Members of a panel that advises Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld work for companies that do business with the Pentagon, including World Airways Inc, which flies troops to the Persian Gulf, and Alliant Techsystems Inc, the biggest maker of ammunition for US forces.
Software maker Symantec Corp, aviation-services company AAR Corp and weapons builder Metal Storm Ltd are other defense contractors with directors who serve on the panel, the Defense Policy Board. At least eight members of the 30-person board have such ties, according to Securities and Exchange Commission and other filings.
They include retired Navy admirals William Owens and David Jeremiah, former Central Intelligence Agency director James Woolsey, former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, retired Air Force General Ronald Fogleman, defense consultant Barry Blechman and Fred Ikle, former undersecretary of defense for policy.
In addition, Richard Perle, a former defense official who resigned as chairman of the policy board on Thursday amid conflict-of-interest questions, remains on the board.
Board members disclose their business affiliations to the Pentagon in reports that the agency keeps secret. Critics say the secrecy and dual roles raise the issue of whether board members may render advice that benefits their companies.
"It's the problem of a person serving two masters," said Monroe H. Freedman, an ethics professor at Hofstra University Law School. "It certainly should not be permitted."
The Center for Public Integrity, a Washington group that monitors government ethics issues, yesterday said policy board members have ties to companies that received more than US$72 billion in defense contracts in 2001 and last year.
The center also named retired Marine Corps General Jack Sheehan, who works for Bechtel Group Inc, which is bidding for contracts to rebuild Iraq after the war; former defense secretary Harold Brown, a trustee at the Rand Corp, a nonprofit research institute that does work for the Defense Department; and Chris Williams, a defense company lobbyist for Johnston & Associates.
Defense Policy Board members are considered special government employees subject to ethical rules that forbid using public office for private gain. In classified briefings, the members provide ``independent, informed advice'' on strategic planning, weapon systems and foreign policy, its charter says. The board has met six times in the last year.
Owens, who is a former vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview that the unpaid board doesn't discuss business or US policies that may benefit companies.
"I can't remember a single issue we discussed where a company had something to gain," Owens said.
Owens sits on the boards of seven public companies that have defense contracts. These include Cray Inc, whose computers are used to simulate nuclear explosions, and Microvision Inc, which makes optical scanners that let pilots read data on helmet visors.
* World Airways, Symantec, Alliant Techsystems, AAR and Metal Storm advise the US Defense Secretary.
* Board members disclose their business affiliations to the Pentagon in reports that the agency keeps secret.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS