Category: Corruption

Posted on

Bob Gates: Flat Out Liar or Just Feeble? + RECAP

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Corruption, Government, IO Impotency, Military
Winslow Wheeler

For months I have been reading in the press about Robert Gates “cancelling more than 30 [defense hardware] programs.”  A May 24 Bloomberg article by Viole Gienger (“Gates Says Military Cuts May Protect F-35, Submarines”) came up quick on a Google search.  Other articles credit Gates with “saving more than $300 billion” with these – presumably tough – decisions.

In case you are wondering where this imagery of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as a tough task master for out of control DOD procurement is coming, you need look no further than Robert Gates.

At a May 24 farewell speech to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Gates repeated his own claim, made frequently earlier, that “All told, over the past two years, more than 30 programs were cancelled, capped, or ended that, if pursued to completion, would have cost more than $300 billion.”  (See the speech at http//www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1570.)  A bit later he hammered home the point in case any of the press present missed the legacy Gates seeks for himself: “when it comes to our military modernization accounts, the proverbial ‘low hanging fruit' – those weapons and other programs considered most questionable – have not only been plucked, they have been stomped on and crushed.”

Robert Gates did not reduce the number of hardware programs in the Department of Defense; he increased them.  A term he has repeatedly expressed distaste for (“math”) proves him wrong.  DOD keeps periodic records on these sorts of things; DOD's Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) track the number of major hardware programs and their acquisition costs.  (Find them at http://www.acq.osd.mil/ara/am/sar/)

They show the following:

  • In September 2008, just before Barack Obama was elected and selected Robert Gates as his Secretary of Defense, there were 91 Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs).  They were projected to cost $1,648 billion dollars.

  • In April 2009, Gates announced the termination of various defense programs.  The SAR that next came out, in December 2009, showed the number of MDAPs had indeed declined: to 87 programs, costing a little less ($1,616 billion).

  • Nine months later, after Gates took some more whacks at the defense budget – if that's what you want to call them – the SAR that came out in September 2010 showed the number of MDAPs had increased to 94.  Their cost also increased – to $1,679 billion.

  • The most recent SAR, for December 2010, shows another increase, both in programs (to 95) and money (to $1,720 billion).

So, thanks to Secretary Gates “termination” of more than 30 programs “saving” us $300 billion, we now have an increase of four programs costing an additional $72 billion.

I have two questions:

1) Just what legacy should we be giving Mr. Gates?

2) What type of “math” will Leon Panetta use when he is made Secretary of Defense later this year?

See Also:

Continue reading “Bob Gates: Flat Out Liar or Just Feeble? + RECAP”

Posted on

The Big Uneasy: Corps of Engineers Exposed

03 Economy, 03 Environmental Degradation, 07 Other Atrocities, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Government, Military
Home Site

Phi Beta Iota: This is public intelligence at its best.  A methodical, deep, documented look at the corruption inherent in the Corps of Engineers that the politicians at all levels that enable that corruption with their own lack of integrity.  Below from the producer:

Filmmaker's Statement

Upcoming Screenings

Research Reports

 

See Also:

Graphic: US Counties Protected by Levees

Reference: Maps of the Post Flood Future Geography

Posted on

Bob Gates Spins Exit from Afghanistan

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Impotency, Military, Misinformation & Propaganda, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence
DefDog Recommends....

There are a number of points that don't ring true…….but before we look at these, one must identify who the “Taliban” Gates is talking about are….there is one Afghan Taliban (Mullah Omar), there is the Haqqani Network, there is the HIG (Hekmatyar), and now the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)is active in Northern Afghanistan.  This is a loose confederation that will support one another when it is beneficial and bear arms against one another when necessary.  The issues are: (1) abandon ties to Al Qeada……it is known that there is no strong linkage between the two at this point in time.  The Taliban are not looking to exert control over any territory larger than current Afghanistan (and the Pashtun belt of Pakistan).  (2) I am not aware of any pressure being put on by Coalition Forces that will induce the Taliban to the Peace Table.  Statistics do not bear out any of the spin emanating from ISAF about the Taliban being ineffective.  They are somewhat stagnant, however, they are demonstrating the ability to infiltrate into the heart of the Afghan military/government.  They are very active in the areas Karzai has declared as secure enough to allow the nascent Afghan National Army to exercise control. The most interesting part: As wars conclude, Gates noted, it is inevitable that “peace is made between people who have been killing each other.”  The Taliban, he added, is “part of the fabric” of Afghan politics. This suggests that this administration will declare victory and go home, only to aid the electoral process…..

Gates Sees Taliban Engaged In Talks By Year's End

Continue reading “Bob Gates Spins Exit from Afghanistan”

Posted on

Budget Reduction: $50M for Each Dead Taliban. Duh.

03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Corruption, Government, Military
DefDog Recommends....

Simple math, the cost of one dead Taliban, $50 Million…….

