Definitive Proof Republicans Are Unpatriotic And Do NOT Support Our Troops

[KittyWampus]

This is 10x more politically damaging to the GOP then the DSM, and yet DU'ers haven't picked up on it.

9 Billion Missing In Iraq, GOP Cronies Stole It & Our Troops Are UNARMORED


There's a story in LBN about a father having to pay for his soon to be deployed son's armor.

The vehicles our troops in Iraq are not armored either. And the manufacturers have plenty of capacity to build more.

9 billion dollars were stolen in Iraq reconstruction funds.

Custer Battles, a firm named for two GOP Cronies (Custer & Battles) is charged with stealing many millions of Iraq reconstruction funds.

Custer is on record as saying he runs freely in GOP Washington circles and Battles ran for office in RI as a Republican.

"After an interview with Custer in January 2004, agents from the Pentagon inspector general's office wrote, "Battles is very active in the Republican Party and speaks to individuals he knows at the White House almost daily, according to Custer." A White House spokesman had no immediate comment. "


The GOP controlled Congress has ensured there's no investigation into this theft our grandchildren will be in debt for.

The executives for Custer Battles are STILL getting contracts in Iraq.

...................................................................

"The lawyer, Alan Grayson, represents two former employees who charged in a federal lawsuit that the security firm Custer Battles LLC of Fairfax was paid approximately $15 million to provide security for civilian flights at Baghdad International Airport, even though no planes flew during the contract term. Grayson said the firm received $100 million in contracts in 2003 and 2004, despite a thin track record and evidence the government was not getting its money's worth.


A former Coalition Provisional Authority official who briefly oversaw the airport security contract also spoke, depicting a temporary governing body awash with cash but lacking in the necessary controls to ensure that money generated from the sale of Iraqi oil actually went to rebuilding the country.

"I wish I could tell you that the Bush administration has done everything it could to detect and punish fraud in Iraq," Grayson said. "If I said that to you, though, I would be lying."

The Pentagon has suspended Custer Battles from receiving new contracts, but Grayson said the Justice Department declined last fall to help pursue the case, now pending in federal court in Alexandria.

Lawyers representing Custer Battles have denied the charges and have argued that the case should be dismissed because the money that was allegedly stolen belonged to Iraqis, not to Americans. Grayson said that argument has the potential to turn Iraq during the authority's administration of the country into "a fraud-free zone," with contractors not subject to Iraqi or American law.

Yesterday's appearances were organized by the Democratic Policy Committee. Its chairman, Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), said the witnesses were called in response to a recent report by the inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction that concluded that the governing authority had inadequate controls over $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds it was supposed to oversee. Former administrator L. Paul Bremer has denied those allegations. Dorgan said Democrats had attempted to get Republican colleagues to hold hearings on the issue but were unsuccessful.

"There is a massive amount of waste, fraud and abuse going on here, and nobody seems to care very much," Dorgan said.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said in an interview that he found some of yesterday's allegations "disturbing." He said his committee has already held hearings on the use of reconstruction funds in Iraq and plans to hold more. "If there's something wrong, we will go after it vigorously," he said.

The former authority official, Franklin Willis, who advised Iraqi ministries on aviation issues, said it soon became clear Custer Battles was not carrying out its obligations. But Willis said the body's contracting officials were stretched far too thin.

On at least two occasions, Willis said, the firm was paid $2 million from a vault in the authority's basement, served up in $100,000 plastic-wrapped bricks of cash.

"We called in Mike Battles and said, 'Bring a bag,' " Willis said.

Michael Battles and Scott K. Custer, both former U.S. Special Operations soldiers, founded the company in 2002. Battles ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for Congress in Rhode Island that year.

After an interview with Custer in January 2004, agents from the Pentagon inspector general's office wrote, "Battles is very active in the Republican Party and speaks to individuals he knows at the White House almost daily, according to Custer." A White House spokesman had no immediate comment.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ articles/A24468-2005Feb14.html


....................................................................
Banned Contractor Soliciting Deals In Iraq

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8AM6RHO1.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down


http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:ssqeaRdmMYkJ:www.corpwatch.org/article.php%3Fid%3D11575+custer+battles+republican&hl=en

[knowbody0]

1. Custer Battles?

this screams for a joke, but it's too diabolical.

[KittyWampus]

2. This Is A Nail In The GOP Coffin. Why Don't DU'ers Care?

if we pursued this with half the energy now devoted to DSM, we'd have the GOP on the defensive.

[cynatnite]

6. Former exec of Custer Battles has bloody history

Custer Battles was banned from doing business in Iraq

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/06/12/offshoots_of_banned_contractor_solicit_more_iraq_contracts?mode=PF

"Former executives of Custer Battles -- an American firm accused of stealing millions from Iraq reconstruction projects and banned from further government contracts -- have continued doing contracting work and have formed new companies to bid on such projects, The Associated Press has learned.

This may or may not be illegal, military officials say; Custer Battles officials deny any wrongdoing."

One of the former executives of Custer Battles who is doing business in Iraq ran the School of the Americas. Here's a site that covers their bloody business.

http://pangaea.org/street_children/latin/soa.htm

[FreedomAngel82]

3. I betcha

whoever he commutes with in the White House is Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld. I also remember reading how the Bush administration purposley hired this guy to make armor for the military and he had NO experience previously for making armor and he had to go off duty for several months for some reason I can't remember right now. Other countries outside the US would get their armor from inside the US and get it VERY quickly while if a military group from the US wanted to get armor it would take MONTHS to get it. Why are they purposley killing men/women?

[Disturbed]

4. Coruption and Death

This is what the Bush Regime is about!

If the RW in Congress were concerned about the troops they would have done something about this. It's obvious that they don't give a damn.

[KittyWampus]

5. My Point Precisely, There's No Argument Either. Unlike The DSM,

there's no way to spin this for the GOP.

It points DIRECTLY to their corruption, greed and callous disregard of our troops and their safety.

[knowbody0]

7. corruption is a prerequisite for this administration

[frictionlessO]

8. posted this yesterday, from Rep. Slaughter in NY. Please read.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3892680&mesg_id=3892680

[KittyWampus]

9. Well, I Kicked It For You. It's Obvious This Is Deadly For The GOP

:)

[Gay Green]

10. Kick!

:kick:

[frictionlessO]

11. Thank ya muchly!! for that kick, I beleive it sank again.

All these pushes on Iraq, are surely part of a larger bolder democratic strategy. The missing oney is going to take us to some very guilty parties and they won't be quislings either. They'll be their bosses.