This story is long and complex. I have tried, as best as possible, to keep this short and sweet. Before I get into the story though, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to the broader topic. The Global War on Terror is quickly becoming the greatest boondoggle in American history. Trillions of dollars are being stolen from our children and grandchildren and delivered to the pockets of greedy defense contractors.
This isn't easy for me to say. My life has often been in the hands of the defense contractors, and they have always delivered. But today's corruption goes beyond the occassional pat on the back and 10% additional mark-up on a set of hammers, it borders on treason. Here are a few quick examples at the outset (and I hope to diary on them in each in more detail).
1) Special Forces Supplier
The former right hand man of the general in charge of SOCOM (spec ops command) pleads not guilty to bribing procurement officers in exchange for numerous special forces contracts in favor of his clients. The trial is ongoing, but this SOCOM people, elite of the elites.
2) Dragonlady
Spending nine months in jail for awarding a $26B lease deal to boeing in exchange for a $250k/yr executive position at boeing after retiring from DOD.
3) LAIRCMs
Unfortunately, the best article on this scandal is now gone (previously at Red Nova). The essence of the scandal though is that the large aircraft responsible for transporting and deploying our special forces are not getting the current state of the art counter measures needed to keep them safe. As a result, mission scope is decreased and hostile entry situations are limited.
4) Boeing Subsidiary
Under investigation for supplying thousands of sub-standard and otherwise deficient radio systems to the AF and Army.
5) Secret Military Spending & Rep. Cunningham
Bribes, kickbacks, and inflated purchases of a republican Congressman's home led to over $160M in mil contracts.
6) The focus of this Diary... Cheney - Textron
The Cheney-Textron story is really the story of the V-22 Osprey. You know what it is, its that twin-engine prop plane which takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane. Cool huh? Also exceptionally expensive, offering less payload capacity and less maneuverability than today's aging helo fleet. But don't just take my word for it. With the right counter measures, and proper upfitting, today's helicopters could continue to provide the platform our special forces need for rapid, low profile insertion. But the Marines want their toy, and their toy they are going to get.
Of course, the Osprey has been called an Albatross by more people than just me. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney risked a court appearance to keep Congress from shoving the program down DOD's throat. Imagine that! Dick Cheney, the fiscal conservative... listened to the critics of the program so thoroughly that he wasn't just convinced the Osprey was a waste of time and money, he risked being sued by Congress just to make the point!
The V-22 question caused friction between Cheney and Congress throughout his tenure. DoD spent some of the money Congress appropriated to develop the aircraft, but congressional sources accused Cheney, who continued to oppose the Osprey, of violating the law by not moving ahead as Congress had directed. Cheney argued that building and testing the prototype Osprey would cost more than the amount appropriated. In the spring of 1992 several congressional supporters of the V-22 threatened to take Cheney to court over the issue.
But these days, VP Cheney is pretty much silent on the Osprey. The '04 Defense budget set aside $1.5B for the program, and besides Boeing, the biggest beneficiary of the set aside is Textron (which owns Bell Helicopter a struggling company probably headed for chapter 11 w/out the contract). You see, from Textron/Bell Helicopter's point of view, the Global War on Terror is a matter of life and death, and if it ends anytime soon, they're dead.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that this change in heart has an almost certain explanation in the "loyalty" driven White House of George W. Bush. Remember, loyalty is everything in the White House, and loyalty is always rewarded.
Shortly after Bush made it past the McCain challenge in 2000, Textron hired this man as executive VP and general counsel, Terrence O'Donnell. Terrence worked as general counsel to then Sec. of Defense Dick Cheney for most of Bush I's term. Prior to that, he worked in the Nixon and Ford administrations. Though it is hard for me to believe that a graduate of the Air Force Academy would put pressure on the executive branch to adopt a weapons system which is essentially useless, the Osprey program is no ordinary program. In fact, the Osprey is a cat, it has at least nine lives:
Some of the most avid -- even fanatical -- Osprey supporters in Congress represented districts in Texas and Pennsylvania where the plane was being built. Additional backing was secured by spreading the Osprey's subcontracts around to almost 2,000 companies in more than 40 states; industry lobbyists descended on Capitol Hill to make sure members knew where the subcontractors were located.<27> But pork barrel alone is an inadequate explanation for Congress's fervor for the V-22. Many members of Congress received no pork. Ted Stevens of Alaska, for example, was a strong Osprey booster even though, as he took pains to point out, not one piece of it would be made in his state.<28> On the other hand, Stevens was one of the largest recipients of campaign contributions from military Political Action Committees. Stevens, of course, would be quick to deny that he was influenced in any way by the PAC money; he would argue that he received the contributions because of the views he held, not the other way around. But while this distinction might be of some interest in assessing Stevens' character, it is of no consequence for understanding the workings of the American political system.<29>
Now don't go getting too political, Tom Dashchle's wife is one of Boeing's biggest lobbyists, and the Clinton administration revived the dead beat Osprey program in part to shore up PA as much of the plane is manufactured there.
But the Osprey story, which I've only touched on, drives the Cheney-Textron story, which we only know the appearances of. And the Cheney-Textron story, it seems, has been duplicated at least several times in the past few years at the Pentagon.
It's time to get real folks. Too many companies spending too much money on Federal campaigns have a vested interest in seeing a low intensity conflict (low risk) with high intensity media coverage (expansive fear) last for a long, long time (maximum profit). But they aren't just taking this money from you and me anymore, their taking this money from the wallets of my grandkids, and your grandkids too, and probably their grandkids as well! Its got to stop.