Cost of war in Afghanistan will be major factor in troop-reduction talks

,

Washington Post, May 30

EXTRACT:

The U.S. military is on track to spend $113 billion on its operations in Afghanistan this fiscal year, and it is seeking $107 billion for the next. To many of the president’s civilian advisers, that price is too high, given a wide federal budget gap that will require further cuts to domestic programs and increased deficit spending.

Rest of article….

Phi Beta Iota: The President and Congress do not control the government.  They have lost control in part because they lost their integrity.  Washington operates on 2% of the relevant information and substitutes ideology for intelligence and corruption for integrity.  Absent a compelling narrative rooted in the transparent truth, we expect no change between now and 2016.

See Also:

Continue reading “Budget Reduction: $50M for Each Dead Taliban. Duh.”

Posted on

Search: cribb, government of the shadows: parapo

Corruption, Searches

Thank you.  This web site now attracts “value-added” searches that help flesh out all that we have not been able to cover in the time we have been exploring “truth” as opposed to twaddle.  Rather than integrate a guest review of this book, we are providing here both a link to the book and to several other books along the same lines–the line is now drawn:  legalized criminal violent power versus collective non-violent bottom-up non-zero sharing.  What astonishes us is how many Nobel Peace Prizes have gone to those who are so deeply engaged in the global legalized criminal violent enterprise.  That marks the full extent of the network.

Amazon Page
Government of the Shadows analyses the concept of clandestine government. It explores how covert political activity and transnational organised crime are linked — and how they ultimately work to the advantage of state and corporate power. The book shows that legitimate government is now routinely accompanied by extra-governmental covert operations. Using a variety of case studies, from the mafia in Italy to programmes for food and reconstruction in Iraq, the contributors illustrate that para-political structures are not ‘deviant', but central to the operation of global governments.
The creation of this truly parallel world-economy, the source of huge political and economic potential, entices states to undertake new forms of regulation, either through their own intelligence agencies, or through the more shadowy world of criminal cartels.
Posted on

Bill Moyers Interviews Andrew Bacevich

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence
Richard Wright

The comments expressed in this interview exactly reflect my views–recommended!

Bill Moyers Interviews Andrew Bacevich

Thursday 2 June 2011
by: Bill Moyers, The New Press

Our finest warriors are often our most reluctant warmongers. They have seen firsthand the toll war exacts. They know better than anyone that force can be like a lobster trap that closes with each stage of descent, making escape impossible. So it was when the liberal consensus lured America into Vietnam during the ’60s, and again after 9/11, when neoconservatives clamored for the invasion of Iraq. With the notorious ferocity of the noncombatant, the neocons banged their tin drums and brayed for blood, as long as it was not their own that would be spilled.

Andrew Bacevich

One old warrior looked on sadly, his understanding of combat’s reality tempered by twenty-three years in uniform, including service in Vietnam. A graduate of West Point, Andrew Bacevich retired from the military to become a professor of history and international relations at Boston University, a public thinker who has been able to find an audience across the political spectrum, from The Nation to The American Conservative magazines. In several acclaimed books, including The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War, Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War, and his bestselling The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, Bacevich speaks truth to power, no matter who’s in power, which may be why he reaches both the left and the right.

Read rest of interview as published today by truthout.

Phi Beta Iota: The interview was done in 2008 and published today in truthout because of its high relevance to the decline and fall of America today.

Posted on

Crazy, Maybe True: US/Israel Role in Japan Disaster — State Eco-Terrorism, Nuclear or HAARP Trigger, Supplementary “Camera Bombs” from Israeli Security Company — Germany Being Blackmailed Also?

07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Sense-Making, Military, Peace Intelligence

Phi Beta Iota: The world is in an interregnum, between “rule by secrecy” and lies from power as the norm, and a very ugly baby Web 4.0 in which bottom-up truth struggles to emerge.  We will have a great deal of baby poop to deal with, but over time, public intelligence in the public interest will find its edge, and truths that shock publics into extreme action will emerge.  Below is are a few extracts from a very sharp and ably illustrated story, and one expert author's evaluation of that story.  Provided for information, “sharing our confusions.”  WARNING NOTICE:  This story should be read in conjunction with the recent Pentagon declarations that cyber-attacks will be considered a declaration of war. An Israeli virus in US nuclear control systems (attributed to Iran of course), with or without the help of the US Government, could be used to justify World War III starting with an attack on Iran and “precision” attacks on Pakistani nuclear facilities.  We believe Israel is “all in” at this point; and we believe President Obama and Congress have lost all semblance of control over the U.S. military-industrial-secret intelligence complex.

Jim Stone Freeland Journalist

Did the Dimona Dozen murder the Fukushima 50?

Fukushima may in fact have been caused by an act of war under the cover of an environmental disaster.


 

Continue reading “Crazy, Maybe True: US/Israel Role in Japan Disaster — State Eco-Terrorism, Nuclear or HAARP Trigger, Supplementary “Camera Bombs” from Israeli Security Company — Germany Being Blackmailed Also?”