Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: Actions Needed to Address Inadequate Accountability Over U. S. Efforts and Investments

Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: Actions Needed to Address Inadequate Accountability Over U. S. Efforts and Investments PDF Author: David M. Walker
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437902693
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Book Description
Since 2001, Congress has appropriated nearly $700 billion for the global war on terrorism. The majority of these funds have supported U.S. efforts in Iraq. Congressional oversight is crucial to improve performance, ensure accountability, and protect U.S. programs from fraud, waste, and abuse. Since 2003, there have been nearly 130 Iraq-related reports and testimonies. This testimony addresses: (1) factors contributing to poor contracting outcomes and accountability; (2) long-standing issues in the Dept. of Defense¿s management and oversight of contractors supporting deployed forces; and (3) efforts to improve the capacity of the Iraqi government Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.

Hard Lessons

Hard Lessons PDF Author: United States. Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 480

Book Description
Product Description: The billions of dollars expended in Iraq constitute the largest relief and reconstruction exercise in American history. SIGIR's lessons learned capping report characterizes this effort in four phases (pre-war to ORHA, CPA, post-CPA/Negroponte era, and Khalilzad, Crocker, and the Surge). From this history, SIGIR forwards a series of conclusions and recommendations for Congress to consider when organizing for the next post-conflict reconstruction situation. Over the past five years, the United States has provided nearly fifty billion dollars for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq. This unprecedented rebuilding program, implemented after the March 2003 invasion, was developed to restore Iraq's essential services, build Iraq's security forces, create a market-based economy, and establish a democratic government--all in pursuit of U.S. interests in a stable and free Iraq. Did the U.S. rebuilding program achieve its objectives? Was the money provided well-spent or wasted? What lessons have we learned from the experience? Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience, a report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), answers these and other important questions by presenting a comprehensive history of the U.S. program, chiefly derived from SIGIR's body of extensive oversight work in Iraq, hundreds of interviews with key figures involved with the reconstruction program, and thousands of documents evidencing the reconstruction work that was - or was not - done. The report examines the limited pre-war planning for reconstruction, the shift from a large infrastructure program to a more community-based one, and the success of the Surge in 2007 and beyond. Hard Lessons concludes that the U.S. government did not have the structure or resources in place to execute the mammoth relief and reconstruction plan it took on in 2003. The lessons learned from this experience create a basis for reviewing and reforming the U.S. approach to contingency relief and reconstruction operations.

Managing Public Sector Projects

Managing Public Sector Projects PDF Author: David S. Kassel
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351559389
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Filling a gap in project management literature, Managing Public Sector Projects: A Strategic Framework for Success in an Era of Downsized Government supplies managers and administrators—at all levels of government—with expert guidance on all aspects of public sector project management. From properly allocating risks in drafting contracts to dealing with downsized staffs and privatized services, this book clearly explains the technical concepts and the political issues involved. In line with the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and the PMBOK® Guide. David S. Kassel establishes a framework those in the public sector can follow to ensure the success of their public projects and programs. He supplies more than 30 real-life examples to illustrate the concepts behind the framework—including reconstruction projects in Iraq, the Big Dig project in Boston, local sewer system and library construction projects, and software technology. This authoritative resource provides strategic recommendations for effective planning, execution, and maintenance of public projects. It also: Highlights the differences between managing projects in the public sector versus the private sector Explains how to scrutinize costs, performance claims, and the backgrounds of prospective contractors Presents key safeguards that should be included in all contracts with contractors, consultants, suppliers, and other service providers Details the basics of project cost estimation, design and scheduling, and how to hold contractors responsible for meeting established project standards In an age of downsized government and in the face of a general distrust of public service, this book is a dependable guide for avoiding management practices that are common to projects that fail and for adopting the practices common to projects that succeed in terms of cost, schedule, and quality.

The Foundations of Organizational Evil

The Foundations of Organizational Evil PDF Author: Carole L. Jurkiewicz
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317456769
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 442

Book Description
Numerous reprehensible corporate, governmental, and nonprofit activities over recent years have highlighted the existence of organizational evil. Unlike other works on the topic, this book fully develops the concept of organizational evil, conceptually weaving the interchange between evil individuals (microlevel) who ultimately create the organizational environment that is evil, and the macrolevel elements of policy, culture, and manipulations of the social environment.

