Thread: Pentagon under fire for waste of military supplies

Pentagon under fire for waste of military supplies

IAN BRUCE June 09 2005

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/40909.html
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THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
Sunnis are also accused of forming the backbone of the raging two-year insurgency and pushing Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
However, Sunni Arab support is crucial for the new government, particularly to approve a new constitution, on which a referendum will take place this year. Sensing their key role, Sunni leaders demanded a more seats on a parliamentary committee that will draw up the constitution.
THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
Sunnis are also accused of forming the backbone of the raging two-year insurgency and pushing Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
However, Sunni Arab support is crucial for the new government, particularly to approve a new constitution, on which a referendum will take place this year. Sensing their key role, Sunni leaders demanded a more seats on a parliamentary committee that will draw up the constitution.
THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
Sunnis are also accused of forming the backbone of the raging two-year insurgency and pushing Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
However, Sunni Arab support is crucial for the new government, particularly to approve a new constitution, on which a referendum will take place this year. Sensing their key role, Sunni leaders demanded a more seats on a parliamentary committee that will draw up the constitution.
THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
Sunnis are also accused of forming the backbone of the raging two-year insurgency and pushing Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
However, Sunni Arab support is crucial for the new government, particularly to approve a new constitution, on which a referendum will take place this year. Sensing their key role, Sunni leaders demanded a more seats on a parliamentary committee that will draw up the constitution.
THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
Sunnis are also accused of forming the backbone of the raging two-year insurgency and pushing Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
However, Sunni Arab support is crucial for the new government, particularly to approve a new constitution, on which a referendum will take place this year. Sensing their key role, Sunni leaders demanded a more seats on a parliamentary committee that will draw up the constitution.
THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.
Sunnis are also accused of forming the backbone of the raging two-year insurgency and pushing Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
However, Sunni Arab support is crucial for the new government, particularly to approve a new constitution, on which a referendum will take place this year. Sensing their key role, Sunni leaders demanded a more seats on a parliamentary committee that will draw up the constitution.
THE US defence department spent nearly £250m on combat boots, tents, tyres and medical supplies and then sold them at discount prices as "surplus to requirement" before ordering more of the same, according to a government watchdog.
The wasted funds could have bought 1700 urgently needed Humvee patrol cars for troops in Iraq and ended a frontline body-armour shortage, said the report, published yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office says the items identified were only the tip of a waste and inefficiency iceberg which included £2.1bn worth of kit scrapped in 2002-2004 while still in perfect condition.
Most of the equipment, in-cluding uniforms and a nuclear submarine power-supply system on the Pentagon's "critical shortage" list, was donated outside of the defence department, sold for "pennies on the dollar" or destroyed.
Investigators said only about 12% of spares and equipment classified as "excess to inventory" was eventually used by the military, even though most of it was new or almost new and in perfect working order.
The report provoked cross-party condemnation from the congressional government reform sub-committee.
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the only beneficiaries of Pentagon mismanagement were firms selling items to the military. "Federal contractors are reaping a bonanza while the taxpayers are being gouged," he said.
Christopher Shays, the Republican committee chairman, said: "Waste on this scale affects our ability to meet the immediate needs of men and women in uniform."
The Pentagon is expected to suffer a fresh blow today as the US army reports a 25% shortfall in recruitment in May, the fourth consecutive month in which the number of volunteers has not met targets.
At least 1680 US military members have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
The insurgency has also had devastatating consequences for ordinary Iraqis. At least 889 people have been killed since the new Shi'ite-led government was announced April 28.
At least 11 more Iraqis were killed yesterday, while 10 militants were slain in the northern city of Tal Afar, where US-Iraqi forces launched a joint offensive on Tuesday.
Four militants died when a bomb in a car they were driving exploded prematurely. Six others were killed in a gun battle with Iraqi and US troops.
Four US soldiers died in separate attacks north of Baghdad, the military said.
However, in a sign that some rebels have been reconsidering their bloody campaign, a senior US official confirmed negotiations were under way between Sunni leaders and insurgents interested in embracing the political process.
Ayham al Samarie, a Sunni Arab politician, had said on Tuesday that two militant groups were willing to negotiate with the government.
In Baghdad yesterday, the president praised a Shi'ite Muslim militia, further angering Sunni Arabs, who accuse the armed group of terrorising and killing members of their once dominant community.
The remarks about the Badr Brigade by Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, may add to the growing alienation felt by Sunni Arabs, a sidelined minority since Saddam Hussein, their former patron, was ousted.