them to be protected by contractors?

MR. MORRELL: I think, by and large, U.S. generals are protected by U.S. troops.

Q Well, those who command combat forces, I take it, but --

MR. MORRELL: Well, for example, when we go to -- when anybody goes to Iraq, when they go to the international zone, you're protected -- all of us there are protected by private contractors. I mean, you've got Triple Canopy who protects the compound there. So I think at some point or another we all benefit from the protection provided by private security contractors -- you know, generals, civilians alike. Now when they leave the wire, that's another question.

Q I guess the only thing I was getting at was whether this arrangement with private contractors in some cases is a bit of a compromise, or is it seen as essentially equally good as protection by the U.S. military?

MR. MORRELL: I don't know if I would characterize it as equally as good; it could well be. I'm just not an authority on such matters.

What I would suggest you do, though, Jamie, is talk to specifically the Army Corps of Engineers about why it is they felt it best that General Dorko be protected by a private security contractor. I can only guess that it had to do, perhaps, with resources and it had to do, perhaps, with the image that they wanted to project to the Iraqi people in the areas they operated.

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Private Soldiers Fuel Fijian Economy

Here's the lead: "On the post-Sept. 11 battlefield, Fiji is marketing for hire its 3,500 active soldiers, 15,000 reservists and more than 20,000 unemployed former troops."

According to Bloomberg's A. Craig Copetas, "Fiji is a martial culture with no problem in fashioning a gross domestic product that includes mangoes and mercenaries."

Since 1978, Fiji has outsourced more than 25,000 troops to the UN, the British Army and independent mercenary contractors -- and sent home $300 million over almost 30 years. In 2003, the mercenaries brought about $9 million in wages to Fiji -- including the 1,000 Fijians deployed to private security contractors in the Middle East, Copetas relates, who adds that eight Fijians have been killed in Iraq.

Soldiers for Hire: A highly trained Fijian soldier can earn about $1,700 a month. That's about 3 percent of the $50,000 a month those same companies will pay for a retired and similarly seasoned U.S. or British combat trooper. ($50,000 sounds high for the going rate to me, but you get the idea.)

That is a good buy for the United Nations peacekeeping missions, apparently.

The UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the multinational force with an annual budget of $5.5 billion and about 100,000 personnel serving in 18 security actions globally, has 243 Fijian troops deployed in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. It sees Fijian soldiers as a cut-rate blessing.

Here's the story.

In the abstract, it is understandable to appreciate the need for private military companies in supporting the military around the world -- ideally, the bring professionalism, experience and a quick, just-in-time response. But the practice also raises some very poignant and substantive questions:

-- What does it say about a nation that relies heavily on paying citizens of other countries to wage war?
-- To what extent should private soldiers engage in war rather than having a nation invest its collective will with a military draft?
-- And if a draft is not politically possible, if, indeed, a draft is political suicide, should there be a long-term war at all?

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October 26, 2007

Embassy Contracts under Review

Contracts won by Baghdad embassy builder First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting are "under review," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice revealed during a congressional hearing Thursday.

Rice was answering questions from Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., about why the State Department awarded the Baghdad contract to First Kuwaiti in 2005 despite allegations that the company and its founder, Lebanese businessman Wadih al Absi, engaged in a $200,000 kickback scheme on unrelated Army contracts in Iraq.

Following up on the admission, McClatchy reporter Warren P. Strobel confirmed the brief comment with other U.S. officials who said the State Department is "looking at three other subcontracts given to First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co. to build embassies and consulates in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the African country of Gabon."

Apparently, the company's future business depends on how quickly it resolves the problems in Baghdad, "where the massive $740-million embassy complex is behind schedule due to a series of fire safety, electrical and other flaws."

Here's the story.

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October 25, 2007

Just Business: Buying a US Embassy Contractor

An Update: Apparently, the sale of the Baghdad embassy contractor's US partner is a done deal -- or nearly a done deal. (Sorry about the earlier typos... I was typing in the dark in an SUV in the back country.)

According to documents: Robert Farah, Paul Jureidini and Robert K. Kelley are the key players to taking control of Grunley Walsh International (according to documents), which recently won over $200 million in new State Department contracts for embassy and consulate construction in Saudi Arabia, Gabon and Indonesia. The Baghdad embassy contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting is the prime subcontractor to the three new contracts.

First Kuwaiti is being bombarded these days by allegations of shoddy construction, horrid labor abuse, worker smuggling, sloppy security and bribery.

Farah of Alexandria, Va., Jureidini of Mechanicsville, Va., and Kelley of Chevy Chase, Md., have apparently formed a Delaware corporation called FJK Holdings, according to documents provided to me that appear to be prepared by the Washington law firm, Morrison & Foerster. (The firm is a big reader of this silly blog. Say hello to my site meter guys!)

Robert Farah: Is the former Washington representative to First Kuwaiti. He has represented the controversial Kuwait-based, Lebanese-run contractor at State Department meetings. Lebanese by birth, Farah is also a former information officer and secretary-general for political affairs of the Lebanese Forces political party from 1986 until at least 2001. His first recorded political contribution to a US national election was in June 2006 when he gave $25,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Farah began making moves around September 2006 to purchase Grunley Walsh’s newly-formed Grunley Walsh International soon after Grunley landed its first embassy work with First Kuwaiti as its prime subcontractor.

Paul Jureidini: Appears to be an associate of Armitage and Associates for many years, an organization run by the former Deputy Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005, Richard Armitage. Armitage was a campaign foreign policy adviser to George W. Bush in 2000 and part of a group led by Condoleezza Rice that called itself The Vulcans.

Robert K Kelley: Is a vice president of the public relations firm Audreac and Associates and serves an adviser to Bell Pottinger USA in Washington, DC., according to one document, which claims that Pottinger presently has classified contracts with the Multinational Corps Iraq at Camp Victory, Iraq. First Kuwaiti has a large logistics presence at Camp Victory, as well. Pottinger's mother ship owner is UK-based and ran public relations efforts for the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2004.

Posted by davidphinney at 09:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Baghdad Embassy Contractor and the Lebanese Forces?

Ok. So we know that the Baghdad embassy contractor, First Kuwaiti, is run by Lebanese in Kuwait.

And we know that First Kuwaiti's former Washington representative, Robert Farah, has been trying to buy First Kuwaiti's US partner Grunley Walsh, a company that has already landed First Kuwaiti more US embassy work around the world.

We also know that Farah

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October 24, 2007

Baghdad Embassy Contractor Wins More US Contracts

Despite allegations of poor construction, lousy and abusive labor practices and missed deadlines for completion, the Kuwaiti contractor building the new $592-million-and-counting US Embassy in Baghdad has been quietly bagging new lucrative contracts to build US diplomatic compounds around the world.

In September, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co., won a $122-million State Department contract to build a U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, McClatchy reporter Warren P. Strobel has confirmed. Additionally, First Kuwaiti has won US embassy and consulate work over the past 13 months in Libreville, Gabon and a consulate in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Total Amount of Contracts: Well over $200 million.

First Kuwaiti has only been able to win more US State Department embassy work because it partnered with the US firm, Grunley Walsh LLC of Rockville, Md. Apparently, First Kuwaiti wields a hefty influence over management of Grunley Walsh's international operations.

Why? Because US law requires that only U.S. firms can bid on embassy construction as the prime contractor.

Strobel notes:

But industry analysts said that First Kuwaiti appears to be the financial muscle behind the partnership with Grunley Walsh. Lebanese businessman Wadih al Absi founded the company in 1996. News reports and Middle East experts say that Absi is a supporter of Lebanese Christian politician Michel Aoun, an ally of Syria and the Iranian-backed Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Last year, First Kuwaiti's Washington representative, Robert Farah, began negotiations to buy Grunley Walsh. Farah told me recently that the negotiations were ongoing, but one State Department source believe that Farah and two other unnamed partners were successful in the purchase.

Here's Strobel's story.

Here's mine.

Most Amusing: First Kuwaiti has hired the public relations firm, Saylor Company, according to Strobel. The firm claims to specialize in "crisis" public relations and " is known for handling high stakes communications."

