‘Top Secret America’: A look at the military’s Joint Special Operations Command. Since 9/11, this secretive group of men (and a few women) has grown tenfold while sustaining a level of obscurity that not even the CIA has managed.
“We’re the dark matter. We’re the force that orders the universe but can’t be seen,” a strapping Navy SEAL, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said in describing his unit. The SEALs are just part of the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations Command, known by the acronym JSOC, which has grown from a rarely used hostage rescue team into America’s secret army. When members of this elite force killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May, JSOC leaders celebrated not just the success of the mission but also how few people knew their command, based in Fayetteville, N.C., even existed. This article, adapted from a chapter of the newly released “Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State,” by Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and William M.
Obscurity has been one of the unit’s hallmarks. Under President George W. Top Secret America: Who is TSA? Reports. Special Report 5: Sustainability: hidden costs risk new waste issued June 3, 2011 Special Report 4: Iraq — a forgotten mission?
The United States needs to sustain a diplomatic presence to preserve gains and avoid waste as the U.S. military leaves Iraq issued March 1, 2011 Special Report 3: Better planning for Defense-to-State transition in Iraq needed to avoid mistakes and waste issued July 12, 2010 Special Report 2: Lowest-priced security not good enough for war-zone embassies issued October 1, 2009 The Commission issued its second Special Report, "Lowest-priced security not good enough for war-zone embassies," to urge that Congress change a statutory restriction on the State Department's ability to choose security contractors for its Foreign Service buildings based on any considerations other than lowest price and technical acceptability. Special Report 1: Defense agencies must improve their oversight of contractor business systems to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse Issued September 21, 2009.
Commission on Wartime Contracting. This website was frozen on September 29, 2011.
It is now a Federal record managed on behalf of the National Archives and Records Administration. External links were active as of that date. For technical issues, contact University of North Texas CyberCemetery. Final Report to Congress Transforming Wartime ContractingControlling costs Reducing risks August 2011 Download the report (pdf)Read press release (pdf) How did the Commission derive its $31 billion to $60 billion estimate of waste? Welcome to the website of the Commission on Wartime Contracting (CWC), an independent, bipartisan legislative commission established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Section 841 requires the Commission to assess a number of factors related to wartime contracting, including the extent of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of wartime contracts. The Commission has issued two interim reports to Congress, “At What Cost?” The Commission will sunset on September 30, 2011.