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For
half a decade, American taxpayers unknowingly spent millions of dollars every
year to fund private security agency Blackwater’s so-called “democracy
building” missions in Iraq.
A
new report completed by the US State Department and the Broadcasting Board of
Governors Office of Inspector General shines light on a travesty involving the
massive misuse of public funds.
Between
2004 and 2009, millions of dollars in taxpayer monies could have been saved had
the International Republican Institute — a bipartisan, non-profit organization
chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — used their federal funding more
efficiently. Instead, however, the IRI handed over massive sums of money to the
Blackwater security group so that they could send armed guards to Iraq.
While
Blackwater’s presence overseas has not gone unnoticed, the latest report shows
that contract were made without the IRI considering any competitors’ bids and
in the end cost millions of extra dollars, all the while funding the same
agency proved responsible for the massacre of Iraqi civilians.
The
unclassified report, dated June 2012, describes how the IRI used $103.7 million
in federal grants during fiscal years 2004-2010 to conduct democracy-building
programs throughout Iraq. In only a few pages, CPA Clarke Leiper, PLLC,
explains — along with the guidance of the Office of Inspector General — how
millions of dollars was mismanaged by making payments to Blackwater without
seeking outside bids.
“We
found that the direct costs charged to the grants were reasonable for the
purpose of conducting the programs. All costs were supported by invoices and
other appropriate support documentation,” the report explains. “However, for
the majority of the stated period, the allocation of security contract costs
between the grants was not supported by a method that could be verified.
“We
determined that costs for four of the eight grants exceeded their respective
award budgets by a total of $4,589,952,” the report adds. “We also noted that
security costs of $64,285,818 exceeded the $49,472,461 in direct costs to carry
out the Iraqi democracy-building programs.”
The
report’s authors write that they believe “other qualified security firms were
available for contract competition,” yet the IRI did not extend offers to
anyone outside of Blackwater. In addition to the overspending and poor
oversight, the report also alleges that Blackwater — who today operates under
the name Academi — was unable to produce documentation relating to some of the
federal contracts, did not get obtain approval for some spending allocations
and, at one point in the span, ordered $26,600 worth of gym equipment that was
never received
“IRI
agreed that additional controls could be implemented to enhance property
management policies and procedures,” the report reads, continuing that, since
2010, the IRI has changed some policies related to how they manage spending
such as this. For five years before that, though, the Office of the Special
Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction agrees that the Institute lacked a
“methodology of allocating security costs that ensures a reasonable distribution
of costs,” among other faults.
“While
we acknowledge the volatile security circumstances in Iraq from 2004–2009, IRI
should have periodically reassessed and documented the need to continue
procurement of non-competitive services from Blackwater. Overall, security
costs of $64,285,818 exceeded the $49,472,461 in direct costs used to carry out
the Iraqi democracy-building programs,” the audit continues.
(rt)
Pakistan Cyber Force
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