So, there's a big battle going on in Washington over the Iraq Supplemental. And although I'm for any bill that brings home our troops sooner, what I'd like to know is this. Where does the money go once it's approved? Does it go to the young men and woman who have been torn from there families two, three, sometimes four times in a row. Does it go to the soldiers who can't get the body armor or the equipment they need? Does it go to those who are increasingly being used as cannon fodder......sacrificed on the alter of lies, incompetence and yes, war profiteering?
More below the jump
Someone needs to look into exactly where the money goes once it gets into the hands of the "decider guy", because I'm afraid that it's being funneled to people like these...........
Combat Pay is ridiculous. The other night I was out drinking and ran into this guy who makes $15,000 every two weeks setting up IT systems. Some are making $400,000 a year working security or supervision.
I am making six figures doing a job that is one of the easiest I have ever had. I had a supervisor in Camp Taji who couldn’t read or spell or speak or really do anything productive besides breathe and smoke cigarettes. She labeled our Supply Manual with "Suppy Manula" and she was making six figures.
So who exactly are these people?
Characters you could not muster in your wildest dreams. The nuts and bolts of the machine are all loose and ready to drop at anytime. Some of the people out here are only one step away from the crazy f*cks you see in a 7-11 talking to the hot dog machine. There are some sane people, but not many, and they are boring anyway.
About that 'profit" thang......
Contracting allows the government to disperse funds in a cloaked fashion and to stand upon the shoulders of the corporate giants: Raytheon, Kellogg Brown and Root, Halliburton, Boeing, Blackwater, URS. And at the feet of these giants scurry the smaller contract rats that feast on all the meat and bones dropped from the giants’ table . History will one day catch up to the scams, the money shuffles, the seedy business. There is an insane amount of money over here.
It is sad, though, when you realize that a soldier going beyond the wire and making $25,000 a year and risking his life daily is being mocked by some 250-pound chick who is sitting behind a desk in a posh office eating Twinkies and making $130,000 a year.....
Our tax dollars at work! /snark
Seriously, this country has lost it's moral compass. And the only way I see for us to get it back is to elect a President in 2009 who is untainted by special interests. We need someone who exudes Honor with a capital "H" and Integrity with capital "I". And most of all....we need someone who has a track record of putting country before party.
In my view, the only man who fits the bill is Wes Clark.
Run Wes Run!
Booman has more about the contractor debacle here.