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Check Out My New Website

www.theroughcut.net

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Privatized War is Here to Stay

Taking the stance that the U.S. is fighting a war in Iraq with more private contractors than military personnel with a ratio estimated at around 180,000 contractors to 160,000 uniformed personnel, Reuters columnist Bernd Debusmann dishes up his realistic analysis:

Even if there were political will to stop using civilians for roles previously carried out by the military, it would take years to reverse a relentless trend towards outsourcing that began with the end of the Cold War and has accelerated since.

Here's the Reuters column.

Meanwhile, The New York Times weighs in with a review of the US State Department's explosive reliance on outsourcing in troubled spots: State Department Use of Contractors Leaps in 4 Years.

The amount of money the State Department pays to private security and law enforcement contractors has soared to nearly $4 billion a year from $1 billion.....

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Iraq Revokes Security Contractor Immunity

The Iraqi government has decided to revoke immunity from prosecution that the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority extended to private security companies operating in the war-ravaged country, according to journalist Ammar Karim.

"The cabinet held a meeting yesterday and decided to scrap the article pertaining to security companies operating in Iraq that was issued by the CPA (Coalition Provision Authority) in 2004," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.

Article 1 of Section 2 of CPA order 17: Issued by then US administrator for the CPA, Paul Bremer, stipulates that the "multinational force, foreign liaison missions, their personnel, property, funds and assets and all international consultants shall be immune from Iraqi legal process."

The immunity granted to private contractors has become controversial since a series of shootings involving foreign security guards, the most infamous of them a September 16 shooting in which employees of the Blackwater firm killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad.

Here's the story.

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What Happened to Saba and Nashat?

Iraqi officials jailed two young men in the summer of 2005 for allegedly pocketing the wages of hundreds -- if not thousands -- of Iraqis working for the Sandi Group, a Washington, DC, firm doing a multi-million-dollar business in Iraq as the leading subcontractor to DynCorp's $1.2-billion Iraqi police training contract, according to sources familiar with the two men.

People working with Sandi who should know the details of the young Kurds, known as Nashat and Sabah, say they don’t know or ignore the question.

How much money did they allegedly skim from payroll? Company executives with The Sandi Group declined comment, but inside sources say salaries for Iraqi security workers averaged around $600 a month, and Sabah and Nashat are thought to have skimmed $200 off each monthly salary. Sandi documents represent Sabah as the chief of finance for the Sandi Iraq operations and Nashat as the chief of staff. If the two were in charge of a thousand workers, that could be $200,000 a month. Multiplied by 12 months and it starts adding up to big money: $2.4 million.

"When a worker complained, he would be threatened with being fired," one former Sandi employee says, who recalled Nashat driving around Iraq in a car with trunk loads of cash for payroll.

The Sandi Group and its affiliates once boasted of employing 7,500 Iraqi workers and claimed to be the largest employer in Iraq during much of 2004 and 2005.

MORE BELOW FOLD

Former Sandi employees recall Nashat and Sabah as two handsome and charming men from an area around the northern Iraqi town of Zakho, near the Turkish border. Zakho also is the hometown of Rubar Sandi, the hard-driving businessman and head of the company bearing his name. Employees recall Sandi fondly introducing Nashat and Sabah as his relatives -- some say Nashat even changed his name to Sandi. But the familial relations were more an expression of close national bonds and affection rather than blood. (Others remember Nashat's last name as either Younis or Hamed; and Sabah's as Permos or Bermos. Records represented as belonging to The Sandi Group provided by one former security guard identify them as Nashat Y. Hamed and Sabah Abdul Waheed Bermos.)

After immigrating to the United States in the 1970s, Sandi earned advanced degrees in business and economics and staked out a successful career as an entrepreneur, developer and financier. Now in his mid-50s, Sandi also cultivated friendships with prominent Republicans and became an active voice in pushing for the liberation of Iraq at the US State Department where he was an advisor in a pre-war planning effort, the "Future of Iraq Project."

Sandi returned to Iraq with the 2003 liberation and quickly scooped up interests in major hotels that were leased to other contractors, took an immediate interest in reconstruction, invested in the Al-Ahali Newspaper, and assembled the largest private security force in Iraq -- said to have numbered in the thousands.

"The Sandi Group was like an octopus," one former employee says.

At one time, sources say Sandi even entertained a bid for building the new $592-million US embassy in partnership with Philip Bloom, an American businessman who pled guilty in April 2006 to conspiracy, bribery and money laundering in connection to contracts in Iraq unrelated to Sandi. Although Sandi lost out on the embassy project, the State Department did award the company an open-ended agreement for work in Iraq when needed, including on the new embassy project.

Rubar Sandi boasted of his willingness to hire thousands of Iraqis and said it was fundamental to demonstrating support for the Iraqi people; something he encouraged other companies to do as well. Among those Iraqis that the company hired were Nashat and Saba.

"They knew Baghdad," said Louis Brown, who ran Sandi’s Iraq operation until autumn 2005 and was then based in Washington, DC as vice president of special projects until last spring before resigning. "I trusted them with my life."

Nashat, who began work with Sandi as a driver, and Sabah as an interpreter, soon rose to the highest levels of management in Iraq, Brown said.

Asked in March what happened to Nashat and Sabah and where are they now, Brown replied tersely: "I don't know."

One source laughed when told of Brown professing ignorance of his two Iraqi lieutenants, Nashat and Sabah. Loyalty and friendship may just be trumping candor.

"That sounds just like Lou," said the former employee. “But he knows exactly what happened to them and why.”

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October 23, 2007

State Department Inspector General Under Fire

(Sorry about the previous typos, guys. I am in the market for a new blog program.) The $592-million Baghdad embassy contract, the $1.2-billion police training program in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the security contract for Blackwater are all under intense scrutiny -- and so is the State Department Inspector General who is responsible for investigating these contracts after receiving credible complaints: Oversight body looks into complaints against State IG.

Circle the Wagons: GovExec reports that Krongard hired Barbara van Gelder for legal counsel. Van Gelder relates that allegations about Krongard having blocked his staff from investigations are based on “imperfect recollections.” Van Gelder recently defended the former White House contracting policy chief, David Safavian, who was found guilty in June 2006 of lying and obstructing justice as part of the Abramoff scandal.

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Iraq's Police Training Program Records in Disarray

The State Department so terribly managed a $1.2 billion contract for Iraqi police training that it can't figure out what it got for the money spent, a new report says (pdf).

Total Disarray: in invoices and records on the project -- and because the government is trying to recoup money paid inappropriately to contractor DynCorp International, LLC -- auditors have temporarily suspended their effort to review the contract's implementation, said Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart W. Bowen Jr.

Maybe investigators should look into DynCorp's relationship with its prime subcontractor, Corporate Bank, aka, The Sandi Group, aka, TSG.

This is what I found in Sandi documents:

When DynCorp hired Sandi’s Corporate Bank in October 2004 to build a regional camp with 24 living trailers at Ad Diwaniyah, Corporate Bank billed $1,194,197. One month later, Corporate Bank then hired the Hozan General Construction Company of Baghdad for $605,000 to do the work. Similarly, DynCorp agreed to pay $833,680 for a 16-trailer camp at Al Kut. Corporate Bank then hired Hozan for $388,000. In Karbala, DynCorp agreed to pay $809,520. Corporate Bank turned to Hozan for $388,000.

Here's a taste of those documents....

Where to Look: Other than my thumb drives, perhaps Sandi's new office. Sources confirm that a fire broke out in Sandi's old office in December 2006. Some say all the records disappeared. Others say the records were untouched by flames because the fire took place in the basement and first floor and all of accounting and proposals were kept on floors 2 through 4.

According to Bowen's Report: Records prior to October 2006 could not be validated at the State Department. However, since October 2006, incoming invoices from DynCorp have been validated.

Sandi's Interesting Staffing:

Tim Crawley: Left DynCorp as vice president of contracting last June (2005), joined Sandi as executive vice president and general manager. At DynCorp, Crawley was responsible for "making sure that any subcontracts awarded were in compliance with all laws, regulations, and company policies -- including (where required) competitive bidding, cost-price analysis, and eligibility for award of government contracts," according to a DynCorp source. Crawley has since left Sandi, I am told.

"There’s a lot of confusion about this,” Crawley said of the contracts between DynCorp and Sandi.

Russell Hugo: Served as the Regional Director for Oversight and Support for the Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In this role, he was responsible for financial controls and oversight for over twenty-five countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe -- presumably including DynCorp contracts. He is now Sandi's chief financial officer and senior vice president.

