Blackwater
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 Howard
J Krongard
HOWARD KRONGARD News:
20071207
-
Howard
Krongard
-
 US
-  Iraq
- Blackwater
-  Corporate
-  Military
-  Law
- "Official
in Blackwater probe quits." ... "State Department
Inspector General Howard Krongard, under scrutiny for his brother's link
to the Blackwater security firm, has decided to resign, U.S. officials
said on Friday." ... "Krongard, the State Department's top investigator,
has been accused by current and former subordinates of thwarting probes
into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by
Blackwater." -By Arshad Mohammed and Andy Sullivan
with contributions by Bill Trott -Reuters
20071114
-
Howard
Krongard
- US
- Iraq
- Blackwater
- Business
- Military
- Law
-
 Politics
-  Calif
- "State's
inspector general defends record." ... "In a stunning
move, the State Department official responsible for ensuring the agency
operates ethically recused himself Wednesday from any investigations related
to Blackwater Worldwide after admitting to lawmakers that his brother is
a member of the embattled security contractor's advisory board." ... "The
revelation by Howard Krongard, the department's inspector general, came
as Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee were
defending him from what they said were politically motivated attacks."
... "[California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.,
and other Democrats on the committee seized on the admission as further
evidence Krongard has politicized his office and undermined inquiries that
targeted Blackwater or that might embarrass [Republican President] Bush
administration officials." ... "Krongard first told the committee his brother,
Alvin Krongard, had assured him several weeks ago that he had no financial
interest or connections to Blackwater, which is the subject of several
federal investigations related to its work in Iraq." ... "Before the break,
committee Democrats produced a July 26 letter from Blackwater CEO Erik
Prince inviting Alvin Krongard to join his company's advisory board." -By
Richard Lardner -AP
via -SeattlePI
20071018
-
US
- Iraq
-
 Kuwait
-  Charles
E Williams - Howard
Krongard
- Military
-  Government
- Construction
- Corporation
-  Criminal
- "Criminal
probe into U.S. Embassy in Iraq construction." ...
"A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. [United States] Embassy
that's under construction in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] last May, damaging
a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building. It also
exposed enormous problems in the management of what's become a $592 million
government construction project." ... "The State Department contractor
in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene
of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident.
The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from
investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents." ...
"A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished
embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as
they should have during the mortar attack." ... "U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker
banished Golden from Iraq, but he continues to oversee the construction
of the embassy in Baghdad; to be the liaison with the contractor, Kuwait-based
First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co.; and to supervise other
projects for the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO)
bureau." ... "McClatchy Newspapers has also learned that:" ... "— Aspects
of the embassy's construction are the subject of at least one U.S. government
criminal investigation, according to officials in Congress and the administration."
... "— In order to rush the project, the long-time head of OBO, retired
Army Maj. Gen. [Major General] Charles Williams, signed a waiver in July
2005 allowing a sole-source contract to be awarded to First Kuwaiti." ...
"In a letter to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard last
month, [California Democratic Representative Henry] Waxman said that former
and current staff members in Krongard's office told the committee that
he'd refused to help investigate alleged wrongdoing by First Kuwaiti and
an unnamed top State Department official." -By Warren
P. Strobel and
Jonathan S.
Landay -McClatchyDC.com
20070918
-
Howard
J Krongard - US
- Iraq
-
 Afghanistan
- Military
-  Accounting
- Law
- Government
-  Employees
- Blackwater
- Money
- Politics
- California
- "State
Dept. Official Accused of Blocking Inquiry." ...
"A top House Democrat began an inquiry on Tuesday into accusations that
the State Department's inspector general repeatedly interfered with investigations
into fraud and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, including security defects
at the new United States Embassy in Baghdad [Iraq's capital]." ... "[Democratic]
Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, the chairman of the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, sent the inspector general, Howard
J. Krongard, a 14-page letter spelling out accusations made by several
current and former employees of Mr. Krongard's office who documented their
charges with e-mail messages." ... ""One consistent element in these allegations
is that you believe your foremost mission is to support the [Republican
President] Bush administration, especially with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan,
rather than act as an independent and objective check on waste, fraud and
abuse on behalf of U.S. taxpayers," Mr. Waxman wrote. He invited Mr. Krongard
to respond to the accusations at a committee hearing on Oct. 16." ... "Mr.
Waxman told Mr. Krongard that he had been accused of impeding an investigation
of a security company suspected of "illegally smuggling weapons into Iraq."
The Associated Press reported that the unnamed company was Blackwater."
-By David Stout with contributions by Brian Knowlton
-NYTimes
-
Howard
Krongard
-
 Karl
Rove
-  Kenneth
Tomlinson
-  Media
- Politics
- Calif
- "Waxman:
State Department IG tried to shield Bush administration from embarrassment."
... "House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman
[Democratic California Representative] Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) will investigate
allegations that State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard “interfered
with ongoing investigations to protect the State Department and the White
House from political embarrassment.”" ... "The lawmaker said that former
assistant inspector general for investigations John DeDona and former deputy
assistant inspector general Ralph McNamara both have contacted his office.
Waxman added that both individuals resigned from their posts because Krongard
“repeatedly halted or impeded investigations undertaken by their office.”"
... "The lawmaker also alleges that the inspector general “interfered with
an on-going investigation into the conduct of Kenneth Tomlinson, the head
of Voice of America and a close associate of Karl Rove, by passing information
about the inquiry to Mr. Tomlinson.”" -By Klaus Marre
-TheHill.com
-
US
- Iraq
- Howard
Krongard
- Blackwater
- Money
- Employees
- Military
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
-
 North
Carolina -  Virginia
- "Rules
of engagement are sketchy when private security firms are deployed in war."
... "The fog of war keeps getting thicker." ... "Iraq's decision to temporarily
ban Blackwater USA after a fatal shooting of civilians in Baghdad [Iraq's
capital] reveals a growing web of rules governing weapons-bearing private
contractors but few signs U.S. agencies are aggressively enforcing them."
... "Nearly a year after a law was passed holding contracted employees
to the same code of justice as military personnel, the [Republican President]
Bush administration has not published guidance on how military lawyers
should do that, according to Peter Singer, a security industry expert at
the Brookings Institution in Washington." ... "Blackwater, based in Moyock,
North Carolina, is one of three private security firms employed by the
State Department to protect its personnel in Iraq. The two others, both
of which are headquartered in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, are Dyncorp,
based in Falls Church, Virginia, and Triple Canopy of Herndon, Virginia."
... "In a letter to Howard Krongard, the State Department inspector general,
the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Krongard impeded
a Justice Department probe into claims that a "large private security contractor
was smuggling weapons into Iraq."" ... "Although the security company is
not named in the letter, several senior administration officials confirmed
it is Blackwater." (1, 2)
-AP via -IHT.com
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