Hakki comments:
> Hell, what _isn't_ a scandal at the >Pentagon? How many trillion bucks did
> Rummy say were unaccounted for >already?
When I worked for the DoD in a civilian capacity, Sen. Glenn of Ohio (real pro-military Democrat) was always on the phone to a supervisor over $3 billion unaccounted for at the Dept. of Navy alone. That was 1987. Of course a lot of this is for rainy day funds.
That's a good article at Counterpunch on Carlucci, though it , if I remember, emphasizes only his role in guiding Caryle Group into the status of military defense contractor holding company. It misses out the other geostrategic business plays (in deregulated telecoms, in software, and now in distressed Japan) of the firm, including being part of the lobby behind the controversial energy plan that Cheney is stonewalling over. And CG is deep into Caspian oil and gas business, including the Unocal Afghan route since it owns Groupe Genoyer, a serious pipe and pump company for 'process industries.
If the LBO T archive is up, check out some of my previous posts for review. Also, check out Tim Shorrock's recent stuff at the Nation, which includes a special online article on Carlucci.
http://www.thenation.com/docPrint.mhtml?i=20020401&s=shorrock
This article
http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/556/5war.htm
from Egypt ( I know nothing about the organization, just that the article included a lot of info. I'd got from direct sources and seemed well written and coherent) summarizes a lot of what is known about crony capitalism behind the Afghan conflict, but it misses the obvious Carlyle Group ties to Caspian projects (CG owns a Norwegian drilling company looking for Caspian business, and it owns, as I said, Groupe Genoyer, pipe supplier extraordinaire, a fact not missed in the French press but how many Anglais read there?).
Charles Jannuzi