See: Marking Up the Reconstruction:

Of the seven major regional training camps ... none were visited by the State Department. The government contracting officer who authorized the spending on the projects told Bowen’s investigators that he "never visited the sites" because of security concerns and that he relied on reports from others regarding the status of the camps.

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October 22, 2007

Matt Drudge Rocks

There have been reasons for blasting Matt Drudge, but one has to hand it to him. More than a decade ago, his Drudge Report brilliantly pointed the way to the vitality of the Internet as a news medium. And personally, he stood tall against his critics -- largely in the mainstream news media who found his early years a threat to their pipeline of distributing news and among liberals who didn't like his sometimes erroneous meddling or huge impact in bringing President Clinton's affair with a White House intern to the forefront.

So congratulations to Drudge for receiving page-one coverage in the New York Times about his abilities to set the news agenda in the presidential coverage. The glowing story says:

The site is a potent combination of real scoops, gossip and innuendo aimed at Mr. Drudge's targets of choice -- some of it delivered with no apparent effort to determine its truth, as politicians of all stripes have discovered at times.

Aides in both parties acknowledge working harder than ever to get favorable coverage for their candidates -- or unfavorable coverage of competitors -- onto the Drudge Report's home page, knowing that television producers, radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters view it as a bulletin board for the latest news and gossip.

Here's the story: Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge

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UN on Mercenaries

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/17/africa/mercenaries.1-154107.php

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busted

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-14-iraqfraud_N.htm

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/halliburton200711

http://www.answers.com/topic/agility-logistics

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5230353.html

http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=148&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=14208&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1718&hn=pacificnewscenter&he=.com

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301255,00.html
FOX News has learned from other U.N. statements and through its own investigations that these include Eurest Support Services (ESS), a former branch of the British food giant Compass Group; Volga-Dnepr, a huge Russian air transport firm; Russian-based Avicos Insurance Company; Cogim, an Italian-based firm specializing in pre-fab construction, especially for military units; and Corimec Italiana, another pre-fab military provider. The Eurest contracts — for peacekeeping food services in Liberia and Eritrea — were worth more than $86 million.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119301147985666484.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Combating Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes

http://www.mediaforfreedom.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=4957

This year we noted several disturbing global trends which speak directly to the plight of labor trafficking victims. The first is the use of debt as a tool of coercion. In labor as well as sexual exploitation, illegal or illegitimate debt is increasingly used to keep people in servitude. This debt is employed by traffickers as an instrument of coercion, especially among migrant laborers. Migrant laborers from developing countries are often legally contracted by labor agencies or respond to ads to perform low-skilled work in developed countries. For this "privilege" they are required to make a steep payment up front for the services of the labor agency arranging the job or as a finder's fee that goes straight to the future employer. What follows is a terrifying set of circumstances in which unfair debt captures an indebted worker.

Debt bondage is criminalized under U.S. law and included as a form of exploitation related to trafficking in the United Nations Protocol To Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN TIP Protocol). As noted in our annual report, major source countries must do a better job of protecting their citizens against this exploitation. They can do so by limiting pre-departure fees to reasonable levels and negotiating formal labor agreements with destination countries to secure their citizen's rights while working abroad. Destination countries should be active in making foreign workers aware of their rights, in assisting workers to exercise those rights, and in criminally prosecuting traffickers.

Confiscation of travel documents including passports, identification and airline tickets is a form of coercion used to gain and exercise control over a victim. Without these documents, foreign workers are trapped, vulnerable to arrest, punishment, and deportation. U.S. federal law makes it illegal to seize documents in order to force others to work and foreign governments are encouraged to criminalize this form of coercion as well. Prosecution is an important prong in our assessment of a country's anti-trafficking efforts. The vehicle for successful prosecution is through strong national anti-trafficking laws that cover both sex and labor trafficking.

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October 21, 2007

Read It: 'Suicide Is Not Painless'

New York Times columnist Frank Rich delivers a scathing analysis of Pentagon and US government-guided procurement in Iraq begins with the suicide of Charles D. Riechers, 47, the second-highest-ranking procurement officer in the United States Air Force who killed himself by running his car’s engine in his suburban Virginia garage several weeks ago.

Riechers' job had been previously held by an officer named Darleen Druyun, who was sentenced to nine months in prison for securing jobs for herself, her daughter and her son-in-law at Boeing while favoring the company with billions of dollars of contracts. The Bush-appointed Pentagon inspector general delivered a report on Druyun to Congress was full of holes in 2005. "Specifically, black holes: dozens of the report’s passages were redacted, as were the names of many White House officials in the report’s e-mail evidence on the Boeing machinations."

Where is that inspector general now?: Joseph Schmitz, was already heading for the exit when he delivered his redacted report. His new job would be as the chief operating officer of the Prince Group, Blackwater’s parent company.

Blackwater's Lobbyist: Paul Behrends, who first represented the company as a partner in the now-defunct Alexander Strategy Group. That firm, founded by a former Tom DeLay chief of staff, proved ground zero in the Jack Abramoff scandals.

Alexander may be no more, but since then, in addition to Blackwater, Mr. Behrends's clients have included a company called the First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Company, the builder of the new American embassy in Iraq.

FYI: Paul Behrends now is a Partner with C&M Capitolink LLC, a subsidiary of Crowell & Moring, the law firm now representing First Kuwaiti. Attorneys Robert Nichols and Angela Styles, President Bush’s former procurement policy director, took First Kuwaiti's account to the firm last year.

Rich Continues:

That Vatican-sized complex is the largest American embassy in the world. Now running some $144 million over its $592 million budget and months behind schedule, the project is notorious for its deficient, unsafe construction, some of which has come under criminal investigation. First Kuwaiti has also been accused of engaging in human trafficking to supply the labor force. But the current Bush-appointed State Department inspector --guess what -- has found no evidence of any wrongdoing.

Both that inspector general, Howard Krongard, and First Kuwaiti are now in the cross hairs of Henry Waxman’s House oversight committee. Some of Mr. Krongard’s deputies have accused him of repeatedly halting or impeding investigations in a variety of fraud cases.

Here's the column Suicide Is Not Painless.

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October 19, 2007

Grapes and Sex and Government Contracts

Talk about low-hanging fruit:

A prostitute testified Wednesday that former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham fed her grapes as she sat naked in a Jacuzzi before they headed to a bedroom at a Hawaiian resort.

The woman testified at the bribery trial of defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who is accused paying the former congressman with $700,000 in cash and perks in exchange for help securing about $90 million in government contracts.

Wilkes has denied the charges.

I have as many grapes as a contractor can eat in exchange for finishing my kitchen.

The Associated Press has the story.

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Baghdad Embassy Coverup

A project manager and the State Department Inspector General covered up "enormous problems" in the management of the $592-million embassy project in Baghdad, McClatchy newspaper reporters Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay report today.

Problems became apparent after a mortar shell smashed into the sprawling new U.S. Embassy last May, damaging a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building:

The State Department contractor in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident. The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents.

Meanwhile: A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as they should have during the mortar attack.

More Delays: Problems with the fire suppression system were "serious," according to Patrick Kennedy, the State Department's director of management policy.

Joints in underground water mains supplying the sprinklers leaked when they were tested -- but he emphasized that this and other problems were discovered as part of OBO's rigorous inspections.

Asked when the structure would be ready to occupy, Kennedy said, "Soon. But I'm not going to tell you whether soon is in two weeks, or six weeks or eight weeks."

Here's the McClatchy story.

More details to follow when I get a moment.

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October 18, 2007

Blackwater Morphing

Robert Young Pelton's take on Blackwater -- as filtered by Dan Rather Reports on HDNet.

Petlon says the interview took place nine months ago, but was netcast only recently:

Go to minute 37:50 after first story:

Petlon and Rather talking about Blackwater.

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October 17, 2007

What is USProtect Doing in Iraq?

If these bribes between USProtect and the General Services Administration in California took place, you have to wonder how USProtect is going about its business in Iraq:

A former chief executive for USProtect, a security company pleaded guilty earlier this month to giving bribes to a contracting officer at the General Services Administration in exchange for helping win over $150 million in federal contracts for the company. (USProtect was formerly known as Holiday International Security Inc., before a name change in 2003.)

