Could D.C. Bribery Have Cost Troop Lives?
The No. 1 killer of troops in Iraq is the roadside bomb, called IED's, short for "Improvised Explosive Device." By 2004, the top request from the U.S. command in Iraq was the ability to target IED networks.
Congress poured in tens of millions of dollars to a company called MZM - but deaths and injuries continued to soar, CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports for Follow the Money.
It was the job of intelligence officer Maj. Eric Egland to find out why.
"It was my job to do a field evaluation of this program," Egland said.
In an exclusive interview, Egland told us he discovered stunning lapses on the part of MZM, which only hird a third of the employees they were paid for
"What you're hoping for is fewer IED injuries; more IEDs targeted and found?" Attkisson asked.
"Yeah, help the combat units go after the networks that are using IEDs against us," Egland said.
But what really was happening?
"The capability that was being funded was given an unqualified contractor, who failed at even the most basic level to provide the right people, the right resources and the right capability to help our troops deal with the No. 1 threat in Iraq," Egland said.
With American lives at stake, Egland couldn't imagine how a company like MZM got such a crucial contract. His next assignment took him to a place where he could find the answer: The Pentagon.
There, Egland did some digging and found MZM had gotten millions in Defense contracts - courtesy of Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-Calif., in the form of earmarks, grants of money without the normal public review.
As member of the House Intelligence Committee, Cunningham was able to keep the earmarks even more secret than most by making them "classified."
"It was not a merit-based process. It was based on sneaking a large contract to a company that had given millions of dollars in bribes and hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions to powerful members of Congress," Egland said.
That's right. To get the sweetheart deals, MZM owner Mitchell Wade had bribed Congressman Cunningham with the "Buoy Toy" yacht, vehicles, antiques, jewelry, cash and fancy property - details revealed when both were prosecuted in a wide-ranging corruption scandal.
The pieces came together when Cunningham and Wade were prosecuted in a wide-ranging bribery scandal. Egland is convinced that the classified earmarks didn't just waste your tax dollars - they cost American lives.
"People died because of this program being done the way it was?" Attkisson asked.
"I really believe so. Absolutely," Egland said. "I mean the troops wanted to target these networks. But without this critical capability, that was given to unqualified people, they weren't able to."
"Nothing that has changed would preclude this from happening again," he said.
Taxpayers bore the cost, but Egland says the price that soldiers paid was even higher.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Congress poured in tens of millions of dollars to a company called MZM - but deaths and injuries continued to soar, CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports for Follow the Money.
It was the job of intelligence officer Maj. Eric Egland to find out why.
"It was my job to do a field evaluation of this program," Egland said.
In an exclusive interview, Egland told us he discovered stunning lapses on the part of MZM, which only hird a third of the employees they were paid for
"What you're hoping for is fewer IED injuries; more IEDs targeted and found?" Attkisson asked.
"Yeah, help the combat units go after the networks that are using IEDs against us," Egland said.
But what really was happening?
"The capability that was being funded was given an unqualified contractor, who failed at even the most basic level to provide the right people, the right resources and the right capability to help our troops deal with the No. 1 threat in Iraq," Egland said.
With American lives at stake, Egland couldn't imagine how a company like MZM got such a crucial contract. His next assignment took him to a place where he could find the answer: The Pentagon.
There, Egland did some digging and found MZM had gotten millions in Defense contracts - courtesy of Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-Calif., in the form of earmarks, grants of money without the normal public review.
As member of the House Intelligence Committee, Cunningham was able to keep the earmarks even more secret than most by making them "classified."
"It was not a merit-based process. It was based on sneaking a large contract to a company that had given millions of dollars in bribes and hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions to powerful members of Congress," Egland said.
That's right. To get the sweetheart deals, MZM owner Mitchell Wade had bribed Congressman Cunningham with the "Buoy Toy" yacht, vehicles, antiques, jewelry, cash and fancy property - details revealed when both were prosecuted in a wide-ranging corruption scandal.
The pieces came together when Cunningham and Wade were prosecuted in a wide-ranging bribery scandal. Egland is convinced that the classified earmarks didn't just waste your tax dollars - they cost American lives.
"People died because of this program being done the way it was?" Attkisson asked.
"I really believe so. Absolutely," Egland said. "I mean the troops wanted to target these networks. But without this critical capability, that was given to unqualified people, they weren't able to."
