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.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS