ROLL CALL 07/15/13 By Michael Shank and Matt Southworth The House Foreign Affairs Committee heard a compelling case recently for better oversight and accountability of war funding. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen delivered the agency’s final oversight report to the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North […]
THE GUARDIAN 07/09/13 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen The Department of Defense is spending more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to buy Russian-made aircraft for an Afghan aviation squad that lacks the troops and expertise to operate or maintain them. We know about this example of […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/01/13 By Michael Shank The scandal at the Internal Revenue Service illustrates well the critical importance of an inspector general in keeping an administration accountable, regardless of which party holds the presidency. Had it not been for the Office of the Inspector General within the […]
THE GUARDIAN 01/23/13 By Michael Shank GOP hawks who defend the US military’s budget from Chuck Hagel’s charge of ‘bloated’ must account for why it isn’t audited No matter how much Congress softens the sequestration’s austerity footprint, everyone in government will have to nip-and-tuck in order to balance budgets. And […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 11/29/12 By Michael Shank A new report shows irresponsible spending by the Defense Department in Afghanistan. This month, hidden amid election excitement, a report was delivered to Congress by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Likely few in Washington read it. The U.S. war […]
THE GUARDIAN 11/26/12 By Michael Shank The occupation of Afghanistan costs US taxpayers $10bn a month, and millions in corruption. Yet Congress is oblivious. This month, hidden amid election excitement, a report was delivered to Congress by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar). Likely, few in Washington read […]
THE GUARDIAN 08/06/11 By Michael Shank We have the evidence: the hardpressed US taxpayer is being fleeced by profiteering contractors and corrupt military personnel This past week, as US Congress quacked its way through the debt-ceiling quagmire, a seemingly non-germane offshore issue surfaced vis-a-vis Iraq. The connection between the two […]