The executive and former cop, Michael B. Holiday of Silver Spring, Md., said in his plea agreement that he gave vacations and other benefits to GSA contract manager Dessie Ruth Nelson, age 65, of Oakland, Calif., in exchange for assistance in awarding three multi-million dollar contracts.

All of the contracts were in California for private security at federal buildings.

Nelson now faces charges by separate criminal information with accepting over $100,000 in bribes from Holiday and evading taxes on the bribe payments.

According to the Justice Department press release:

A former officer of the company, Richard S. Hudec, age 44, of Naples, Florida, also was charged by criminal information for a scheme to conceal material information from federal contracting officials -- including four prior felony convictions -- in connection with federal contracts worth over $150 million and tax evasion.

While USProtect CEO in 2003, Hudec was a sponsor of the famous "Gold Rush" conference in Washington, DC, for contractors wanting work in Iraq. He also had a long rap sheet -- four felony fraud convictions on his record and served time in prison as recently as 2001, according to federal court filings, The Washington Times reported.

USProtect keeps popping up at other reconstruction conferences, including one that featured Hudec as a panelist on Strategies for Entry in Iraq, What Will it Take to Structure a Deal and Eliminate Barriers of Entry? Developing the Right Practice, Setting the Stage for Effective Entry in Iraq.

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Unknown Number of Federal Civilian Workers

For many years, there was no accurate estimate on the number of contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan until The Los Angeles Times came up with a headcount that contractors now outnumber the miliary.

Apparently, no official count has been made for federal civilian employees either. The Washington Post reports that the Defense Department has sent about 6,000 civil service employees to Iraq since 2001 and the Treasury Department has assigned 75 to Iraq since 2003. Otherwise, "there is no tally of how many federal employees have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and the deployments vary by agency."

Reporter Stephen Barr continues:

Federal employees are generally not ordered into war zones -- though some, because of their occupation, can be assigned to hardship posts and left with no choice but to accept or resign. For Iraq and Afghanistan, agencies have relied on qualified employees who are willing to volunteer.

The money can be good: Up to $212,100 this year in base pay and differentials. Employees also are provided with trips home and rest breaks in the region.

One problem: The pool of qualified Foreign Service officers may be shrinking because of projected retirements. Mark S. Ward, senior deputy assistant administrator for USAID's bureau for Asia and the Near East, said more than 30 percent of USAID's Foreign Service officers are eligible to retire this year, and 46 percent will be eligible by 2011.

The story begins by recognizing the death of Steven Thomas Stefani, a U.S. Forest Service employee on assignment in Afghanistan, killed by a roadside bomb near Ghazni on Oct. 4 while serving as an agricultural adviser to a provincial reconstruction team.

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October 10, 2007

Baghdad Embassy Contractor Aims for More Business

Sloppy construction, safety problems, bribes, slave-like labor practices, missed deadlines, internal disputes and inflated costs -- the new $600-million US embassy compound in Baghdad is swamped in a rising deluge of allegations from lawmakers and the news media.

Meanwhile, the former Washington representative for the Kuwait-headquartered contractor now building Baghdad embassy project is actively negotiating to buy the contractor’s US partner company -- along with contracts for classified embassy work around the world that the US State Department awarded the two companies.

Alexandria, Va., real estate agent and businessman Robert Farah has repeatedly represented the Baghdad embassy contractor First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting at State Department meetings in Washington. Riding on the success of winning the Baghdad deal for the largest diplomatic compound in the world, First Kuwaiti then partnered up last year with Grunley Walsh of Rockville, Md., to win other US embassy and consulate contracts in other countries worth more than a $100 million dollars.

The wedding with a US firm appears to be a key strategy for First Kuwaiti's efforts to winning more State Department business because only US-owned and headquartered companies may perform classified embassy work. And soon after the Grunley Walsh won three new contracts in Africa, India and Indonesia in September 2006 as the lead partner, Farah began making moves to purchase Grunley Walsh’s newly-formed Grunley Walsh International for an undisclosed sum along with the new embassy work.

Nothing precludes Farah from purchasing the company, although the Lebanese national and naturalized US citizen (and a former information officer and secretary-general for political affairs of the Lebanese Forces political party from 1986 until at least 2001), could be prevented from taking on classified embassy work if he used other than US-sourced financing.

Nevertheless, Farah's timing and his affiliations with First Kuwaiti as well as First Kuwaiti's apparent muscle in the ongoing management of Grunley Walsh does raise eyebrows. As one State Department career officer noted: "It's a bit strange for a newly-formed firm to win three contracts worth $150 to $200 million and then sell the company."

But that is exactly what appears to be going on according to a draft letter laying out the terms for Farah's proposed buyout. The three-page, Dec.22, 2006, document stresses that Grunley Walsh holds "secret-level security clearances issued by the U.S. Government," which are deemed essential to a potential deal. "Given that the State Department contracts require the renamed Grunley Walsh International LLC to hold a security clearance, the acquisition can occur only if the (US State Department) doesn't rescind the current security clearance based upon the name change or the change in ownership."

Attorney Robert Nichols, who drafted the letter for Farah, also had recently represented First Kuwaiti, as did Miller Chevalier law partner Angela Styles, President Bush’s former procurement policy director. Both Nichols and Styles have since moved to a new Washington law firm, Crowell & Moring, where the two continue to represent First Kuwaiti.

One February 12, 2007, Grunley Walsh also began working with staff from a Lebanese firm closely associated with First Kuwaiti, according to a document provided by a source familiar with the companies.

A document obtained by me seeks approval from the State Department for 19 senior GMD employees working with Grunley Walsh for clearance on the newly-awarded embassy contracts. GMD, also known as Global Management and Development and based in Lebanon, took part in designing and building the Baghdad embassy project as well as First Kuwaiti headquarters in Kuwait, according to the document.

In addition to representing First Kuwaiti at State Department meetings, Farah represents and is president of the Global Management and Development Group. Farah said it is only a coincidence in the similarity of names and that Global Management and Development Group is based in Virginia.

"It can be very confusing. Everyone uses the words 'Global Management,'" Farah said in a telephone interview.

Meanwhile, the marriage of Grunley Walsh and First Kuwaiti continues to be promising. First Kuwaiti and Grunley Walsh International are thought to be poised for building a State Department project in Saudi Arabia. They also were believed to have been at the top of the list for building a new US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, that the US State Department nixed this summer after protests from the U.S. ambassador there who said the area was unsafe.

Canceling the project caused a stir within the State Department because the department’s Overseas Building Operations division, known as OBO, had already purchased land for the project for more than $22 million, according to ABCnews.com. Friction became so great that the U.S. Embassy refused to allow a State Department official managing the project, James Golden to enter the Lebanon by denying normally standard "country clearance."

Golden is an independent contractor hired by OBO to lead the independent contractor who plays an influential hand in the award of embassy construction in trouble spots around the world, including the Baghdad embassy. Multiple sources say he has spent much of his time in Kuwait and Baghdad where he played a guiding role in awarding contracts to First Kuwaiti and its subcontractors

Asked about his affiliation with First Kuwaiti, Farah said he had not worked the company for "six or seven" months, but that he was still actively negotiating a purchase of Grunley Walsh International. "Money is not a problem."

Representatives of Grunley Walsh and First Kuwaiti have not responded to numerous inquiries about their association, although it appears First Kuwaiti does wield a hefty hand in Grunley Walsh's management, according to emails and documents obtained from State Department sources.

First Kuwaiti's general manager Wadih al Absi wrote in an email to Grunley Walsh president, Kenneth M. Grunley and Farah (using a First Kuwaiti email address), outlining the chain of decision making in their partnership:

"Since we care about our relation with GW (Grunley Walsh) whether it is sold out to Mr. Robert Farah or otherwise we need to set some policies and procedures in place as to avoid further complications and to continue a good and long working relationship" al Absi wrote in reference to embassy work supervised by the State Department’s Overseas Building Operations division, known as OBO.

More below the fold....

Among al-Absi’s demands, he notes:

The following is related to FKTC’s scope i.e. areas which do not require security clearance.

1. Both parties are fully aware and reconfirm that the arrangement of Prime/Subcontractor is solely for the purpose of satisfying the requirements of OBO. Each Party will be fully responsible for its own scope of work as per the initial agreement.

2. Prior to any written communications with OBO, GW shall obtain FKTC’s approval in writing. Any verbal communications shall not be binding and no decision may be formalized other than in writing.

