According to a recent report in Top Secret America, a series run by the Washington Post, signs are pointing toward significant cut-backs in funding for U.S. Intelligence communities and organizations.
According to the Washington Post report, the following signs are painting a bleak picture for Intelligence organizations that are now owned and operated by corporate America.
->Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed a 10 percent cut for contractors working for U.S. intelligence agencies.
->The Obama administration is going to review government IT projects totally $30 billion in value in order to consider cuts to projects that are not meeting stated goals.
->The Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget stated that Washington culture of “throwing good money after bad money” has to stop. He stated that any projects that “don’t add value” will be “discontinued.”
With that said, the Washington Post article didn’t list projects that are up for cuts that specifically refer to the intelligence community. For example, IT projects involving track cargo, or a Lockheed Martin air-traffic control upgrade are hardly “intelligence” related.
However, the focus on analyzing government contract work for inefficiencies and waste will most certainly impact the many private contractors that do intelligence work. While many aspects of IT are fairly mundane, there are certainly aspects that involve classified information systems and even intelligence collection utilizing computer systems and networks.
The Political Muscle of Private Contractors
The road is not an easy one for the Obama administration if the plan is to cut back on spending related to these major contracts. The Post points out that the top 10 companies which handle classified government work have contributed from $5 to $7 million dollars in political contributions – equally between the two parties. These same companies have spent $135.3 million on lobbying efforts alone.
To think that all of that money won’t have an impact on the decision making process would be naive. While the efforts of the Obama administration are commendable, the reality is that without real action it’s just hot air. And given the money and political clout that these corporations and institutions have over our elected officials – the road to cleaning up corruption and overspending within the Military/Industrial/Intelligence complex is one that is long and difficult.
Ryan Dube is editor-in-chief of TSW and an electrical engineer in the automation industry. He spends his time investigating declassified government documents, legends and conspiracy theories. Ryan has 296 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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