Army Secretary Forced to Resign;
Police Hostages Executed over Rape Charges
Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey was forced to resign Friday over the scandal of substandard conditions at a wing of Walter Reed Hospital. Note that all the time Donald Rumsfeld was in office, and despite horrible errors, no one ever had to resign, least of all-- until the Dems won Congress-- Rumsfeld himself. Over the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Rumsfeld had said that to throw someone overboard in propitiation was not the way we did things in America (i.e. no one would be punished). Robert Gates is to be applauded for restoring the idea of accountability to Washington.
But everyone should pay attention especially to this para. in the WaPo report:
' The committee also released an internal Army memorandum reportedly written in September in which the Walter Reed garrison commander, Col. Peter Garibaldi, warned Weightman that "patient care services are at risk of mission failure" because of staff shortages brought on by privatization of the support work force at the hospital. '
The privatization of patient care services is responsible for a lot of the problem here.
See also this story about Waxman's efforts to get testimony.
And so is the privatization of services for US troops in Iraq punishing them. Indeed, the privatization of guard duties through the hiring of firms like Blackwater caused all that trouble at Falluja in the first place. KRB never delivered services to US troops with the speed and efficiency they deserved. The Bush-Cheney regime rewarded civilian firms with billions while they paid US GIs a pittance to risk their lives for their country. And then when they were wounded they were sent someplace with black mold on the walls. A full investigation into the full meaning of 'privatization' at the Pentagon for our troops would unconver epochal scandals.
Reuters reports that Sunni Arab guerrillas killed 2 US GIs and a translator, and wounded another GI, north of Baghdad.
Guerrillas detonated a bomb in Shiite Sadr City, killing 10 and wounding 17.
Guerrillas killed 12 Iraqi troops they had taken hostage in Diyala province. They had demanded that the police who allegedly raped a Sunni Arab woman be turned over. The "Islamic State in Iraq" claimed responsibility.
6 bodies were found in the small city of Balad. 5 bodies were found in Baghdad.
Check out the recent pieces at Tomdispatch.com, including the just-posted Chernus, An American Identity Crisis in a Losing War
posted by Juan Cole @ 3/03/2007 12:31:00 AM
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Privatization has long been touted by the Republicans as the panacea for everything from hangnails to sewage treatment. The God of Profit is seen as the Word Incarnate. Conservative Republicans, and those are the majority of Republicans, want to privatize Social Security by turning it over to Wall Street.Oh, sure, that's going to be real secure. In Indiana, we have a governor who is busily selling off the State part and parcel. If the company is honest, responsible, trustworthy, ethical and efficient, then privatization may work in some instances. The problem, of course, is that such companies are becoming the exception, not the norm. Certainly, Halliburton, with millions unaccounted for, is not the gold standard for honesty. Cheney seems to have viewed the War in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina as personal money trees. His interests in the company have never been totally divested.If there were a way to check all the offshore accounts under holding companies that front for holding companies that front for holding companies, I strongly suspect the powers-that-be and quite a few other elected representatives would be found to have tidy sums abroad. Kickback schemes are a constant danger under privatization. Oversight becomes a major problem, especially in circumstances like the last 6 years, where there have been no checks and balances in government. The temptation to put profit first and quality and honesty last, is one that only the most ethical of companies will resist. The Bush Administration has been extremely fond of No-Bid contracts. The contracts go to campaign donors and cronies, whether that company has a good record or is the best company to do the job. This problem is as old as government itself. Greed and avarice are well-known human failings. We see this in big companies like Exxon and Wal-Mart. The common good is not considered in the quest for profits. In the one case, Exxon would pollute the planet a zillion times over for profit. Wal-Mart will offer low prices, but also low wages and stingy benefits to employees. Whistle-blowers in government or in corporations arent treasured human beings. They face all manner of misery. They are always referred to as "Disgruntled Employees." Thus, most employees practice CYA, and incompetence and corruption survive and thrive. This has reached a level in the Bush Administration that hasnt been seen since the days of the Robber Barons. Due to the loss of life,in Iraq and Katrina, it is worse.For the most part, the Mainstream Media continues to downplay or ignore the corruption(unless it involves sex). Since the Media is now owned by major corporations, this is not surprising. Again, oversight is lacking. Investigative journalism is not particularly valued by the MSM. They prefer the spin and pap that flows from Washington.
Here in Indianapolis, we had a mayor who turned over waste water treatment to a private company. This resulted in major sewage spills into White River. He turned over towing services and car-impoundment to a private company. This resulted in cars being stripped of valuables and parts. 40 years ago, the citizens of Indy were told we had to have a sports arena by our then-mayor. Bonds were floated to build it. The mayor's mother's real-estate company owned the land whereon this arena was built. A few years ago, the arena was blasted to bits. I'M not sure if the citizens are still paying for it. Probably are. And so it goes. Privatization is no panacea. When you lift up the rock, you find a lot of vermin.
Allow me to recommend Ambassador Khalílzád's op-ed for the Washington Post this morning, which explains how the acceptance of his oil bill by the Málikí cabinet is the first glimmer of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Happy days.
"A full investigation into the full meaning of 'privatization' at the Pentagon for our troops would unconver epochal scandals."
I see no exaggeration here. Said investigation would reveal that those with access to legislators have used this war to open new markets for their security businesses, their weapons supply businesses and other money making opportunities. I know of one individual, chummy chummy with two Republican members of the house, who transformed his mediocre restaurant supply business into a lucrative mess (excuse the pun) and he now stands to make an additional fortune supplying food service equipment to the newly announced VA hospital which will provide care for the wounded soldiers of his Congressmens' war.
An investigation into this one case could easily destroy the local political network. Said investigation will not occur until the people demand it, which would be the badly needed beginning of a new era for this area (think glorified rodents).
All the focus is on bad conditions. But why are conditions so bad? The army has thousands of concussive brain injuries from explosions. These brain injuries are untreatable. It is not possible to surgically repair a damaged brain, or replace its function with a microchip.
Brain injuries are long term. Many never recover function. This creates the problem of a larger number of casualties with long term problems that can be managed, but are untreatable. Unless the system is expanded, it will be overwelmed. Is there a structural problem (from spending too little to rapidly expand facilities?) rather than strictly a management problem? Are managers being scapegoated for larger structural problems that politicians will not admit for political reasons?
Mental problems are frustrating to victims, families and medical personnel because everyone is helpless and therefore frustrated. Is it surprising that this frustration is bubbling into the political arena?
The public have a warped Hollywood vision that soldiers either die as heros in combat or come home unscathed like Rambo. The large number of young people that are permanently scarred for life are additional reasons to make better decisions about not starting wars.
-jonny bakho
Raw Story reports that a former Halliburton (surprise, surprise) exec runs the company who provides privitized "services" at Walter Reed:
"A five-year, $120 million contract awarded to a firm run by a former executive from Halliburton – a multi-national corporation where Vice President Dick Cheney once served as CEO – will be probed at a Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs hearing scheduled for Monday."
"We have learned that in January 2006, Walter Reed awarded a five-year $120 million contract to a company called IAP Worldwide Services for base operations support services, including facilities management," Waxman continues. "IAP is one of the companies that experienced problems delivering ice during the response to Hurricane Katrina."
We have come to expect this from the Bush administration, but this is truly beyond the pale.
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