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Gov't Watchdogs Under Attack From Bosses
"There are two kinds of terrorism in the U.S.: the external kind and internally, the IGs have terrorized the regional administrators," she told Miller and his staff on Aug. 18.
The quotes are from a participant's meeting notes obtained by The Associated Press. Miller aide Robert Samuels attended the meeting and confirmed the comments, as did another attendee.
  Stuart Bowen, special inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction gestures during a news conference in Paris in this March 14, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File) (Remy De La Mauviniere - AP) |
Doan declined comment.
The jobs of two watchdogs had to be rescued by Congress.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., outgoing chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, inserted language in a defense bill to close down the Iraq inspector general by the end of 2007.
That inspector general, Stuart Bowen Jr., has conducted several high-profile investigations of how the Bush administration has spent money during Iraqi reconstruction. He found dramatic examples of missing weapons, wasted billions and excessive overhead costs by Halliburton.
Hunter said he agreed that Bowen's office had been useful but that a termination date was needed so that normal oversight functions could be returned to the Defense and State departments.
Democrats and key Republicans rebelled and saved Bowen's job.
"It is inconceivable that we would remove this aggressive oversight while the American taxpayer is still spending billions of dollars on Iraq reconstruction projects," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.
Legal Services Corp. Inspector General Kirt West rankled top managers of the federal legal aid program for the poor when he investigated lavish executive expenditures. The agency's board of directors discussed firing him in early 2006.
West "should know that he's got to ... shape up or we will ship him out," board vice chairman Lillian BeVier said, according to one meeting transcript.
Three members of Congress intervened to save West's job.