3. GW will forward any communication received from OBO immediately to FKTC. Further FKTC shall be informed instantly of any conversations in relation to their scope of works.

4. GW shall not enter into any contracts or agreements without prior written approval of FKTC. FKTC will undertake all negotiations and finalize any agreement. GW will bear any consequences to any agreements entered without prior written approval of FKTC.

5. GW will be responsible in regard to all requirements related to their scope of works including but not limited to design requirements and personnel.

6. FKTC is responsible for providing the bonding/LC’s for any of the awarded jobs and the charges thereof shall be shared by both parties pro-rata to their scope of works.

7. GW will forward to OBO or others any communications submitted by FKTC without questioning, provided that such communications would not negatively affect GW’s image and reputation. It is FKTC sole decision whether such communications are to be discussed with GW or not prior to submittal to OBO.

8. Each party will have full control over its scope of work including but not limited to execution, procurement, recruitment and subcontracting.

9. FKTC will keep GW informed about the progress of works as it goes and of any problem are being encountered.

10. GW will finalize and submit to the bank the letter of assignment of rights to FKTC in regard to their portion of the works.

11. GW and FKTC will agree on a liaison to communicate among GW, FKTC and OBO.

II. BIDDING FOR 2006 – 2007 - 2008

1. FKTC will decide which projects will be bid and as initially agreed each party will be responsible for the costs they incur in their own right.

2. In case GW are unable to participate within any of the bids then FKTC will arrange another cleared American firm as to participate within any such bids under GW supervision and GW fee will be agreed on.

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October 09, 2007

Embassy to be Finalized 'Later this Month'.... Huh?

Stop the Press: Charles Williams, director of the State Department's overseas building operations, told USA TODAY that the new embassy in Baghdad will be finalized later this month. The delay was shorter than those seen during recent construction of smaller embassies, he said.

Seems the State Department just can't get its story straight. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said just earlier today: "I can't tell you when the embassy is going to open.... We don't have an answer."

So what's the extra $150 million in added costs going to be spent on -- a sum that has grown since last week when sources originally suggested to me would be just $100 million over budget?

We'll see.... The House Government Oversight and Reform Committee is planning a hearing on matters related to the Baghdad embassy. It may be on October 16.

Here's the USA TODAY take.

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rory mayberry

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRPwwyno_c

Oliver North
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=22614#continueA

Perhaps that’s because “one of the most highly regarded staffs on Capitol Hill” has a few problems of its own. In July, while “investigating” hiring “abuses” in the construction of the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad this vaunted staff “invited” -- to use Mr. Waxman’s word -- Mr. Rory Mayberry to testify about how the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was being built by “kidnapped” Philippine workers.

At the time, Mr. Mayberry was described as a “whistleblower” who had “courageously come forward” to describe how unwilling Filipinos were dragooned into building our diplomatic mission. All the major news networks covered his shocking “revelations.” But this week, the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire revealed that the committee’s star witness “has a string of convictions going back to the mid-1980s, including two for forgery, one for burglary and a fourth for welfare fraud.” So much for good staff work.

Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298057,00.html
The whistleblower who told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was being built by kidnapped workers — now turns out to have a criminal record.

Rory Mayberry told the panel that he was on a plane to Baghdad in 2006 when 51 Filipinos broke out in panic when they heard they were going to work in Baghdad instead of Dubai. That led to Committee Chairman Henry Waxman accusing the company building the embassy of illegal labor trafficking.

But The Wall Street Journal reports Mayberry has a string of convictions going back to the mid-1980's — including burglary, forgery and welfare fraud. And it says he was fired by the company building the embassy after only five days — because he could not prove he had proper qualifications.

Waxman says he was unaware of Mayberry's past — but that his legal troubles were years ago. And Waxman says he has other sources for his allegations against the builders.

Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/09/21/tarnished-witness-in-iraqi-kidnapped-labor-allegations/

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Baghdad Embassy Delayed Indefinitely with Cost Overruns

The opening of the mammoth new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has been delayed indefinitely, according to Reuters as the Kuwaiti contractor "fixes a punch list of problems," the State Department said on Tuesday.

The sprawling complex, whose cost is edging toward $750 million, was set to open last month but U.S. lawmakers say shoddy work by the contractor and poor oversight by the State Department have delayed it.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack rejected claims of inadequate oversight and said there was no indication how long it would be before the new embassy opened.

"I can't tell you when the embassy is going to open," said McCormack. "We don't have an answer."

That "punch list" appears to have an estimated cost of $144 million, but McCormack suggested otherwise: original specifications of the contract changed after it became clear that more office and living space was needed for civilian and military staff.

Originally the Bush administration requested $1 billion in emergency funding to build what is touted as the largest diplomatic mission in the world. Congress balked and cut it back to $600 million, but apparently the sum is climbing skyward again.

Here's the Reuters report: Embassy opening in Baghdad delayed indefinitely

This development of delays and costs directly contradicts sworn testimony before US congress in July by the head of embassy construction who said: "We are slated to complete the project in September of this year and personnel can begin to move into offices and residences shortly thereafter."

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Waxman Takes More Swings at Baghdad Embassy Contractor

A leading Democrat in Congress is blasting the US State Department for apparently casting a blind eye on allegations of widespread construction flaws at the $600-million-and-counting embassy project in Baghdad.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, who chairs the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, also questions the background of the embassy contractor First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting. By relaying court documents and auditing reports, he expresses outrage of an alleged $200,000 bribe and inflated costs charged to the Pentagon for military trailers in Iraq.

Here's the letter: Documents Show Extensive Flaws in Iraq Embassy Construction.

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October 08, 2007

What a Difference Ten Years Makes

In September 1997, Linda Tripp began secretly began recording telephone conversations with her 24-year-old friend, Monica Lewinsky, regarding Lewinsky's Oval Office affair with President Clinton. Tripp handed those tapes over to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in January 1998 as unrelated evidence to the investigation of the Whitewater, a failed investment deal in Arkansas land l that Clinton and his wife, Hillary, had been involved in.

So began the second impeachment in history of a president: There were very few other scandals for the Republican-contolled Congress or the news media to latch onto, but after spending millions of dollars on investigations and hearings on the salacious extramarital-oral-sex-in-the-White-House probe, the Senate acquitted Clinton on Feb. 12, 1999. Everyone came to realize Clinton was squirming and lying about the unseemly affair, but his job approval ratings went through the roof and were some of the highest for any recent president -- 68 percent one month before the Senate trial.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061113/whitewater_to_blackwater
Starr was brought in last week by Blackwater to file motions in front of the US Supreme Court in a case stemming from the killing of four Blackwater contractors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah on March 31, 2004.

In 1997, he became the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, then headed by Republican Dan Burton of Indiana, who aggressively investigated the Clinton administration. "They issued over a thousand subpoenas," Waxman says. "I thought it was an abuse of power." Burton did not respond to requests for comment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lewinsky
In December 2006, Lewinsky graduated with a master's degree in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics[9] where she had been studying since September 2005.[10] Her thesis was entitled “In Search of the Impartial Juror: An exploration of the third person effect and pre-trial publicity.”
The Gap - the maker of numerous copies of Ms. Lewinsky's little blue dress - reportedly had difficulty keeping up with demand for the dress immediately following the breaking of the scandal in the news

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Embassy Contractor's Ties to Lebanese Politics Questioned

Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 09, 2007

BEIRUT: US congressmen are waging a campaign against Lebanese businessman Wadih Abssi to thwart his project to build US embassies in Riyadh and Baghdad "because he is one of the main financers of the head of the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc, MP Michel Aoun," a Kuwaiti newspaper said Monday.

Ar-Rai daily said "after Abssi was close to winning a $100 million deal to establish a US Embassy in the Saudi capital, a debate over the issue emerged in the US Treasury and State departments, as well as some decision-making centers at the Pentagon, Congress and the intelligence community."

"The US administration has also opened a thorough investigation into negotations over Abssi and other partners setting up a US Embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad," the report said.

"The $600 million project has witnessed many violations," it added.

According to the report, Republican Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, addressed a letter to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte last week, complaining about what he described as "the negligence" of contracting companies charged with building the US Embassy in Baghdad.

