Tag: military

politics

More Hidden Military Costs

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On top of all the other nonsense that the failed Iraqi War has brought to our fair country and the world, we now have a less educated U.S. fighting force. While the Army met its recruiting goal of 80,000 soldiers last year, they needed to accept fewer high school graduates in order to do so. The Army prefers to have 90% of their recruits to have a high school diploma however last year only 73% met that requirement.
“When you have a lot of recruits who score lower on the exam or who don’t have a high school diploma, a much higher percentage with not complete ehtir first term of enlightment,” said Anita Dancs, research director for the National Prioriteis Project. “By not hitting those benchmarks, they’re increating recruiting and training costs.”
Sweet! Even more money wasted on the war!

politics

I Feel So Safe

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From The American Progress Action Fund’s daily “Progress Report” email from today, 2/11/05:

Whoops. A 185-pound container of radioactive equipment – the material used in dirty bombs – which was imported by Halliburton Energy Services turned up unexpectedly this week at a shipping facility in Chelsea, MA. The problem: the shipment was falsely registered as having arrived in Newark, NJ, four months ago, and Halliburton only reported the missing container last Tuesday. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan, stating the obvious, said that Halliburton’s four-month delay in reporting the loss “did not comply with notification requirements.”

FANTASTIC.

I really want to work at Halliburton because there you can overbill, denigrate our troops, bilk the government AND lose nuclear material without ever hearing “boo” about it. I forget to send one email to my Client and I get into more trouble than Halliburton does for overcharging the Army billions. If anyone hears of any openings there, let me know.

politics

Secret Wars

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I have abstained from talking too much about politics recently because it just gets me too angry. However, this little nugget was one I felt was worth sharing:

The Pentagon has secretly been operating a clandestine espionage branch for the past two years after reinterpreting U.S. law to place more power directly in the hands of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Yes, you read that correctly. TWO YEARS! That is a loooong time to keep something hidden from Congress, the CIA, hell, everybody. According to an explosive new article in yesterday’s Washington Post, the group, called the Strategic Support Branch, is “designed to operate without detection and under the defense secretary’s direct control” in collecting human intelligence (or HUMINT, in intelligence-speak). Not only does the group operate outside the public view, Rumsfeld has also hidden it from Congress and is not coordinating with the CIA. Already, it has been operating in places like Iraq and Afghanistan – as well as in unnamed “friendly countries” with which the United States is not at war. The group has been working with the elite U.S. Special Forces, such as Delta Force, as well as recruited outside agents, including “notorious figures” whose “links to the U.S. government would be embarrassing if disclosed.” The Defense Department has also engaged in legal tricks, redefining the rules to support its claims that the intelligence group is subject to less stringent oversight than similar operations within the CIA.

Thanks go to the Center for American Progress’s Daily Progress Report