Study: Pentagon reliance on contractors hurt U.S. in 9/11 wars
Up to half of the $14 trillion spent by the Pentagon since 9/11 went to for-profit defense contractors, a study released Monday found. While much of this money went to weapons suppliers, the research is the latest to point to the dependence on contractors for war-zone duties as contributing to mission failures in Afghanistan in particular.
In the post-9/11 wars, U.S. corporations contracted by the Defense Department not only handled war-zone logistics such as running fuel convoys and staffing chow lines but performed mission-crucial work including training and equipping Afghan security forces — security forces that collapsed last month as the Taliban swept the country.
William Hartung, the author of Monday’s study by Brown University’s Costs of War project and the Center for International Policy, and others say it’s essential that Americans examine what role the reliance on private contractors played in the post-9/11 wars. In Afghanistan, that included contractors allegedly paying protection money to warlords and the Taliban themselves, and the Defense Department insisting on equipping the Afghan air force with complex Blackhawk helicopters and other aircraft that few but U.S. contractors knew how to maintain.
Out West, Biden points to wildfires to push for big spending
President Joe Biden on Monday pointed to wildfires burning through the West to argue for his $3.5 trillion spending plan, calling year-round fires and other extreme weather a climate change reality the nation can no longer ignore.
Biden spoke during a briefing in Boise, Idaho, while visiting the National Interagency Fire Center, which coordinates the government’s response to wildfires.
Millions of acres in several Western states have burned already this year, he noted.
“The reality is we have a global warming problem, a serious global warming problem, and it’s consequential and what’s going to happen is, things are not going to go back,” Biden said.
Justice Dept. unveils new rules on monitors overseeing reforms
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday unveiled new rules governing federal monitors responsible for overseeing police reforms in local jurisdictions, including setting limits on the watchdogs’ tenure and budgets and requiring them to undergo more training.
Garland announced the changes during an online speech to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, culminating a four-month Justice Department review aimed at bolstering public confidence in federal efforts to rein in unconstitutional and abusive policing.
Garland has launched sweeping “pattern or practice” investigations of police departments in Minneapolis, Louisville and Phoenix.
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