"Such negligence undermines the security and living conditions of some 1,000 employees of the State Department and other employees at the embassy who will live in Baghdad," Lantos said. - The Daily Star

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Auon

Free Patriotic Movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Patriotic_Movement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Aoun
Michel Aoun, a former commander of the Lebanese army who served as a transitory Prime Minister of one of two governments that contended for power in the final years of the Lebanese civil war (1988 - 1990). The movement was officially declared a political party on September 18, 2005.

U.S. Congressmen are lobbying against signing a deal with Lebanese contractor Wadih Abbsy to build the new U.S. Embassy compound in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, accusing him of financially backing Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported Sunday.
The newspaper al-Rai said some congressmen have launched a campaign against granting contracts to Abbsy for building U.S. embassies "because they confirm that he is one of the financial backers of Gen. Michel Aoun, who heads the Lebanese Change and Reform (Parliamentary) Bloc."

http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/0/187CF56069B8B7D3C225736D004A0136?OpenDocument

The report said Aoun is openly branded in Congress halls as a "licker of Syrian boots, a phrase used by Rep. Gary Ackerman in his address to congress while lobbying for approval of a new resolution pressuring Syria into halting its intervention in Lebanon's affairs and putting an end to the campaign of terror against the March 14 movement."

The newspaper said the Abssy file caused a row between the U.S. Treasury and State departments as well decision-making circles at the defense department, intelligence circles and congress after the administration launched a "thorough investigation into his role and (roles of) other partners in building the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad."
\
U.S. Congressmen are lobbying against signing a deal with Lebanese contractor Wadih Abbsy to build the new U.S. Embassy compound in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, accusing him of financially backing Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported Sunday.
The newspaper al-Rai said some congressmen have launched a campaign against granting contracts to Abbsy for building U.S. embassies "because they confirm that he is one of the financial backers of Gen. Michel Aoun, who heads the Lebanese Change and Reform (Parliamentary) Bloc."

OPPOSING ASSASSINATION OF LEBANESE PUBLIC FIGURES -- (House of Representatives - September 25, 2007)

Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, what has been happening in Lebanon is extreme aggression in the classic sense of the word. Through a campaign of assassinations targeting Lebanese parliamentarians and political figures; bombings in public places; threats to establish an alternative extra-constitutional government; and the instigation of a jihadi insurgency by the Fatah al-Islam, Syria, Iran, their bootlegging proxies, Hezbollah, Amal, and Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, have brought Lebanon's government to a constitutional crisis. Yet again, outside actors have pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war for their selfish interests.

Just 6 days ago, on September 19, a massive car bomb killed Antoine Ghanem along with five other civilians, and left many dozens of other bystanders wounded. Mr. Ghanem, a member of the Lebanese Parliament and a supporter of the Siniora government, was just the latest in a string of 11 political assassinations over the past 3 years. As a consequence of this pattern of violence, the March 14 alliance is two parliamentarians away from being murdered out of their majority.

Now is the time for this Congress to send a strong message of support for the democratically elected and fully legitimate government in Lebanon. Time, Mr. Speaker, is short.

The Syrian-backed campaign for murder is creeping ever closer to its goal of destroying the majority of the Lebanese Parliament, bringing down the government of Fuad Siniora, and imposing again a pro-Syrian president on Lebanon.

Fearing just this scenario months ago, I introduced H. Res. 548 with the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Pence, with Chairman Lantos and Representatives ISSA and BOUSTANY, two Members whose roots extend back to Lebanon. This bipartisan resolution expresses the strong support of the House of Representatives for Lebanon's elected government, and affirms our readiness to make that support tangible in order to help preserve and strengthen Lebanese sovereignty and independence.

The resolution condemns Syria and Iran for providing arms to Lebanese militias, particularly the terrorist group Hezbollah, and the Palestinian factions in Lebanon, in clear contravention of Security Council resolutions.

H. Res. 548 also endorses prompt action by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon established by the Security Council to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. Syria must know with utter certainty that the United States will never sacrifice justice in Lebanon to allow Damascus to escape accountability for its crimes.

The current Lebanese Government, which is under siege, is both legitimate and representative of the majority of Lebanese. The attempts to undermine it are not some kind of retaliation. Lebanon's government is being systemically attacked only because it is unwilling to subordinate its authority and Lebanon's sovereignty to external and extra-legal demands.

Quite simply, Lebanon is being bullied. And in light of this fact, the United States and the entire international community must come to its aid.

I would urge all of our colleagues to support the resolution.

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October 07, 2007

Jim Golden and Lebanon

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/07/us-plans-to-bui.html

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October 06, 2007

Robert Farah

Allegedly, this file includes the staff from Robert Farah s Lebanese company, Global Management Development, to Grunley Walsh. GW is First Kuwaiti s US Front company for embassy contracts.

Robert Farah was First Kuwaiti s lobbyist.

THIS IS FROM A SOURCE:

First - the players. Grunley-Walsh (GW) is a small Maryland general contractor capitalized at $5mil who managed to prequalify for and was awarded three OBO projects worth over $100mil in a single year: Surabay Consulate, Libreville Embassy, and a renovation in India that was subsequently cancelled for political reasons. GW's prequalification documents and bid proposal were rejected based on technical merits but at each step the contracting officer allowed them to submit additional information and clarifications that kept them moving forward inthe process.

First Kuwaiti Trading Company (FKTC) was awarded a sole-source contract to construct the new Baghdad embassy over Fluor Corporation. Fluor is a long-time USG contractor based in California and was clearly capable of doing the work but their proposal was rejected because they insisted that some of their cost elements should be awarded on a cost-plus basis due to the environment in Baghdad. FKTC was listed as a subcontractor in GW's prequalification and bid proposals.

Second - The situation. Financially, a contract in which the subcontractor is capitalized at several orders of magnitude more than the prime contract generally indicates that the sub is using the prime to gain entry into a market. Kellogg/Brown&Root and Fluor have both entered into ventures with minority firms in which they "mentor" the smaller firms and in turn get to participate in the project. The KBR and Fluor arrangements, however, are perfectly legal and sanctioned by the SBA and all parties are cleared US contractors. In the case of GW/FKTC, the larger subcontractor is a foreign firm with no security clearance who can clearly bring pressure to bear on their prime contractor as the memorandum below shows.

Having "successfully" finished the Baghdad embassy project, FKTC obviously wants to do more State Department work and they've now found a front company to help them do it. FKTC would not be able to bid directly on these projects because of the US Persons rule but their arrangement with GW gives them entre'.
I'm concerned about the situation because a) taxpaying US contractors are losing work to a foreign firm that has found a back door into OBO, b) a foreign firm may have the ability to penetrate our security and intelligence programs through their US front company, and c) a foreign firm has apparently developed inside contacts in OBO via the group that is managing the Baghdad Embassy project behind closed doors.

In late 2001, the leadership structure of the new LF was announced, with Malek as president, Jreissati as deputy president, Kassab as secretary-general for internal affairs, Farah as secretary-general for political affairs, Robert Farah, the head of the LF information office in Washington from 1986 to 1999;

Farah apparently contributed $25,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in June:
http://disclosure.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00075820/229680/sa/ALL/10

http://www.lebanon.com/news/local/1997/4/21.htm

Lebanese Forces- Overseas Conference

Lebanese Forces-Overseas conference held in Paris in presence of head of the LF-Overseas political bureau Robert Farah and 12 other members, including Ghassan Touma and Raji Abdou, both indicted of many charges by Lebanon's judiciary. The conference, held in the third anniversary of the arrest of Samir Geagea, ended yesterday in Paris. A one day enclave was held Saturday, in presence of the 13 member political bureau, additional to 80 other member of the central committee, who came from USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Sweden, Uk, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and France.

Some 200 LF members held a general assembly near Paris in presence of 200 more LF sympathizers. Robert Farah, who heads the 13 member political bureau of the LF-Overseas said they discussed the internal discipline, how to regenerate the LF, and reviewed the present political situation in Lebanon. He affirmed faithfulness to the LF jailed commander, who is regarded a s political prisoner, and seeking to liberate him with all political and democratic means.

Farah said they stick to the rebuilding of the state of institutions, in a one country for all, from within the national entente and real actual conciliation, to ensure balancing, in order to reach secure democratic life and stability. He also said they discussed the Pope's visit, for its importance, not only to Lebanon but to the backing of the region's real peace process, a peace which should be comprehensive, just, and final.

