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The Daily Muck
You know how it is: clerical errors lead to thousands of missing weapons. Top commander in Iraq General David Petraeus said thousands of weapons meant for Iraqi security forces have been unaccounted for because of “bookkeeping deficiencies.” Tracking the weapons’ serial numbers were not of the greatest concern in 2004 and 2005 when priority was to provide weapons to Iraqi security forces, according to Petraeus. Of course, looking back, it might have been useful considering many officials fear these U.S.-issued weapons are being used now against American forces. (WaPo)
Let's face it. The federal government, in particular the Bush administration, doesn't have a great record in managing disasters. So you can understand why the states would be upset that the administration has rewritten our national response plan without considering the advice of local emergency officials. Oh, and -of course- the administration rewrote the plan in secret. (Washington Post)
Call it a half-baked solution: the FBI has loosened its hiring standards when it comes to drug use. In an effort to fill many job vacancies, the FBI has gotten rid of its previous drug policy to disqualify anyone with extensive drug use (using marijuana more than 15 times or other illegal drugs more than five times). (WaPo)
As part of last week's 9/11 bill, the CIA will declassify its inspector general's report on the attacks, which was completed two years ago. The report is set to be released on Labor Day. (The Hill)
Incredibly, last Friday President Bush signed a bill that would end the practice of classifying the budget of U.S. intelligence agencies, a move that showed the slightest signs of rolling back the incredible amount of classification that has gone on under the current administration. That change lasted a solid twelve hours before members of Congress tried to do away with it; on Saturday Rep. Issa (R-CA) presented an amendment that would return to classifying agencies' budgets. The amendment was accepted without debate and attached to the 2008 defense appropriations bill. (Associated Press)
Several of the major domestic airlines are facing litigation relating to the 9/11 attacks. In order to help build their defense, those airlines are suing the FBI and the CIA in order to gain depositions from several intelligence agents with experience and records of tracking al-Qaeda prior to the attack. Key on the list of wanted witnesses is a CIA expert on bin Laden, listed under the pseudonym "John" in the 9/11 Commission Report. (WSJ's Washington Wire)
Comments (17)
TheraP wrote on August 8, 2007 9:44 AM:Are you that "one person?"
"Some do Care."
Click my name.
Darkie wrote on August 8, 2007 11:18 AM:Providing weapons to both sides of a conflict is tradition as time-honored as it is profitable. The Bush Administration has taken it to a different and bizarre level. Usually you only do it in conflicts you AREN'T fighting in yourself. Says something about pure profit motive to engage in it in this case.
Phoenix Rising wrote on August 8, 2007 12:22 PM:How did anyone ever get put in charge in Iraq that didn't believe in basic accounting principles? We didn't track cash disbursements, we didn't track the issuance of weaponry... There are some things that incompetence doesn't fully cover.
Allen J. Mathews wrote on August 8, 2007 12:23 PM:We need a People's Amendment to the Constitution which allows the people to vote no confidence on an Aminisitration. We need to model our Amendment after many democracies in the world. It is time for the people to be the 4th wheel of our government, to balance the other three, who don't happen to be doing much these days. Our vote should be able to change the composition of the Supreme Court, too, so that these elite are responsible to the Constitution and to the People.
Allen J. Mathews wrote on August 8, 2007 12:23 PM:We need a People's Amendment to the Constitution which allows the people to vote no confidence on an Aminisitration. We need to model our Amendment after many democracies in the world. It is time for the people to be the 4th wheel of our government, to balance the other three, who don't happen to be doing much these days. Our vote should be able to change the composition of the Supreme Court, too, so that these elite are responsible to the Constitution and to the People.
Redshift wrote on August 8, 2007 12:32 PM:Darkie -- it's only profitable if you're *selling* the weapons. These are weapons we were *giving* to them. The profit motive doesn't enter into it, it's just pure stupidity.
Redshift wrote on August 8, 2007 12:39 PM:Phoenix -- the only qualification was being a loyal Bushie. These are people who put interns from the Heritage Foundation in charge of Iraq's economy, and had an anti-abortion litmus test for medical personnel.
Republican radicals are fundamentally anti-intellectual, they don't believe in expertise (to them, and expert is "just another opinion," no more valuable than their own.) The most important thing was for them to be able to do whatever they were sure was right (and politically advantageous), and if they thought about it at all, I'm sure they would only see competent accounting as a potential obstacle.
EH wrote on August 8, 2007 12:41 PM:Why none of the candidates hit the right with the missing-guns-killing-our-troops story of incompetence is a mystery. Then again, we always think our own ideas are significant and profound so this may be a non-starter.
JEP wrote on August 8, 2007 12:58 PM:"using marijuana more than 15 times..."
Is that per day, week, month or for their whole lifetime?
Do they hook these liars to polygraph machines when they answer that question in the application?
LOL
JEP wrote on August 8, 2007 1:02 PM:"These are weapons we were *giving* to them."
REDSHIFT!
That is a very naive comment...
It is stupid that we allow profiteers to sell weapons to our enemise, but to suggest that there's no one "cui bono" financially from this is a bit pollyannaish, don't you think?
Regardless of who got them someone made big money on that transfer of firepower...
JEP wrote on August 8, 2007 1:23 PM:...anyone else as patriotically offended that it may be the civil courts and not Congress or the Justice Department that exposes the Bush Administration's security failures, and negligence (if not comlicity), in the 9-11 attacks?
Reminds me of OJ, with Bush in the white bronco.
No matter how many times they bump it up for reversal, a judgement against the government in any one of the many lawsuits will shine a glaring light of harsh reality on their misdeeds, whether they beat it in court or not.
Phoenix Rising wrote on August 8, 2007 2:04 PM:I love the message being sent by this government: gay people == BAD, criminals and drug addicts == not so bad.
Why is it we are lowering our standards for criminal history when letting people into the FBI and military and kicking purported homosexuals in vital positions out? What does this say about Republican moral values?
Frankie Says Impeach wrote on August 8, 2007 3:40 PM:>Darkie -- it's only profitable if you're *selling* the weapons.
>These are weapons we were *giving* to them. The profit motive
>doesn't enter into it, it's just pure stupidity.
Not if your daddy owns stocks in the company selling the weapons to the USG!
tr wrote on August 8, 2007 9:44 PM:alright, about time we get some pot smokers in the f.b.i.. now, maybe we'll see some right-wingers prosecuted for once.
upcf cxoy wrote on August 30, 2007 3:25 AM:hpbursvok jpohz fpvh mcwhed dleky whbge kxvhsl
upcf cxoy wrote on August 30, 2007 3:25 AM:hpbursvok jpohz fpvh mcwhed dleky whbge kxvhsl
upcf cxoy wrote on August 30, 2007 3:26 AM:hpbursvok jpohz fpvh mcwhed dleky whbge kxvhsl