H
hydratwo@aol.com
Guest
Criminal probe under way into construction of the new U.S. Embassy in
Iraq
By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay, McClatchy Newspapers Thu
Oct 18, 7:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON - A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. Embassy
that's under construction in Baghdad 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.
The embassy- actually a 104-acre, Vatican-size compound of 21
buildings meant to house and sleep about 1,000 U.S. officials was
originally meant to open in June, then in September. Now, due to
problems with the sprinkler system, the latest in a series of
deficiencies blamed on First Kuwaiti, it remains unclear whether it
will be ready for occupancy this year. Golden didn't return phone
calls seeking comment.
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. They spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitive nature of the matter and declined to divulge
more details for publication.
- In order to rush the project, the long-time head of OBO, retired
Army Maj. Gen. Charles Williams , signed a waiver in July 2005
allowing a sole-source contract to be awarded to First Kuwaiti.
"The only acquisition option that can be considered is to issue Sole
Source Awards to contractors capable of completing the design and
construction in accordance with the required schedule, budget and
performance parameters," Williams wrote in a memo reviewed by
McClatchy .
- Columbia, Md .-based Cosmopolitan Inc. , which was awarded the lead
contract to build the embassy's classified spaces, where intelligence
officers and others work, meet and store information, was kicked off
the job for alleged non-performance. It was replaced by Kaseman Corp.
of Chantilly, Va .
As recently as August, Williams assured the House Foreign Affairs
Committee that the embassy would be ready for occupancy by the end of
September.
"This and other incidents involving separate embassy construction
projects raise concerns about the adequacy of the Department's
management of our overseas building operations," committee chairman
Rep. Tom Lantos , D-Cal., wrote to Deputy Secretary of State John
Negroponte on October 4 .
The State Department declined to make Williams available for an
interview and directed questions to Patrick Kennedy , the department's
director of management policy.
"The plan was to complete it in two years. It is not done. It is very
close to being done," said Kennedy, who toured the new embassy
compound last week.
Asked when the structure would be ready to occupy, he said, "Soon. But
I'm not going to tell you whether soon is in two weeks, or six weeks
or eight weeks."
Kennedy acknowledged that the problems with the fire suppression
system were "serious"- joints in underground water mains supplying the
sprinklers leaked when they were tested- but he emphasized that this
and other problems were discovered as part of OBO's rigorous
inspections.
The embassy has been plagued by other deficiencies. The electrical
system in the dining facility of a nearby guard camp malfunctioned
when it was tested in May. OBO, in a report last month, defended its
contractor, First Kuwaiti, and blamed Houston -based KBR, Inc. , which
was hired to operate the facility.
In a statement Thursday, First Kuwaiti said it "stands by the quality
of its work on the US Embassy in Baghdad . The State Department's
initial report raised issues that are routine for construction
projects. First Kuwaiti has addressed them and anticipates full
acceptance of the system when the final inspection occurs."
Current and former U.S. officials argue that many of the problems are
symptomatic of the approach pursued by Williams, who they say is
determined to deliver a set number of new embassies each year on time
and within budget, whatever the consequences.
For example, the new U.S. Embassy on Pariser Platz in the heart of
Berlin, Germany , is slated to be within budget when it opens next
spring.
But to meet that goal, three State Department officials said, Williams
ordered that an entire floor be cut from the building. As a result,
the original goal of having all U.S. embassy employees in one place
has been dropped, and some diplomats will have to travel back and
forth from an annex.
Williams, who was chosen for his post in March 2001 by his friend,
then-Secretary of State Colin Powell , runs the overseas buildings
operation like a virtual fiefdom, according to numerous current and
former officials who refused to discuss personnel matters on the
record.
He and his aides refused to let U.S. diplomats and congressional
staffers onto the new embassy compound in Iraq , according to
congressional testimony in July and a former senior official with
first-hand knowledge.
The Baghdad embassy complex, while incomplete, is about to be
dramatically expanded to make room for a U.S. military presence that
wasn't anticipated when the structures were first planned in 2004.
Kennedy said the $144 million additional price tag isn't a cost
overrun, but the result of a decision to locate Gen. David Petraeus ,
the U.S. military commander in Iraq , and his staff in the compound.
That will involve converting some space planned for unclassified use
to classified use.
"Crocker and Petraeus don't want to divorce," Kennedy said. "We have
about 250 more people to squeeze into the complex than we were
planning on squeezing in."
The embassy is the subject of a separate probe by Rep. Henry Waxman ,
D-Cal, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee.
In a letter to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard last
month, 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.
"The allegations from the Justice Department implicate a major
contractor in 'contract fraud' and a senior State Department official
in 'public . . . corruption," Waxman wrote.
Krongard has said that he'll respond to the allegations.
(e-mail: wstrobel(at) mcclatchydc.com; jlanday(at)mcclatchydc.com)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/2...yexclusive_attn_national_foreign_editors_ytop
--
If Impeachment was good enough for Clinton...
Impeachment is good enough for Bush.
Amend the Constitution.