Farah said they were "acknowledged of what has been published in the media over a mediation by president Elias Hrawi with Syrian president Hafez Assad, aimed to release Geagea, but we are not yet confirmed of the report. Those seeking the good are numerous and president Hrawi may be in the lead. If the news on the attempt are true and correct, it will be in favour of the national high interest, since president Hrawi is the first who is entrusted on the constitution". Farah also said the release of Geagea , the political prisoner, would be a prelude to a real balance in the country and lift of unfairness toward large part of the Lebanese citizens". He said a Video tape on rebuilding institutions and excerpts of Geagea statements were viewed during the general conference emphasising the attachment to Lebanon as a country of democracy, justice, and equality for all its citizens.

Robert Farah -- First Kuwaiti Washington, DC, lobbyist. Lebanese and affiliated with Lebanese Forces, a Christian Lebanese political movement. Recently attempted to purchase Grunley Walsh International, the US partner of First Kuwaiti that is now building three new embassy projects and bidding for new project in Lebanon. Global Management Developmentrobert.
farah@firstkuwalti.com
(202) 478-1824
(202) 255-3106

Andrew,

This is all very raw, but very intriguing material from an anonymous source within State. Please keep it all on deep background with no fingerprints that may identify the source in anyway. The attachment reflects an aborted buyout attempt of Grunley Walsh by First Kuwaiti s lobbyist Robert Farah after GW landed three new embassy contracts.

The attached Miller Chevalier letter is fascinating because lawyers, including Angela Styles (former OMB Procurement Policy Chief), first represented themselves to me in September as representing First Kuwaiti. Now it looks as though they are representing Farah.....

I'm not saying that Baghdad has cost or schedule problems. I'm saying that Williams is beginning to use the "Emergency Project Office" (formerly the Baghdad program office) as his "black box" to handle problem projects like Beirut and Harari. He's developed a cadre of people under Jim Golden who operate behind a closed door and are not responsive to federal contracting laws and procedures. Williams can use his authority under the Foreign Buildings Act to waive requriements such as the US citizen rule, broad aspects of the FAR, and award sole source contracts. None of this appears to be subject to any scrutiny whatsoever.

DS = Diplomatic Security

DSS = Defense Security Service - provide security services to Federal contractors, such as personal and facility security clearances. These guys make me wonder.

On 1/23/07, David Phinney wrote:

That's amazing stuff.
So, the Baghdad project is behind schedule and over cost?
DS, I imagine is Department of State?
What is DSS?

David,

Long time no hear from.

Speaking with a friend in our contracting office today, I'm given to understand that the Baghdad office under Jim Golden has been renamed the Emergency Project Office. The Harare and Beirut projects have now been assigned to them. It appears that the "new" office will be the dumping ground for projects that have difficulties or are severly over budget.

This tactic will give Williams the ability to report to Congress that he is moving forward with sticky projects rather than having to go back to the till for more money or admitting that his execution plan for a particular project was faulty.

DSS has granted Robert Farah and Interim Secret security clearance which will allow transfer of the facility security clearance to the new firm. Although DS is unhyappy with this, DSS is typically not too discriminating. Farah is being investigated by various offices in other agencies and within DS but at this point his three projects will move ahead.

US Embassy Contractor Missing Laptop?

A laptop belonging to a high-level executive supervising construction of the new US embassy in Baghdad went missing in May 2006 at the Kuwait office of the contractor hired to build the new US embassy in Baghdad.

Multiple sources formerly working with the contractor have detailed the theft of the computer, but my questions to the State Department and the contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting, have been met with silence.

A missing laptop from May 2006 may be of concern if it contained information about any US government projects in Iraq -- or elsewhere. The company has collected nearly $2 billion in US-funded contracts since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

It may be of even greater concern since the laptop is said to have belonged First Kuwaiti's construction director, Samir Ida.

(Remember the furor or the internet posting of architectural renderings of the embassy by the American subcontractor Berger Devine Yaeger Inc.? They are now all over the web.)

This interview from more than a year ago discusses the missing laptop with one former First Kuwaiti employee:

Q: Sounds like you have a professional job?
A: This company does not have proper procedures to be professional.
Q: What do you think happened to the laptop?
A: Well, there is a big chance that someone stole it just to get some data out of it.
Q: Hmmmmm
A: They left a wallet with money and a mobile phone lying next to it. Those things weren't stolen.
Q: Could be evidence for a fraud case?
A: I think this is what freaked out the general manager so much. Whoever did it must have known a lot about this company.
Q: Do you remember when it happened?
A: It was May 27 (2006)

Following the laptop theft, word is that First Kuwaiti's general manager, Wadih al-Absi then ordered a virtual lockdown of his Kuwait office where more than 100 employees work. He is said to have wanted the building as "secure as the Pentagon." Al -Absi immediately installed video security cameras throughout the building, curtailed all internet access, forbid most employees from using floppy disk drives and thumb drives and ordered that all telephone calls be monitored and recorded, according to sources who worked for the company at the time.

This July 23, 2007, email is one of many I sent to State Department officials and First Kuwaiti. They have all been ignored.

Ms. French,

I am a journalist writing for Iraqslogger.

I have it on good sources that a laptop was stolen from a high level embassy contractor building the US embassy, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting. The computer disappeared at the end of May 2006 from the offices of FKTC and possibly belonged to Samir Ida, a top executive with the company.

I am also told that you have personal knowledge that this laptop was missing.

How important was this theft to the security of the embassy?

Was a formal report ever filed?

Was the missing computer ever located?

What corrective measures were taken after the theft of the computer?

Thanks, I am on deadline and a response at your earliest opportunity would be appreciated.

-------

Deadline? What a joke.

Posted by davidphinney at 04:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Rumors of First Kuwaiti Airplanes for People Moving

From spring 2006: The general manager for the US Embassy contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting has two airplanes the company can't register and is piloted by a German pilot named Wolfgang .... The general manager also has another plane piloted by Brits flying in and out of Kuwait and a fourth that may be registered.

Another source related around the same time: "Some people have rumoured that First Kuwait use Chapman Freeborn flights every Thursday on their 737 and also Phoenix on their 737 with other people carried by Air Cargo Integrators ACI out of Kuwait. We, of course, could not possibly comment on how accurate these rumours are. I am sure you can get to the bottom of things. Hope this helps."

Posted by davidphinney at 04:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Misleading Statements under Sworn Testimony?

Two months ago, a top US State Department official in charge of embassy construction gave misleading statements under sworn testimony about the new US embassy in Baghdad. He claimed that it would be completed on budget and on time. Now numerous news reports say that the project's completion will be delayed for months.

Sunday's Washington Post piled on with its own story:

The massive U.S. embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship, internal disputes and last-minute changes sought by State Department officials, according to U.S. officials and a department document provided to Congress.

This remarkable turn of events directly contradicts July 27 sworn testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by the State Department's Charles E. Williams, director of overseas buildings operations:

"We have received numerous accolades as to the extremely high quality of construction," Williams told the committee. "It is among the best.... We are slated to complete the project in September of this year and personnel can begin to move into offices and residences shortly thereafter."

Interestingly enough, Republicans sought to make political mileage in discounting sworn testimony by two witnesses, John Owens and Rory Mayberry during that same hearing about the embassy project. Both witnesses made allegations of faulty construction, worker smuggling and other abuses at the embassy project.

One Republican called Mayberry a professional "whistleblower." Another threatened to press charges against Owens for meandering on his answers about whether or not he had filed a fraud claim over shoddy construction at the embassy (Owens had just traveled 24 hours from Cambodia and he was not allowed to comment on the matter by his legal counsel).

Will Republicans now be equally hostile towards Williams? (Hey, didn't the Republican-controlled Congress impeach a president on a less consequential issue?)

More to come on this about "misleading" testimony by congressional witnesses and other statements by US State Department officials relating to the Baghdad project.

Posted by davidphinney at 04:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

My Mailing Address

The source wanting my geographic postal location needs to give me a proper email address or simply look me up.

Posted by davidphinney at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 05, 2007

New US Embassy in Baghdad Delayed

Widespread construction flaws and substandard work have delayed completion of the US State Department’s mammoth new $592-million embassy in Baghdad despite previous official statements that the ambitious fortified compound would be finished in September, numerous sources familiar with the project have been telling me for several weeks.

