Did Legislator Favor Gifts Over Saving Soldiers' Lives?
(CBS)
What's worse than an earmark that wastes tax dollars and abuses the system by allowing Congress to funnel money outside the normal process to favored businesses or entities?
Plenty, you might say. But how about a secret, classified earmark that costs American lives?
That's the allegation from a military intelligence officer Maj. Eric Egland. In an exclusive interview, Egland told me the amazing story of being on the ground in Iraq at the height of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) deaths and injuries. It was his job to evaluate a large contract that was supposed to send resources and trained people to attack the IED networks. It wasn't working. Egland says it didn't take long for him to discover the contractor was, in his words, completely unqualified for the task at hand. The workers, he said, lacked the experience, resources and know-how to do this important job. He wondered ...
