While Federal Contracts to Private Companies Proliferate, Government Oversight is Weak or Nonexistent

Interview with Michael Scherer, Washington correspondent for Mother Jones magazine, conducted by Scott Harris

With the continuing investigations into the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison, one disturbing element of the story that has surfaced is the alleged participation by private civilian contractors in the mistreatment of these prisoners. The Pentagon is spending billions of dollars to hire private companies to do the work once done by the military itself. From preparing meals for the troops, to transporting fuel and supplies, to the interrogation of prisoners, the government is outsourcing these duties to large corporations, some with very close ties to the White House.

The privatization of government functions, and the parallel down-sizing of the federal work force is not limited to the Pentagon, but in fact is widespread throughout dozens of government agencies. But as lucrative contracts are awarded to big companies like Halliburton, often without competitive bidding, oversight and monitoring of the work done has been eviscerated or placed in the hands of the contractors themselves.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Michael Scherer, Washington correspondent for Mother Jones magazine, who discusses his investigation into the government's flawed system of hiring private companies, titled: "Contracts With America."

Read Michael Scherer's article, "Contracts With America," online at www.motherjones.com May/June, 2004 Related links:

"The Private Contractor - GOP Gravy Train," by Robert Schlesinger, Salon.com, May 11, 2004

"Civil Servants as the Enemy," by Michael Scherer, Mother Jones magazine, May/June 2004 Issue. Under President Nixon, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney viewed their agency's employees as adversaries.

"Who's Minding the Store?: As Defense Department contracting has proliferated, government oversight has grown weaker," Mother Jones. Source: Eagle Eye Publishers, defense contract management agency

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