He says the real shame is it could happen again. Today, there's nothing to stop members of Congress from making secret, classified earmarks to favored companies.
Read more from Sharyl Attkisson on this story at Couric & Co.
"Nothing that has changed would preclude this from happening again," he said.
Taxpayers bore the cost, but Egland says the price that soldiers paid was even higher.
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Hell, if Haliberton (if I spelled it wrong so what u know who they are...They have CEO's who become V.P.'s of the USA to shoot their best friend in the face with a shotgun while they're on duty no less...) can squander Millions and Billions from the USA taxpayer and not get shut down or have 40% of its staff incarcerated while and after their main office is moved overseas then what good are we doing allowing money to be spent on private companies who care nothing...nothing...nothing about the safety, security, well being of our troops or our USA?! My mindset as viscious as it is... is very simple... Do what has worked for Thousands of years... Try these bastards for Treason, Execute them, put new people in place who will do everything in their power to do the right thing and well, things pretty much move forward from there. Wipe out the old corruption and hopefully a new one won't form. Yes, its...harsh, Maybe its a communist approach, but how is that different then what is going on now? Have any of us seen an independent make it into the white house or even on the ballot these last several elections? Hey, a new idea... we have inmates who want out of jail so bad, lets really mess up the war and give them the guns and send them all overseas....na...they'd have too much fun and well, the Pentagon might actually make use of it some day... no different then giving money to a corrupted killer such as Dick Cheney...oh did I miss-spell his name too???
Now if we only had a FEW MORE with similar sets of brass ones.
Sorry bout that, kept getting msg telling me it didn''t go thru, try later...so I waited and kept trying.
Mea Culpa.
Mea Culpa.
Mea Fricken Culpa!
I don''t blame anyone in congress (much) for participating in what I see as graft in BOTH parties, they''ve got to work with the system as it is, in a super-competitive environment. Yes, soldiers die. So do civilians, if you want to look at what''s happening, and not being done, here at home. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Until we get big money out of Washington politics, we, and our soldiers, will always get what we deserve. Nothing more, and always less.
The only way to do that is to get ALL private money out of federal elections.
ONLY vote for candidates who espouse mandatory public financing of all federal elections. If your party has no one who does, vote Independent and let your party know why. It doesn''t really matter which side is in power - as long as the corporations are running things nothing is really going to change, look at the past 30 years...
Do you think that your argument is more effective if you repeat it ad nauseum? It sounds like the rove playbook in action. Say it enough times and it becomes true.
I don''t blame anyone in congress (much) for participating in what I see as graft in BOTH parties, they''ve got to work with the system as it is, in a super-competitive environment. Yes, soldiers die. So do civilians, if you want to look at what''s happening, and not being done, here at home. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Until we get big money out of Washington politics, we, and our soldiers, will always get what we deserve. Nothing more, and always less.
The only way to do that is to get ALL private money out of federal elections.
ONLY vote for candidates who espouse mandatory public financing of all federal elections. If your party has no one who does, vote Independent and let your party know why. It doesn''t really matter which side is in power - as long as the corporations are running things nothing is really going to change, look at the past 30 years...
I don''t blame anyone in congress (much) for participating in what I see as graft in BOTH parties, they''ve got to work with the system as it is, in a super-competitive environment. Yes, soldiers die. So do civilians, if you want to look at what''s happening, and not being done, here at home. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Until we get big money out of Washington politics, we, and our soldiers, will always get what we deserve. Nothing more, and always less.
The only way to do that is to get ALL private money out of federal elections.
ONLY vote for candidates who espouse mandatory public financing of all federal elections. If your party has no one who does, vote Independent and let your party know why. It doesn''t really matter which side is in power - as long as the corporations are running things nothing is really going to change, look at the past 30 years...
I don''t blame anyone in congress (much) for participating in what I see as graft in BOTH parties, they''ve got to work with the system as it is, in a super-competitive environment. Yes, soldiers die. So do civilians, if you want to look at what''s happening, and not being done, here at home. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Until we get big money out of Washington politics, we, and our soldiers, will always get what we deserve. Nothing more, and always less.
The only way to do that is to get ALL private money out of federal elections.
ONLY vote for candidates who espouse mandatory public financing of all federal elections. If your party has no one who does, vote Independent and let your party know why. It doesn''t really matter which side is in power - as long as the corporations are running things nothing is really going to change, look at the past 30 years...