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.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College