HomeThinkDifferentStoreMacBoardsAdvertisingRSS SyndicationNewsletterContact

iTunes_RGB_9mm

Cool Mac Gear


iPod Video
iPod nano
iPod 1G-2G
iPod 3G
iPod 4G
iPod Mini
PowerBook-iBook
Garageband

Special Report

Tidbit: WMD Search Funding Squabbles & What the Money's For

 

Wednesday, October 1, 2003

By Applelinks Senior Editor John H. Farr

A news story at the New York Times site has a computer industry tie-in, so we thought we'd lay it out for you. First you need to know that the government wants another $600 million to fund more searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, this on top of the $300 million already spent. The Army is jealous, too, and for good reason.

These facts are relevant because all along there have been two different teams of experts looking for the elusive WMDs: the Pentagon's 75th Exploitation Task Force, a military group, now superceded by the larger Iraq Survey Group, headed by former United Nations weapons inspector David Kay, which reports to the C.I.A. The news of the additional $600 million request, intended to increase the staff of the Iraq Survey Group to a total of 1,400 personnel, comes on the heels of months of bitter complaining by military sources who resent what they consider the underfunding of their own Exploitation Task Force.

Apparently the additional funding request for the C.I.A.'s Iraq Survey Group was too much for the unnamed Pentagon officials cited in the article. Speaking of the Iraq Survey Group, the Times reporters write:

The group has also concentrated on installing an unnecessarily elaborate infrastructure to support its operations, said several military officials who complained there was a disparity between the resources allotted to the two programs.

While the Exploitation Task Force worked out of an abandoned palace and the servants' housing quarters near Baghdad airport and remained short of vehicles, air support, computers and even electricity during the initial months of the weapons hunt, the Iraq Survey Group spent its first weeks installing air-conditioned trailers, a new dining facility, state-of-the-art software and even a sprinkler system for a new lawn, according to officials and experts who worked with the group this summer.

"They kept unloading crates and crates of new Dell laptops," said one Pentagon official who complained that the exploitation force lacked resources.

Email This Article - Comment On This Article

Recent News
Page: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

.

Reader Specials

Server Racks Online:
Apple Xserve CompatibleServer Racks and Universal Network Racks
42U KVM Switch Solutions:
High-End Mac and Multi-Platform KVM Matrix switching solutions!
Digital Camera Online:
Great prices on Digital Cameras and accessories!
KVM Switches Online:
Great prices on Mac KVM Switches from the leading manufacturers!
LCD Monitors Online:
Great prices on LCD Monitors from the leading manufacturers!
LCD Projectors Online:
Shop online for LCD Projectors from the leading manufacturers!
USB 2.0 Online:
Great prices on USB 2.0 products from the leading manufacturers

Serious Business Software:
Accounting, Sales, Inventory, CRM, Shipping, Payroll & more!

KVM Switch solutions for MACs:
DAXTEN is a KVM switch, KVM extender and monitor splitter specialist for PC, SUN and MAC applications from name brand manufacturers - offices worldwide.

The "Think Different Store: The iPod Accessories Store - iPod cases, iPod mini, iPod photo, speakers, itrip, inMotion, Soundstage and all other iPod accessories

Earn Cash with the ThinkDifferent Store Affiliates Program

Need A Web Site?
Applelinks Web Hosting Starting at 19.95 a Month

iTunes_RGB_9mm

iTunes_RGB_9mm

Cool Mac Gear


iPod 1G-2G
iPod 3G
iPod 4G
iPod Mini
PowerBook-iBook
Keyboard Skins
Garageband