Military Operations

Military Operations PDF Author: Sharon Pickup
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 143791649X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 29

Book Description
U.S. gov¿t. agencies, including the DoD and the USAID have spent billions of dollars to develop Afghanistan. From FY¿s 2004 to 2008, DoD has reported obligations of about $1 billion for its Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP), which enables commanders to respond to urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs. As troop levels increase, DoD officials expect the program to expand. This report assessed DoD's: (1) capacity to manage and oversee the CERP in Afghanistan; and (2) coordination of projects with USAID. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.

Measuring Value and Risk in Services Contracts

Measuring Value and Risk in Services Contracts PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Book Description


Re-mapping the Americas

Re-mapping the Americas PDF Author: W. Andy Knight
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317066758
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description
Since the end of the Second World War the map of the Americas has changed dramatically. Not only were many former European colonies turned into sovereign states, there was also an ongoing process of region-making recognizable throughout the hemisphere and obvious through the establishment of several regional agreements. The emergence of political and economic regional integration blocs is a very timely topic analyzed by scholars in many disciplines worldwide. This book looks at remapping the recent trends in region-making throughout the Americas in a way that hasn’t been at the center of academic analyses so far. While examining these regionalisation tendencies with a historical background in mind, the authors also answer fundamental questions such as: What influences does globalization have on region-making, both on normative regionalism plans as well as on actual economic, political, cultural, military and social regionalization processes driven by state and non-state actors? What ideas or interests lead states in the Americas to cooperate or compete with one another and how is this power distributed? How do these regional agreements affect trade relations and have there been trade barriers set up to protect national economies? What agreements exist or have existed and how did they change with regard to contents and for what reason? The book informs academic as well as non-academic audiences about regional developments in the Americas, in particular those dating back to the last twenty years. Beyond the primary purpose of summarizing the hemisphere’s recent trends, the book also brings clarification in a detailed but easy to understand way about timely issues regarding the institutionalisation, or lack thereof, of the plethora of regional and sub-regional bodies that have emerged in this hemisphere over the past couple of decades.

A Revolution in Military Adaptation

A Revolution in Military Adaptation PDF Author: Chad C. Serena
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 1589017838
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 223

Book Description
During the early years of the Iraq War, the US Army was unable to translate initial combat success into strategic and political victory. Iraq plunged into a complex insurgency, and defeating this insurgency required beating highly adaptive foes. A competition between the hierarchical and vertically integrated army and networked and horizontally integrated insurgents ensued. The latter could quickly adapt and conduct networked operations in a decentralized fashion; the former was predisposed to fighting via prescriptive plans under a centralized command and control. To achieve success, the US Army went through a monumental process of organizational adaptation—a process driven by soldiers and leaders that spread throughout the institution and led to revolutionary changes in how the army supported and conducted its operations in Iraq. How the army adapted and the implications of this adaptation are the subject of this indispensable study. Intended for policymakers, defense and military professionals, military historians, and academics, this book offers a solid critique of the army’s current capacity to adapt to likely future adversary strategies and provides policy recommendations for retaining lessons learned in Iraq.

Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience

Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience PDF Author: Stuart W. Bowen
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437912745
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 508

Book Description
A combination of poor planning, weak oversight and greed cheated U.S. taxpayers and undermined American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. taxpayers have paid nearly $51 billion for projects in Iraq, including training the Iraqi army and police and rebuilding Iraq's oil, electric, justice, health and transportation sectors. Many of the projects did not succeed, partly because of violence in Iraq and friction between U.S. officials in Washington and Iraqi officials in Baghdad. The U.S. gov¿t. "was neither prepared for nor able to respond quickly to the ever-changing demands" of stabilizing Iraq and then rebuilding it. This report reviews the problems in the war effort, which the Bush admin. claimed would cost $2.4 billion. Charts and tables.

Addressing U.S. Strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan

Addressing U.S. Strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Book Description