Power to WE The People To Impeach By National Referendum.
Iraq
By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay, McClatchy Newspapers Thu
Oct 18, 7:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON - A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. Embassy
that's under construction in Baghdad 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.
The embassy- actually a 104-acre, Vatican-size compound of 21
buildings meant to house and sleep about 1,000 U.S. officials was
originally meant to open in June, then in September. Now, due to
problems with the sprinkler system, the latest in a series of
deficiencies blamed on First Kuwaiti, it remains unclear whether it
will be ready for occupancy this year. Golden didn't return phone
calls seeking comment.
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. They spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitive nature of the matter and declined to divulge
more details for publication.
- In order to rush the project, the long-time head of OBO, retired
Army Maj. Gen. Charles Williams , signed a waiver in July 2005
allowing a sole-source contract to be awarded to First Kuwaiti.
"The only acquisition option that can be considered is to issue Sole
Source Awards to contractors capable of completing the design and
construction in accordance with the required schedule, budget and
performance parameters," Williams wrote in a memo reviewed by
McClatchy .
- Columbia, Md .-based Cosmopolitan Inc. , which was awarded the lead
contract to build the embassy's classified spaces, where intelligence
officers and others work, meet and store information, was kicked off
the job for alleged non-performance. It was replaced by Kaseman Corp.
of Chantilly, Va .
As recently as August, Williams assured the House Foreign Affairs
Committee that the embassy would be ready for occupancy by the end of
September.
"This and other incidents involving separate embassy construction
projects raise concerns about the adequacy of the Department's
management of our overseas building operations," committee chairman
Rep. Tom Lantos , D-Cal., wrote to Deputy Secretary of State John
Negroponte on October 4 .
The State Department declined to make Williams available for an
interview and directed questions to Patrick Kennedy , the department's
director of management policy.
"The plan was to complete it in two years. It is not done. It is very
close to being done," said Kennedy, who toured the new embassy
compound last week.
Asked when the structure would be ready to occupy, he said, "Soon. But
I'm not going to tell you whether soon is in two weeks, or six weeks
or eight weeks."
Kennedy acknowledged that the problems with the fire suppression
system were "serious"- joints in underground water mains supplying the
sprinklers leaked when they were tested- but he emphasized that this
and other problems were discovered as part of OBO's rigorous
inspections.
The embassy has been plagued by other deficiencies. The electrical
system in the dining facility of a nearby guard camp malfunctioned
when it was tested in May. OBO, in a report last month, defended its
contractor, First Kuwaiti, and blamed Houston -based KBR, Inc. , which
was hired to operate the facility.
In a statement Thursday, First Kuwaiti said it "stands by the quality
of its work on the US Embassy in Baghdad . The State Department's
initial report raised issues that are routine for construction
projects. First Kuwaiti has addressed them and anticipates full
acceptance of the system when the final inspection occurs."
Current and former U.S. officials argue that many of the problems are
symptomatic of the approach pursued by Williams, who they say is
determined to deliver a set number of new embassies each year on time
and within budget, whatever the consequences.
For example, the new U.S. Embassy on Pariser Platz in the heart of
Berlin, Germany , is slated to be within budget when it opens next
spring.
But to meet that goal, three State Department officials said, Williams
ordered that an entire floor be cut from the building. As a result,
the original goal of having all U.S. embassy employees in one place
has been dropped, and some diplomats will have to travel back and
forth from an annex.
Williams, who was chosen for his post in March 2001 by his friend,
then-Secretary of State Colin Powell , runs the overseas buildings
operation like a virtual fiefdom, according to numerous current and
former officials who refused to discuss personnel matters on the
record.
He and his aides refused to let U.S. diplomats and congressional
staffers onto the new embassy compound in Iraq , according to
congressional testimony in July and a former senior official with
first-hand knowledge.
The Baghdad embassy complex, while incomplete, is about to be
dramatically expanded to make room for a U.S. military presence that
wasn't anticipated when the structures were first planned in 2004.
Kennedy said the $144 million additional price tag isn't a cost
overrun, but the result of a decision to locate Gen. David Petraeus ,
the U.S. military commander in Iraq , and his staff in the compound.
That will involve converting some space planned for unclassified use
to classified use.
"Crocker and Petraeus don't want to divorce," Kennedy said. "We have
about 250 more people to squeeze into the complex than we were
planning on squeezing in."
The embassy is the subject of a separate probe by Rep. Henry Waxman ,
D-Cal, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee.
In a letter to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard last
month, 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.
"The allegations from the Justice Department implicate a major
contractor in 'contract fraud' and a senior State Department official
in 'public . . . corruption," Waxman wrote.
Krongard has said that he'll respond to the allegations.
(e-mail: wstrobel(at) mcclatchydc.com; jlanday(at)mcclatchydc.com)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/2...yexclusive_attn_national_foreign_editors_ytop
--
If Impeachment was good enough for Clinton...
Impeachment is good enough for Bush.
Amend the Constitution.
Power to WE The People To Impeach By National Referendum.
