Financial (Mis)management at the Pentagon

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On September 10, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress that waste in the Pentagon is "a matter of life and death." He said some estimates show "we cannot trace $2.3 trillion." Then came September 11. Though Pentagon waste is hardly news, a new study has business leaders dropping their jaws. They say the Defense Department's financial management would put any civilian company out of business. "No one is accountable"... and nobody cares. The US spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined, but nobody knows if GI's in Iraq receive the equipment they need or whether it's ever been paid for. Has the War on Terror replaced the war on waste? We hear from experts in international relations, a former national security advisor and two members of the House Government Reform Committee. Making News: Bodies of Two Abducted American Soldiers RecoveredThe remains of two kidnapped American soldiers are being returned to the United States after Iraqi authorities said they showed signs of "barbaric" torture. Major General William Caldwell told reporters the area where they were found was booby-trapped. Rod Nordland, Newsweek magazine's chief foreign correspondent, joins us from Baghdad.Reporter's Notebook: Why Would North Korea Launch a Long-Range Missile?Satellite photos reportedly show that, for the first time since 1998, North Korea has fueled a ballistic missile system in the eastern part of North Korea. There's disagreement about whether it will have to be fired within a day or two or up to a month from now. The Taepodong-2 is thought to have the capability of reaching American shores. Daniel Pinkston directs the East Asia Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute in California.
On September 10, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress that waste in the Pentagon is "a matter of life and death." He said some estimates show "we cannot trace $2.3 trillion." Then came September 11. Though Pentagon waste is hardly news, a new study has business leaders dropping their jaws. They say the Defense Department's financial management would put any civilian company out of business. "No one is accountable"... and nobody cares. The US spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined, but nobody knows if GI's in Iraq receive the equipment they need or whether it's ever been paid for. Has the War on Terror replaced the war on waste? We hear from experts in international relations, a former national security advisor and two members of the House Government Reform Committee.
  • Making News: Bodies of Two Abducted American Soldiers Recovered
    The remains of two kidnapped American soldiers are being returned to the United States after Iraqi authorities said they showed signs of "barbaric" torture. Major General William Caldwell told reporters the area where they were found was booby-trapped. Rod Nordland, Newsweek magazine's chief foreign correspondent, joins us from Baghdad.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Why Would North Korea Launch a Long-Range Missile?
    Satellite photos reportedly show that, for the first time since 1998, North Korea has fueled a ballistic missile system in the eastern part of North Korea. There's disagreement about whether it will have to be fired within a day or two or up to a month from now. The Taepodong-2 is thought to have the capability of reaching American shores. Daniel Pinkston directs the East Asia Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute in California.

American Forces Information Service on missing soldiers

Norland's MSNBC (audio) feature on finding missing soldiers

Defense Department and Pentagon

---Financial Management in the Department of Defense: No One is Accountable'

Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautions North Korea against missile launch

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill on NPR's Morning Edition

Credits

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Warren Olney