(Former GOP Congressman Curt) Weldon's Firm Made Defective Tank Deal With Iraq

[sabra]

Source: WIRED News

If, someday, there are T-shirts sold in Iraq that read, "the United States invaded our country and all we got were these crappy tanks," here is the explanation for what happened.

In 2005, Defense Solutions, the Pennsylvania-based arms dealer that employs former Congressman Curt Weldon, got itself a contract to refurbish Soviet-era T-72 tanks for the Iraqi government. But the deal, for over decades-old equipment, included terms that likely would have been illegal under U.S. law.

The essence of Defense Solutions' proposal was to arrange a donation of of some 77 Hungarian-owned T-72s. The Hungarians were likely happy unload the outdated tanks for free, and the Iraqi government would pay Defense Solutions to refurbish them. That sounds fine, except the contract was what many might consider a sweetheart deal. The contract appears to be a "cost plus percentage of cost fee" agreement, meaning Defense Solutions was essentially guaranteed a profit regardless of what condition the tanks were in or how much it cost to get them running (a copy of the contract, posted here as a PDF, was provided to DANGER ROOM).

Defense Solutions estimates the cost to refurbish the tanks at about $3.2 million, and the company is entitled to a fee based on eight percent of the costs. If the contract goes 75 percent over cost, Defense Solutions must notify the Iraqis, but that amount "will not act as a ceiling on the actual price of performance," the contract states.

...

Why would Iraq agree to such a contract? It's not clear, but Ziad Cattan, the man the United States chose to oversee Iraq's defense procurement, signed the contract. As the LA Times reported, Cattan, has since been accused of massive corruption, much it involving no-bid contracts for Soviet-era equipment.

Read more: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/07/someday-there-w.html#more

---

[gratuitous]

1. Awwww, geez la-weez

Can't a corrupt former congressman get in on the gravy train, too? I mean, the United States is burning through a trillion dollars or more on this little escapade, why can't Curt get a little somethin' somethin' too?

[Ian David]

2. How can the Iraqi govermnent expect to have nice things...

... when they keep letting insurgents steal them?

Didn't they just abandon a bunch of tanks in the middle of a battle and let the Insurgents take them?

Or could it be because the crappy tanks all malfunctioned and weren't useful anyway?