Wednesday, November 01, 2006

DiJaNo? More burdens and costs of war

Stephen Barr - Background Checks Take Too Much Time, GAO Says - washingtonpost.com:

"Background Checks Take Too Much Time, GAO Says
By Stephen Barr
Wednesday, November 1, 2006; Page D04"


Here's the poop:

"The Bush administration appears at risk of missing a deadline set by Congress aimed at shortening the time it takes to investigate federal employees and contractors for security clearances and determine whether they can be trusted with classified information.

The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act requires that 80 percent of all security clearances be completed in an average of 120 days. The law's goals include improved analytical methods at national security agencies, an effort that requires timely processing of security clearances to expand the workforces at 16 intelligence agencies."


. . .

Here's some of the problem. Halliburton contracting [link] savings are costing us more than we know!

"The ranks of contractors in the defense and intelligence communities have grown since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as agencies have moved to strengthen homeland security. As of May, contract workers held about 34 percent of the 2.5 million clearances granted by the Defense Department, the GAO noted."


. . .

And the Defense Department [Wikipedia link] is doing a lousy job. Do you think Rummy is reading this article. I think he does even though the administration says they pay no attention to public opinion or the press.

"In its review, the GAO turned up troubling signs that some top-secret clearances are based on incomplete investigative reports. A study of 50 investigative reports found 47 were missing data required by federal rules, the GAO said.

One person under investigation acknowledged having extramarital affairs, but the GAO found no documentation showing that the affairs had been investigated. Investigators also found that the person had defaulted on a loan worth several thousand dollars but did not explore the issue further, the GAO said."

Well, you can read the whole article for more examples of this ineptness.

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