Watch Dogs
April 24, 2008
by: Sean Kennedy and Katelynn Eckert

Government WasteWatch, Spring/Summer 2008

Lincoln in the Sky with Diamonds

In the fiscal year 2008 Financial Services Appropriations Act, House Appropriations Committee member Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) inserted an earmark worth $282,000 for the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission for minority and small business development and procurement opportunities.  Pending approval of its plans, the Commission will provide oversight to the construction of Chicago’s third airport, which has been heavily lobbied for by Rep. Jackson.

While tacitly an effort to maintain Chicago’s status as a renowned international aviation hub, the airport is looking more and more like an attempt to boost the economy of the city’s southern suburbs.  Rep. Jackson’s website claims the new airport “creates tens of thousands of new jobs, builds a stronger tax base, and provides sound economic development for a generation and beyond.”  In addition, Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) endorsed the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission in his February 2005 State of the State address, asserting that it would spur new investment and employment “in an area of our state that desperately needs jobs.”

The unstated motivation for the airport might have been ignored by federal taxpayers had the Commission stuck to its original plan of funding the airport, using an arrangement which combined private financing with public governance and accountability.  Instead, Rep. Jackson relied on a pervasive congressional talent of speaking out of both sides of one’s mouth: at the same time his website claimed the airport would be built “using only private dollars and posing no cost or risk to taxpayers,” he was earmarking money for the Commission.

Mainframes on the Agenda

Continuing Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) long-standing support for the efficient use of technology at the state and federal levels as well as government transparency, a new project has been launched to determine the depth and breadth of the use of mainframe computers in state government.  CAGW has submitted information requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the chief information officers of each state.  The FOIAs request statistics on the states’ use of mainframe computers.

Used by major corporations, hospitals, financial institutions, as well as government to store and process data, mainframe systems require expensive upkeep.  Several states have had issues with their mainframe systems.  Last year, Virginia experienced a hardware failure in one of its mainframes that impacted several agencies, most notably the Departments of Motor Vehicles, Social Services, and Taxation.  Recently, the courts system in Texas switched from the old-fashioned system of mainframe storage to a network-based electronic filing system.  Now, court clerks and attorneys can themselves electronically file and view documents, saving time and potentially millions of dollars.

As the FOIAs begin to trickle in, CAGW will catalogue the results and rate each state on the substance of its activities in relation to mainframes, as well as on its responsiveness in handling the request.  The report will also include recommendations on improving and modernizing these computer systems.  CAGW’s findings should be published by the end of the summer.

Booming Market for Military Goods

The auction websites Craigslist and eBay have revolutionized the way business and personal transactions are conducted.  They unite buyers and sellers, landlords and renters, and in the case of Craigslist, “missed connections.”  However, it appears that these websites are not only aiding those with unique hobbies and an appetite for obscure items, but persons searching for sensitive military property as well.  Between 2007 and 2008, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) performed a series of undercover investigations, determining that numerous defense-related items were readily available for sale on Craigslist and eBay.

While it is not illegal to buy and sell defense-related items domestically, the Department of Defense classifies some items as requiring special demilitarization prior to disposal. The demilitarization process can range from removing sensitive components to destroying the item entirely.  The items located by GAO on eBay and Craigslist required demilitarization; however, they never underwent the process, meaning that highly sensitive military goods were on the market and available to any interested party.

Many of these items could have been used directly against American troops and U.S. allies, or been reversed engineered to develop countermeasures or equivalent technology.  Items purchased by GAO included components for F-14 aircrafts, Army Combat Uniforms, and body armor vests.  Although this is alarming enough, GAO’s findings get worse.  The F-14 fleet has been retired by the United States, and these components are currently in demand by the government of Iran.

In addition, in January 2007, Iraqi insurgents donned Army Combat Uniforms and gained access to a compound in Karbala, killing five service members.  This event could easily be repeated given the availability of Army Combat Uniforms through these auction sites. The unique body armor vests used in Iraq and Afghanistan can be reverse engineered to develop countermeasures, rendering them ineffective, or could even be used domestically for criminal purposes.

The websites involved in this GAO investigation have an international scope, meaning that items can be purchased by anyone in the world.  In this investigation, agents found that all items were shipped “no questions asked,” allowing for the real possibility that they could be purchased by illegal weapons brokers, terrorists, and agents of foreign governments.  While eBay and Craigslist publicly state that stolen items cannot be sold, both sites maintain little effective oversight to determine if the items for sale have, in fact, been stolen.

The findings of this report bring up a Pandora’s Box of potential security risks brought on by the Internet age.  While this issue cannot be easily rectified, one thing is certain:  the Department of Defense and federal government as a whole must install a more thorough method of tracking and disposing of military goods.