Members of Congress, Weapons of Mass Deception!

There is a very interesting report on Foreign Policy about contractors working with the military. Within the report is this stunning piece of information.

"The extent of contracted support for America’s wars can be unearthed in the Pentagon’s daily “contracts” press releases. The most important recent U.S. policy statement for America’s post-2014 role in Afghanistan did not come from the White House, but rather was found in two paragraphs published late on New Year’s Eve, in which the Pentagon announced $100 million in contracts for DynCorp International, LLC, to “advise, train, and mentor” the Afghan Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense. Similarly revealing contracts include $12.8 million for Six3 Intelligence Solutions, Inc., $36 million for IDS International Government Services, LLC, and two — released on the same day — for $6.9 and $6.8 million awarded to Battlespace Flight Services, LLC, for work “performed at Jalalabad, Afghanistan,” and work “performed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada” (Foreign Policy)

We now know that contractors have also been paid to take care of the troops medical care, as well as veterans. An example of that was proudly talked about at a Memorial event I attended over the weekend. One of the speakers talk about providing this "care" to the troops and veterans.

Luke and Associates Inc., a tiny, Brevard County startup staffing company that had never generated any contracts or revenue, signed a 10-year, $1.9 billion contract -- that's billion with a "B" -- with the U.S. Air Force to supply medical personnel to bases all over the country.

Luke and Associates, Inc. Awarded $20 million Contract at Fort Bliss, Texas

Is this all there was? Oh hell no! Plenty more to go around. There was a time when politicians were ashamed to have this kind of thing go on but now, hey, business as usual.

While you're thinking of those numbers, remember this was all happening when these same guys decimated the military with sequestration cuts and deployed servicemembers got lay off notices because there wasn't enough money to let them stay on the only job they ever wanted to do.

Angry yet? Politicians sent troops into Iraq looking for WMD but they should have just checked in Washington first for the real ones jeopardizing our security. Members of Congress, Weapons of Mass Deception!

The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq
Did you know that private contractors in Afghanistan outnumber U.S. troops three to one?
Foreign Policy
BY MICAH ZENKO
MAY 29, 2015

This past Monday, as on every Memorial Day, American political and military leaders paid tribute to the sacrifice of service members who gave their lives for their country. The day of remembrance is not only to honor the past dead, but also to recognize the tens of thousands of service members still deployed in combat zones today, regardless of whether politicians label them as “wars” or whether these operations are in the forefront of Americans’ minds. On Memorial Day itself, the Pentagon released a somber statement: “Sgt. 1st Class Pablo A. Ruiz, 37, of Melbourne, Florida, died May 24, in Bagram, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related incident.”

President Barack Obama, speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, used standard language of reflection declaring, “We honor the sacrifice of the thousands of American service members — men and women — who gave their lives since 9/11, including more than 2,200 American patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.” This is factually accurate.

However, it overlooks the important sacrifices made by non-service members on behalf of military missions. Since 9/11, a total of 1,592 private contractors (approximately 32 percent of whom were Americans) working on Department of Defense contracts were also killed in Afghanistan. Last year, private contractors accounted for 64 percent of all U.S. deaths in Afghanistan (56 service members and 101 contractors died). But we cannot know exactly where last year’s deceased are from, because shockingly the U.S. Department of Labor “does not routinely track the nationality of workers injured or killed under any of the laws administered by the program.”
read more here