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POGO’s experts push policymakers to enact commonsense reforms that tackle waste, corruption, and abuse of power; hold those who’ve violated the public trust accountable; protect our constitutional rights; and make the government work for all people.
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Analysis
Congress Turns Its Attention to Royalty Collection
The Department of Interior will soon be implementing a host of new changes to its program to collect royalty revenues from companies producing oil and gas on federal lands. In a report released last December, the agency's independent Subcommittee on Royalty Management detailed...
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Analysis
“Merchant of Death” Arrested in Thailand
On March 6, 2008 Thai police arrested the notorious arms broker Viktor Bout on charges of supplying arms and explosives to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a Colombian rebel group cited by the United States as a terrorist organization. Bout is among the ...
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Analysis
A $ Trillion Here, a $ Trillion There
Winslow Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project, engaged with Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, Linda Bilmes of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Robert Hormats of Goldman Sachs to discuss the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghani...
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Analysis
Exchange Between Senator McCaskill and Marine Commandant Conway on Franz Gayl
Read this exchange closely from yesterday between Senator Claire McCaskill and Marine Corps Commandant James Conway regarding Marine Corps science advisor Franz Gayl, who has disclosed problems with the Marine Corps' ability to rapidly procure equipment requested by marines in...
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Analysis
Fighter Mafia Alums on the Defense Budget
A recent piece on the F-22 and how it explains the current bloat of the U.S. defense budget appeared at Military.com. The piece, by Pierre Sprey, James Stevenson and Winslow Wheeler, stirred up a hornet's nest of F-22 defenders. Interspaced among those were a few—a very few—th...
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Analysis
What Do the Pentagon’s Numbers Really Mean?
Beware of the numbers the Pentagon, the White House and the media release today to address the 2009 defense budget. Most of the numbers you see will be inaccurate or incomplete, or both explains Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler.
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Analysis
The F-22: Expensive, Irrelevant and Counterproductive
The F-22 is not just irrelevant to 21st century warfare, it is a step backwards—a big step, and in more ways than one. A new article by a combat aircraft designer (Pierre Sprey), an aviation author (James Stevenson), and Winslow Wheeler of the Straus Military Reform Project sp...
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Analysis
Fueling the Arms Race in the Middle East
As U.S. President George W. Bush embarked on his January 2008 Middle East tour, he formally notified Congress of a major U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The notification, which came just one day before the president was to arrive in Saudi Arabia, detailed a much anticipated ...
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AnalysisWhat Is the Surge Really Causing?
In his "Washington Babylon" section of the Harper's Magazinewebsite, journalist Ken Silverstein and Straus Military Reform Project Adviser Col. Douglas Macgregor (U.S. Army, ret.) exchanged questions and answers about the current situation and the effects of the &quo...
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AnalysisHappy Anniversary, Dukester!
Just one year ago this month, disgraced Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham went to jail after his guilty plea on numerous corruption charges. Unfortunately, despite reams of so-called reform proposals adopted by Congress, nothing significant has changed. Straus Mili...
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Analysis
Acquisition Councils Propose Improvements to Federal Contracting Practices
Subpart 9.1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires a prospective contractor to demonstrate its “responsibility,” which is defined, in part, as having “a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics.”
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Analysis
Government Audit: Marine Corps Rapid Acquisition System “Not Effective”
InsideDefense.com has a obtained a Naval Audit Service report verifying that urgent requests for capabilities from marines in the field, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, are not being resolved fast enough. POGO has made this government report available for free here (pdf;...