The head of the office
charged with investigating
corruption in the multibillion-
dollar effort to rebuild
Afghanistan has resigned, the
White House said Monday,
following congressional
demands that the White House
replace him.
Arnold Fields, a retired
Marine Corps major general,
was named special inspector
general for Afghanistan
reconstruction in 2008, when
the office was first established
along the lines of a similar
effort that has uncovered
billions of dollars of waste and
fraud in Iraq.
In a statement, the White
House praised Fields's "hard
work and steadfast
determination," adding, "the
President and the American
people owe him a debt of
gratitude for his courage,
leadership, and selfless
service."
The White House made no
mention of who would replace
Fields. In his own statement,
Fields said he would work for
the next month "to ensure a
smooth transition of duties."
A bipartisan group of
senators, led by Sen. Claire
McCaskill (D-Mo.), asked
President Obama in
September to "begin the
process of removing" Fields
based on concerns they had
raised repeatedly since early
2009.
The Office of the Special
Inspector General for
Afghanistan Reconstruction,
or SIGAR, is charged with
oversight of the $56 billion
that the United States has
committed since 2002 to
nonmilitary development and
humanitarian assistance
programs in Afghanistan.
But an August review of the
office by the Council of
Inspectors General on
Integrity and Efficiency found
that its audits were of poor
quality and that it lacked a
strategic plan.
"I don't mean to be cruel,"
McCaskill told Fields in a
recent hearing. "I don't think
you're the right person for this
job."
The hearing, of the
contracting oversight
subcommittee, focused on
SIGAR's completion of only
four contract audits. The
agency had identified only $8
million in misspent money with
its $46 million in office
expenditures.
Fields was also criticized for
awarding a $96,000 no-bid,
two-month contract last year
to Joseph Schmitz, who
resigned as the Defense
Department inspector general
in 2005, to "monitor" SIGAR's
performance.
Last week, Fields fired his two
deputies in charge of
investigations and audits,
saying the organization
needed "new blood."
The September letter was the
third missive to Obama on the
issue signed by McCaskill, who
chairs the subcommittee, and
Republican Sens. Tom Coburn
(Okla.), Susan M. Collins
(Maine) and Charles E.
Grassley (Iowa). It called
SIGAR a "failing organization."
"It has been clear for several
months that SIGAR's mission is
not being served effectively,"
the lawmakers wrote. "We
urge you to act now" in
replacing Fields "with an
individual who will oversee the
significant organizational
change needed within SIGAR
to provide adequate oversight
of the billions of dollars of
spending on reconstruction in
Afghanistan."
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011005512.html?hpid=topnews
charged with investigating
corruption in the multibillion-
dollar effort to rebuild
Afghanistan has resigned, the
White House said Monday,
following congressional
demands that the White House
replace him.
Arnold Fields, a retired
Marine Corps major general,
was named special inspector
general for Afghanistan
reconstruction in 2008, when
the office was first established
along the lines of a similar
effort that has uncovered
billions of dollars of waste and
fraud in Iraq.
In a statement, the White
House praised Fields's "hard
work and steadfast
determination," adding, "the
President and the American
people owe him a debt of
gratitude for his courage,
leadership, and selfless
service."
The White House made no
mention of who would replace
Fields. In his own statement,
Fields said he would work for
the next month "to ensure a
smooth transition of duties."
A bipartisan group of
senators, led by Sen. Claire
McCaskill (D-Mo.), asked
President Obama in
September to "begin the
process of removing" Fields
based on concerns they had
raised repeatedly since early
2009.
The Office of the Special
Inspector General for
Afghanistan Reconstruction,
or SIGAR, is charged with
oversight of the $56 billion
that the United States has
committed since 2002 to
nonmilitary development and
humanitarian assistance
programs in Afghanistan.
But an August review of the
office by the Council of
Inspectors General on
Integrity and Efficiency found
that its audits were of poor
quality and that it lacked a
strategic plan.
"I don't mean to be cruel,"
McCaskill told Fields in a
recent hearing. "I don't think
you're the right person for this
job."
The hearing, of the
contracting oversight
subcommittee, focused on
SIGAR's completion of only
four contract audits. The
agency had identified only $8
million in misspent money with
its $46 million in office
expenditures.
Fields was also criticized for
awarding a $96,000 no-bid,
two-month contract last year
to Joseph Schmitz, who
resigned as the Defense
Department inspector general
in 2005, to "monitor" SIGAR's
performance.
Last week, Fields fired his two
deputies in charge of
investigations and audits,
saying the organization
needed "new blood."
The September letter was the
third missive to Obama on the
issue signed by McCaskill, who
chairs the subcommittee, and
Republican Sens. Tom Coburn
(Okla.), Susan M. Collins
(Maine) and Charles E.
Grassley (Iowa). It called
SIGAR a "failing organization."
"It has been clear for several
months that SIGAR's mission is
not being served effectively,"
the lawmakers wrote. "We
urge you to act now" in
replacing Fields "with an
individual who will oversee the
significant organizational
change needed within SIGAR
to provide adequate oversight
of the billions of dollars of
spending on reconstruction in
Afghanistan."
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011005512.html?hpid=topnews
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