Second Iraq Education Contract Goes to U.S. Firm (Creative Associates)

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consulting company Creative Associates International has been awarded a new $56.4 million education contract for Iraq, the U.S. Agency for International Development said on Wednesday.

The contract follows a similar one awarded in April 2003 to the Washington-based firm, which has so far received about $56.5 million in funding under that deal, according to USAID's Web site.

USAID said the new, two-year contract, would focus on helping Iraq's new Education Ministry train staff to "deliver quality education" and create model schools in each of the country's 81 sub-districts.

"The Education II contract is part of the U.S. government's reconstruction assistance to the Iraqi people, aimed at helping maintain stability, ensuring the delivery of essential services, and facilitate economic recovery," USAID said in a statement.

Creative Associates director of external relations Stephen Horblitt said, "We are honored to have been chosen to make this rather important contribution to the families and children of Iraq."

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1896&e=9&u=/nm/20040714/us_nm/iraq_education_dc_1

[Mikimouse]

1. This is probably a stupid question, but I have to ask...

Isn't this the 'educational' corporation with which Neil Bush is affiliated???? The name rings a bell.

[punpirate]

3. Nope... Neil Bush's firm is...

... Ignite, Inc.

Cheers.

[Mikimouse]

5. And to you! Cheers n/t

[FlemingsGhost]

6. Everything you wanted to know about "Creative Associates."

"Questionable ties" and "conflicts of interest" hardly begin to describe this operation:


http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=Creative+Associates+%2B+CEO&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D12d425157c29f275%26clickedItemRank%3D4%26userQuery%3DCreative%2BAssociates%2B%252B%2BCEO%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.publicintegrity.org%252Fwow%252Fbio.aspx%253Fact%253Dpro%2526ddlC%253D11%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSCPIndex2%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.publicintegrity.org%2Fwow%2Fbio.aspx%253Fact%253Dpro%2526ddlC%253D11

[Mikimouse]

9. Very interesting...seems that there is probablly a PNAC connection

that is yet to be unearthed. I would bet on it, if I had the spare cash.

[JoFerret]

11. Another Oxymoronic name is ever there was one

leave no Iraqi child untested.

[Judi Lynn]

15. "Maria Charito Kruvant," in the article claims her bidness is conducted

with such extreme transparency people know her show size. However, after reading this article you feels she's "having us on!" Strange connections all over the place.

Also, so many in her group are former USAID employees. Hardly a typical "small independent business."

They are taking care of, apparently, rewriting world/Iraq/American history for Iraqii schoolchildren. ~ sigh ~ Why should we imagine this is appropriate? Would we want another country's gummint arranging to instruct our children on it's official version of life on earth?

Creative arranged for the printing and delivery of textbooks, and USAID left the controversial process of revising them up to other organizations.

During his testimony at a State Department briefing, USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios said a group, including the Iraqi Ministry of Education, the Coalition Provisional Authority, UNESCO and United Nations Children's Fund, were working on "redoing the textbooks, which were full of vitriol and Baathist party propaganda."
(snip)

This group, with Mrs. Kruvant owning 69% of the company, is also currently involved in Haiti in multiple functions.

Kruvant's husband, William Kruvant, who is a senior adviser to Creative, is a former assistant director of financial institutions and markets issues at the General Accounting Office. In 1991, he was one of the authors of a GAO report that determined there was no price manipulation of oil prices during the Gulf War. Critics had alleged that speculators were profiting from artificially raised oil prices in the stock market. William Kruvant was one of the authors of the report that said the oil prices reflected actual changes in supply and demand and were not the result of manipulation.
(snip)

Found this on her husband, William from another source:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is publishing those supporting papers as Studies on Privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (May 1996). In this report, that volume is referred to as HUD Studies. CBO acknowledges the contributions of the interagency working group that planned and coordinated the preparation of those studies, including William Kruvant, William Shear, Mitchell Rachlis, Fred Evans, and Paul Thompson from the General Accounting Office; Harold Bunce, John Gardner, and Stephanie Smith from HUD; and Joan Affleck-Smith, Edward DeMarco, and Mario Ugoletti from the Treasury Department.

http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=13&sequence=0

[TahitiNut]

2. $87,722,000 in Federal contracts from 1990-2002

http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=11

[merh]

4. What about U.S. public school systems - when will they fund

our schools? - Didn't Iraq have a decent education system under SH and a pretty impressive university (Bagdad University)? Of course, that is before we bombed the sh** out of their country!

[TahitiNut]

7. (WaPo) "Iraq: Questions Raised About Creative Associates Contract"

Iraq: Questions Raised About Creative Associates Contract
by Jackie Spinner, Washington Post

The Washington firm awarded a government contract worth up to $157 million to rebuild Iraq's educational system may have helped shape the proposal it was then asked to bid on, according to a critical internal government review.

The inspector general's office at the U.S. Agency for International Development said Creative Associates International Inc. participated in a roundtable discussion with agency officials about Iraq's education system last November, four months before USAID invited it and four other companies to bid on the work. Creative Associates was the only firm to bid, and it listed three of the four competitors as possible subcontractors.

The June 6 memo from the inspector general's office said procurement officials kept such limited records of the meeting that it couldn't conclude whether Creative Associates "gained a resulting competitive advantage." But Bruce N. Crandlemire, assistant inspector general for audit, recommended further review

"Given the magnitude of the contract and the need for confidence in USAID's procurement process, we believe that additional review is in order," the report said.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11149

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Thanks for posting this -- the corruption never ends with this bunch. n/t

[Barrett808]

16. Yes, they're the mafia

Once you really come to understand the organized crime has taken over the government, things start to make sense.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. So, the country of ancient Babylon, the cradle of modern

civilization needs the help of Creative Associates? Only in this twisted
fucked up world lead by a talking chimp.

[raifield]

10. Pretty soon, Iraq will be the smartest nation in the Mideast...

...if you only count standardized testing, of course! When will Creative Associates International (or national) be awarded the contract to fix our urban schools? I'm guessing never.

[pfitz59]

12. The gravy train rolls on!

Another "Golden Fleece" nominee....

[Emillereid]

14. To take over a country's educational system is

tantamount to taking over their history. Wrong, wrong, wrong -- big blowback to pay!