After generations of being a black hole down which money goes, never to return, a team of 1,200 auditors tried to give the Pentagon its first ever comprehensive audit, just to see where all that money went. Unsurprisingly, it went poorly, and was declared a failure.
How bad the failure was is something of a mystery at this point, with officials refusing to disclose the exact results, or even ballpark how much money is unaccounted for. The only clue to the sheer scope of the matter is that they believe it will take “years” to sort out.
And if there was one thing more dependable than the Pentagon failing an audit and missing an undisclosed, but vast, amount of money, it’s officials downplaying the matter. Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan told reporters that the Pentagon “never expected to pass it” in the first place.
Indeed, Shanahan insisted that even though the Pentagon failed the audit, the fact that they even bothered to do an audit at all “is substantial,” and shows effort toward compliance. That said, he said the issue of audits is “irritating to me.”
This is why expenses like the border wall and Space Force are paltry in comparison. Enormous sums are wasted or unaccounted for.
I really hope the President gets angry and just orders all troops back to the US. With fewer overseas expenses, the US could likely build a much better military at reduced cost. Now, as to why the US even needs much of a military, I couldn’t say. But if it’s to be built up, then it should be done efficiently.
It’s hard to estimate the cost versus value of the border wall. The question “how much is it worth to turn America into East Germany?” can only really be answered by those who want that to happen.
Israel and Hungary are better examples. I’ve never cared much for the wall in comparison with a visa overstay system, e-verify etc.
E-Verify is universal conscription of every employer as an unpaid secret police agent. No thanks.
Israel divides the country from the Chosen from the un-Chosen.
The East Berlin (not Germany) Wall kept people in. This Wall will keep people out.
The Eastern Berlin Wall was advertised as keeping people out, and was used to keep people in.
The function of any US border wall will be dual use as well.
Only criminals and drug runners would try to leave the US, and in our case if others went out, good, stay out.
Nearly 67 million Americans left the US in 2016. Are they all criminals and drug runners?
They didn’t jump a wall and leave illegally into Mexico. See the difference?
Yes, I see the difference. They have your preferred gang’s permission to cross the turf lines.
It’s called nation-states with borders which control who comes in and who goes out. Those old hunter-gatherer days when there were no borders were just great.
Yes, those old hunter-gatherer days prior to 1947, before which you didn’t even need a passport to enter or leave the United States — and for that matter, when no one would even say boo to you unless you chose to enter through one of a few port cities like New York.
The nation-state as we know it dates from 1648, long after “hunter-gatherer days.” And it’s been not quite 400 years of authoritarian fail.
Almost goes back to the old pioneer/settler days.
I believe it was National Geo or Smithsonian had a fairly recent article that posited the theory that the old hunter gatherer good times changed to settlements and farming because of our ancestors’ thirst for beer and wine.
what happened in 1648?
The peace of Westphalia under which the concept of “national sovereignty” with negotiated “borders” was negotiated. Before that, land (and the people on it) went with their liege lord whenever his loyalties changed.
So we should have wasted expenses like the wall and a space force because they are “paltry” in comparison to other wasted expenses?
Too many marbles, they need more shells for the shell game.
Translation: “We spent so much money supporting terrorism, that we’re having a hard time hiding it.”
The disinterest by the “free press” is alarming and an indication of what complete lackeys the corporate media stooges have become. After decades of non-compliance–ONE effing Reuters article!!! Trump’s former attorney getting arrested on a DV charge is sooooo much more important, really?
Also noteworthy: this was a “press briefing”–NOT an open press conference in which Questions are asked and responded to. The “free press” is supposed to help hold the government accountable; without it the government will do as they please.
“…the government will do as they please.”
Because the American people have been trained to not care or look the other way. Many believe, as they are prodded to believe, that it’s in their best interest. Besides, it’s not like the Pentagon is going to change the way they do things just because they’ve failed an audit – no one is going to get fired or god forbid, go to jail.
So…in 250 years no one living now will give a ratsass.
Didn’t Rumsfeld say there was $2.3 trillion missing from Pentagon accounts the day before 9/11? Uh-oh!
Mafia goons don’t have to pass any stinking’ audit. Didn’t you know that war is a racket?
With the Mob, there are always two sets of books. The Pentagon just hasn’t gotten around to doing that yet. Oh, wait, there are the f-ck you books they’ve always used!
“Those budget cuts are killing us”. . .and someday we’ll find out where.
I feel bad for the one that was leading this audit. The pressure and scrutiny he got must’ve been. overwhelming.
That said, what did they expect from Pentagon for leaving the faucet open and allowing the dollar to spill over the pig trough?
The only thing supposedly clarified was a contradiction of the Reuters headline:
“To clarify, the audit is not a ‘pass-fail’ process. We did not
receive an ‘adverse’ finding – the lowest possible category – in any
area,” a Pentagon spokesman, said. “We did receive findings of ‘disclaimer’ in multiple areas.”
Now all we need is a plain-language audit OF the audit process, so we would actually understand how much money is missing from where and what the difference is between an adverse disclaimer and an imperfection is. All we’ve learned is that issues were found, we’re not allowed to know what they are, they won’t be fixed for years if ever, and those in charge were irritated that they had to go through the motions at all.
I am sure many of us remember September 10, 2001 when Donald Rumsfeld found a slight error in the “defense” budget of several billions of dollars.
By the very next day, people had forgotten!
Yes, accountability is just so irritating.
Let’s just keep spending and spending until we can’t spend no more and see what really happens. What the hell, we’re going to do it anyway.
FTA: “‘Some of the compliance issues are irritating to me… The point of the audit is to drive better discipline in our compliance with our management systems and procedures,’ Shanahan added.” NOT the issue of audits. I suggest a rewrite to the summary above.
Uh huh, can put a missile in any window of any building in the world, but can’t keep a checkbook……
news report
“Lockheed Martin has won a $22.7 billion contract”
Lockheed didn’t “win” anything, they just get more dollar slop at the Pentagon feed trough. It’s not a contract, it’s another “undefinitized contract action” which allows the Project to shovel more money to their Lockheed masters. “Undefinitized Contract Actions (UCA) are those contract actions for which the contract terms, specifications, or price are not agreed upon before performance commences (DFARS 217.7401).” And a poor performance it is, seventeen years in development and still not ready for operational test and evaluation, necessary for full production.
Speaking of audits, the Defense Contract Audit Agency has never audited F-35 manufacturing contracts, which is one reason why we don’t know the real cost of these turkeys of which a couple hundred are now parked in “training squadrons” because these pre-production prototypes lack capability and reliability. Of course not using actual manufacturing contracts, as on the last four low rate manufacturing lots, makes any contract audit impossible.
“, the fact that they even bothered to do an audit at all “is substantial,””
They means Trump ordered the audit…