Lawmakers slam office overseeing Afghan rebuilding

[Turborama]

Source: AP

The U.S. office overseeing Afghanistan's rebuilding has failed to hire enough staff and issued too few audits and investigative reports, three senators are telling President Barack Obama.

The office of the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, headed by retired Marine Corps Gen. Arnold Fields, lacks leadership and focus at a time when aggressive, independent oversight is more important than ever, they said in a letter sent Tuesday to Obama.

In a statement, Fields said the Dec. 8 letter from Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., paints an inaccurate picture. The office "started from scratch with minimal funding," Fields said, adding that he has formed an experienced team that is helping to improve the reconstruction effort.

The inspector general's office is responsible for monitoring a broad range of projects, including training of the Afghan army and police, and ensuring U.S. tax dollars are spent properly. The office was created by Congress in 2008, nearly seven years after U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan.

In their letter to Obama, obtained by The Associated Press, the senators don't call for Fields' resignation. But they do want the White House to conduct a thorough review of the office "to determine if improvements can be made to the organization."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hgioyazh5HZtmHISO0lc78OJC_zgD9CFT7L00

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No wonder the http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=afghanwar_tmln&afghanwar_tmln_us_invasion__occupation=afghanwar_tmln_economic_reconstruction">promised & long awaited reconstruction has been such a shambles and corruption has been running rife if the oversight office wasn't created until last year.

Busch et al ignored Afghanistan thereby allowing and possibly encouraging corruption to flourish for 7 years always knowing that they would charge the next administration with the responsibility of cleaning up their mess.

[Hubert Flottz]

1. "Rebuild America First!"

It's my bumper sticker thingy...