Those charges now seem to be corroborated by the Associated Press and Reuters. Both news agencies report that the sprawling, Vatican-sized embassy compound has been beset by construction and logistical problems.

"They are substantially behind at this point," and it would be surprising if any offices or living quarters could be occupied before the end of the year, one official told the Associated Press.

Reuters reports that in a letter to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Caif., said such delays raised concerns over the adequacy of the department's management of overseas building operations.
"These delays and deficiencies undermine the security and the living standards of almost 1,000 foreign service officers and other embassy staff that will be housed at the Baghdad Embassy," wrote the California lawmaker, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.

One uncorroborated source told me that the State Department is considering as much as $100 million in new spending to bring the new embassy compound up to snuff. Touted as the largest embassy in the world with over two dozen fortified buildings, the 104-acre compound spans an area equal to two-thirds the size of the National Mall.

Asked about the completion date, State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson stressed recently that the embassy project is nearly finished but that no determined time has been set for ribbon cutting. She said the official handover to the State Department and final inspection -- known as "accreditation" --has yet to be scheduled. Those things, Thompson said, won't take place until the project is deemed complete and State Department officials have combed through the compound "with a white glove."

The State Department spokeswoman also said that no formal requests for additional funding have been made although "the project is in a constant state of evaluation."

In July, the State Departments director for US embassy construction assured Congress in July that the contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting, would be completing the project in September.
"We have received numerous accolades as to the extremely high quality of construction," Charles E. Williams told the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on July 26. "It is among the best.... We are slated to complete the project in September of this year and personnel can begin to move into offices and residences shortly thereafter."

But some say that officials now may be scrambling to adjust the move-in schedule, which could be well into 2008, according to once source who insists that government inspectors have found "widespread and serious flaws" in the project and have refused to allow occupancy of the new compound until the problems are repaired.

Some of alleged troubling issues include poor water filtration, weak blast walls, electrical problems, sinking foundations and substandard water lines in the fire extinguishers. If true, these issues could take six months to address, the source said, who added that if more spending is called for, the sum may be veiled as new additions to the project, but, in fact, also cover up defective and incomplete work that "will be hidden forever."

The Associated Press quotes a State Department official saying there will be no additional funding and that "delays would have no direct cost to taxpayers because contractor First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Co. had agreed to deliver for a set $592 million price."

The project has come under increasing scrutiny of US Congress and an investigation by the US Justice Department into allegations of fraud and labor abuse.

The State Department's own inspector general also entered into the fray just days before being accused of ignoring allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse related to the project. The inspector genera was also singled out for "highly irregular procedures in exonerating the prime contractor, First Kuwaiti Trading Company, of charges of labor trafficking," by House Committee of Government Oversight and Reform chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat.

Sources say that Inspector General Howard Krongard opened an investigation of the embassy and First Kuwaiti after ignoring complaints for more than a year. just days before receiving Waxman's September 18 letter. "The investigation opened on a Friday and people were working until 9 pm that night," once source said.

The following week, Krongard then made a personal trip to Afghanistan and then Baghdad, sources said..

In January 2007, the Department of Justice contacted Krongard's office to request assistance investigating allegations of misconduct by First Kuwaiti, according to Waxman, who quoted an internal email stating that "the allegations are basically contract fraud and public ... corruption." According to the email, the public corruption allegations implicated a senior State Department offrcial overseeing the embassy construction project.

State Department project manager in Baghdad, Mary French, and First Kuwaiti have not responded to emails about the clams of faulty work, however some familiar with the project said the allegations may be overblown and reflect simple delays in finishing the details.

"No US embassy has ever been finished on time," said one former project manager of the Baghdad embassy project under contract with the State Department, Juvencio Lopez. "First Kuwaiti is a first rate company" and "had a first-rate team in place."

Lopez said two inspections of blast walls around the perimeter of the compound during construction by State Department inspectors had no "negative observations" although one perimeter fence needed replacement because it "just gave out."

But even Lopez speculated that the project will not be complete until well into next year. He said he recently met with Verizon on installing communications systems but that the company did not anticipate starting work until January 2008.

Another worker for the embassy subcontractor Hardline Installation, which installed security doors and windows, said talk about the delays are not surprising because of the security environment. "I know that the building is behind on the target opening day," he said. "The unsafe work is probably due to the fact that there are thousands of workers there from India, Philippines, etc., and they probably were not watched closely enough."

One former labor foreman claims that First Kuwaiti employed 2,000 to 3,000 migrant low-paid laborers from South Asia and Africa -- many more than were necessary if they had been skilled construction workers, he said. "Some were just goat herders from Pakistan and didn't even know they were going to work in Baghdad."

The new embassy project, located along the dusty banks of the Tigris River inside the US-controlled Green Zone, has lagged behind its projected finish dates in the past. The original target date was set for June 2007, but was first extended to July and then again to September. Some blame routine matters exacerbated by the war-time environment that delay shipments of needed materials and periodic interruptions caused by incoming rockets and mortars.

Posted by davidphinney at 03:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It Ain't Like the Clinton Years: Fawning over Chris Matthews

Friday's DC edition of the Examiner opens with what sounds like an explosive lead:
Chris Matthews had barely finished praising his colleagues at the 10th anniversary party for his "Hardball" show Thursday night in Washington, D.C. when his remarks turned political and pointed, even suggesting that the Bush administration had "finally been caught in their criminality."

The Clinton camp, he said, never put pressure on his bosses to silence him.
"Not so this crowd" he added, explaining that Bush White House officials -- especially those from Vice President Cheney's office -- called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content. "They will not silence me!" Matthews declared.

These are the words of the guy who made his TV career in 1997 on redfaced blabber fests over Bill Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewisky -- an event that inspired the Republican-controlled Congress to impeach the president .

GOOGLE COUNT:

"Chris Matthews" and "Monica Lewinsky": 63,900.

"Chris Matthews" and "Yellowcake": 16,100.

Hmmmm.... Is that White House pressure is working?

Of course not. Sex sells -- especially when you can ride the ratings all the way to impeachment.

ADDED NOTE: A Google foray just popped this up from the leftist Think Progress: Matthews Obsessed With Clinton Sex Speculation.

Of course, I am being flip, but it is telling that the most covered story of the Clinton administration was a blowjob. It was all the news media could do in what was likely the most affluent period in human history.

Posted by davidphinney at 09:12 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 01, 2007

philippine corruption

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-01-voa14.cfm

Posted by davidphinney at 04:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

David Phinney

The ROUGH CUT .... phinneydavid (at) yahoo.com

October 31, 2007

Private Security Protecting Army General

Private Soldiers Fuel Fijian Economy

October 26, 2007

Embassy Contracts under Review

October 25, 2007

Just Business: Buying a US Embassy Contractor

Baghdad Embassy Contractor and the Lebanese Forces?

October 24, 2007

Baghdad Embassy Contractor Wins More US Contracts

Check Out My New Website

Privatized War is Here to Stay

Iraq Revokes Security Contractor Immunity

What Happened to Saba and Nashat?

October 23, 2007

State Department Inspector General Under Fire

Iraq's Police Training Program Records in Disarray

October 22, 2007

Matt Drudge Rocks

UN on Mercenaries

busted

Combating Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes

October 21, 2007

Read It: 'Suicide Is Not Painless'

October 19, 2007

Grapes and Sex and Government Contracts

Baghdad Embassy Coverup

October 18, 2007

Blackwater Morphing

October 17, 2007

What is USProtect Doing in Iraq?

Unknown Number of Federal Civilian Workers

October 10, 2007

Baghdad Embassy Contractor Aims for More Business

October 09, 2007

Embassy to be Finalized 'Later this Month'.... Huh?

rory mayberry

Baghdad Embassy Delayed Indefinitely with Cost Overruns

Waxman Takes More Swings at Baghdad Embassy Contractor

October 08, 2007

What a Difference Ten Years Makes

Embassy Contractor's Ties to Lebanese Politics Questioned

Auon

October 07, 2007

Jim Golden and Lebanon

October 06, 2007

Robert Farah

US Embassy Contractor Missing Laptop?

Rumors of First Kuwaiti Airplanes for People Moving

Misleading Statements under Sworn Testimony?

My Mailing Address

October 05, 2007

New US Embassy in Baghdad Delayed

It Ain't Like the Clinton Years: Fawning over Chris Matthews

October 01, 2007

philippine corruption