War & Disaster Profiteering

It is a familiar role for KBR, which under longstanding contracts has delivered the engineering equivalent of first aid to the Navy and other military and government agencies after natural disasters for more than 15 years. This time, the Halliburton unit's performance is likely to be watched especially closely, as its work under separate contracts in Iraq has come under extensive criticism in the past two years. Read More

The resignation comes after Sen. Charles E. Grassley sent Defense Department Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz several letters informing him that he was the focus of a congressional inquiry. Read More

Some lower-level U.S. Air Force and Pentagon officials do not yet fully recognize the need to overhaul defense procurement to make it more transparent and avoid problems of the past, the U.S. military's top internal watchdog said on Thursday. Read More

Joseph Schmitz, the Pentagon's chief internal watchdog since March 2002, has quit to join a defense contractor involved in private security services, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday. Read More

The report found that the total value of military weapon sales worldwide in 2004 rose to the highest level since 2000, reaching nearly $37 billion. Read More

With $15.7 billion in orders, India edged out China, with $15.3 billion, to become the developing world's biggest weapons buyer for the eight-year period up to 2004 reviewed by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Read More

The Pentagon's chief internal watchdog said on Thursday his agency continues to investigate the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, although he declined to give details. Read More

Cunningham's possible abuse of his clout has opened a window on the congressional appropriations process, giving the public a rare glimpse at the growing premium that contractors place on obtaining influence on Capitol Hill. Read More

The chief executives of the defense industry's largest companies have doubled their paychecks since 9/11 and the War on Terrorism began -- far greater than the average 7 percent growth for all corporate CEOs. Read More

Chief executives at top U.S. defense contractors have received a 200 percent pay hike since 2001 compared to a 7 percent raise for other CEOs at large companies, a study showed on Tuesday. Read More