60 years ago, Senator Harry Truman took on those who sought to profit off of war. Today, Senator Claire McCaskill, holding onto Harry's seat, is doing the same.
Senator McCaskill and Sen. Jim Webb (D - Va.) got passed last night an amendment that would establish a Commission on Wartime Contracting
"As a former auditor, I've seen waste before," McCaskill said. "But I don't think I've ever seen anything as outrageous as what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan in terms of contracting. This commission is an urgent necessity in order to stop the massive mistakes that are costing us billions of dollars. The military will not do this on its own."
Profiteering of the war is criminal. $88 billion of contracts in the war have irregularities. Who is watching the store? Sen. Claire McCaskill is!! She personally worked over Sen. John Warner (R - Va.)
"I must say having been on this Armed Services committee for 29 years with my good friend Senator Levin, we old bulls, as we're referred to, are very impressed with our new member and her vigor and her foresight and her determination to get things done. You've stirred us up, I think, in a very constructive way if I may say," Senator Warner said on the Senate floor.
Want to be shocked at the arrogance of this administration, read this Time article from 1931 to see how Bush/Cheney/Rove have ignored history to line the pockets of the military establishment that General Eisenhower warned us about.
1 comment:
It is obvious that the junior senator from Missouri doesn't understand that the real function of the war in Iraq and the War on Terror (as opposed to the necesssary effort to eliminate Al Qaida) is to ALLOW -- nay, CREATE -- war profiteering. Why else would we have all those nice, fat no-bid contracts? Why else will all those corporations want Mr Chaney on their Boards come 1/22/09? For his sense of humor? His winning smile?
Obviously, she doesn't understand that the profit margin on armor plating for HumVees is way less than on other stuff -- like water and pork chops!
Sounds like she not only read about that guy Truman but that commie-pinko Eisenhower -- with his talk about a military-industrial complex destroying our freedoms. Like that's a bad thing, if it turns a profit.
Seriously though, this is important. Revelations concerning war profiteering and such in WWI so undermined the international commitments of this country and so soured our reasonable understanding of real national defense needs that -- when WWII started -- our Army was smaller than that of Roumania (old spelling). Truman's commission not only combatted waste, it gave the public confidence that fueled our war effort.
Regardless of our opinion of the commander in Chief, we want our troops supported and protected as fully and efficiently as possible. We want them home safe -- and that is a hell of a lot more important than Hallliburton's profit margin.
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