Watchdog critical of State Department contracting in Afghanistan

By Jamie Crawford

A U.S. government watchdog found "serious deficiencies" in how the State Department awarded a contract job in Afghanistan, according to a letter from the organization to Secretary of State John Kerry released Thursday.
In the letter dated Monday, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, John Sopko, raised a number of concerns on the oversight practices of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) at the State Department and how they awarded a contract for the training of Afghan justice workers.
Sopko said the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the nongovernmental organization awarded the contract, is "ill-prepared to manage and account for how U.S.-taxpayer funds will be spent," while also criticizing the State Department's role in awarding the contract.

The United States has maintained that programs such as training and rule-of-law programs are central to ending the international presence in the country and allowing Afghans to take control of their own security.
Those programs involve "millions of dollars" of U.S. taxpayer money the letter said.
"The State Department - for some inexplicable reason - gave IDLO $50 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars, then gave away any oversight of this foreign entity," Sopko said in a written statement to CNN about the report. "The irony here is that State violated its own written policy and gave them a huge check to teach the Afghans about the 'rule of law.' As the saying goes, you can't make this up. We're going to get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable."
Sopko said his office - Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR - was disturbed to learn the agreement for IDLO to take over the contract contained "even fewer oversight requirements" than the agreement for the previous contractor. The letter also cited testimony by a State Department official to SIGAR auditors that IDLO is unable to validate its own spending since it lacks proper international financial certifications.
"It seems ill-considered for INL to have awarded almost $50 million to an organization that may not have the ability to account for the use of those funds," Sopko wrote, "under an agreement in which INL failed to require proper provisions for oversight."
In a harshly worded section of the letter, Sopko referred to INL's assertion that it does not "have authority to compel IDLO to produce information" in the awarding of the contract as "disingenuous."
INL, the letter says, could have made the awarding of the contract contingent on a certain level of oversight. "This omission is particularly disturbing given that INL chose IDLO as the sole project implementer."
The lack of insight on the part of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs led Sopko's office to request information from the International Development Law Organization about its financial situation and relationships, of which Sopko said IDLO "has refused to fully comply with."
"IDLO's failure to comply with these requests raises serious concerns regarding its commitment to transparency and willingness to acknowledge the authority of the U.S. government to oversee how U.S. taxpayer funds are spent," Sopko wrote.
Subpoenas may also be issued to IDLO to "compel the production of any and all records IDLO possesses related to its operations in Afghanistan," the letter said.
Sopko recommended the State Department address the "deficiencies" in the agreement with IDLO, as well as the review of similar contracts and grants related to Afghan reconstruction to ensure they included proper oversight mechanisms.
The letter comes at a time when contracting fraud and waste in Afghanistan is receiving heightened attention in Washington.
On Wednesday, SIGAR released two separate reports highlighting problems with contractors in Afghanistan.
In one instance, SIGAR found a company contracted by the U.S. military in Afghanistan to build a school "freely substituted building materials without U.S. approval using a concrete ceiling that raises safety concerns due to the school's location in an earthquake zone."
A second audit found the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development lack the same authority the Pentagon has to terminate contracts with an entity later found to be affiliated with insurgent groups in Afghanistan or those deemed to be an enemy of the United States.
Earlier this month it was revealed that a new $34 million U.S. military compound built in Afghanistan - paid for by U.S. tax dollars - likely never would be used.

Hugh Jackman's body looks photoshopped,       says wife

 Sydney: Australian actor Hugh Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness says that her husband is in such good shape that it looks photoshopped.
The 44-year-old worked hard to get into shape for director James Mangold's 'The Wolverine'.
"He looks like he's photoshopped in the flesh. I say,'It's ridiculous. You look photoshopped'," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Furness as saying. "No one is more disciplined, though, he works really hard at it and it is no fun for the family...we can never go out to eat. It's like he's always having another cow or a chicken or broccoli," she added.
Jackman recently said that Furness, who he has been married to for 17 years, isn't a fan of his toned physique and would prefer him to be fat.
"She doesn't approve. I get a hard time for it. Deb tells me, 'Your job, as my husband, is to be fat and chubby, so that I look great'," Jackman had said.
He also insisted that the key to their happy marriage is knowing they have committed to the 'right person' and a willingness to make sacrifices.
"Eight percent of a marriage is choosing the right person and with Deb I just knew. Obviously there has to be a great attraction and love. In any marriage, there must be some sacrifices. No marriage survives if both people are selfish," Jackman had added.

Attackers kill 7 at Pakistani coast guard checkpoint 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The attackers targeted a coast guard checkpoint in Balochistan province
• Militants swooped in in cars and motorcycles, using heavy weapons
• Another seven people were injured in the predawn attack

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Militants killed seven coast guard personnel and injured another seven in a predawn attack Saturday in southwest Pakistan, authorities said.

The attacks occurred at a coast guard checkpoint in Balochistan province.

Armed militants attacked the location where coastal security is run from in Gawadar district, said Akbar Hussain Durrani, the provincial home secretary.

Militants swooped in in cars and motorcycles, using heavy weapons, including rockets, during the attack. It's unclear how many attackers were involved.

All coast guard personnel were gathered at the checkpoint when militants targeted it, Durrani said.

The militants sped away after the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Royal baby to boost UK tourism? Not so fast

 

July 26, 2013 -- Updated 0904 GMT (1704 HKT)

Tourists gathered outside Buckingham Palace after the birth of a son to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Everyone here seems happy -- but should tourist officials be?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Monarchists and tourist bodies propose link between royal birth and tourism
• Hard stats lacking
• Link "complete fiction," says republican group
• Visit Britain cites apparent tourist boost from royal wedding

(CNN) -- The royal baby is great news for William and Kate, but is it also good news for British tourism?

It's certainly a popular argument with fans of the British monarchy -- that the institution raises Britain's profile overseas and helps to boost tourist visits.

The Daily Mail newspaper clearly hopes for such an effect from the recent arrival of the third in line to the British throne.

"Royal baby could cause tourism surge as well-wishers flock to UK," the paper trumpeted just after the birth of the new Prince of Cambridge.

"As London wakes up to the aftermath of a giant party on the Mall and the announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a son, there are hopes that the birth of the new royal baby will spark a tourism boom as well-wishers flock to the UK to share in the joy," Britain's second best-selling paper went on in its picture-rich splash.

"The spell cast by the monarchy's 1,000-year history, combined with the international media frenzy around the royal baby, is extremely powerful at drawing people to England," Lady Cobham, chair of the tourist body VisitBritain, is quoted as saying

Not alone

The Daily Mail wasn't alone in predicting such an effect.

"Hotels and attractions" in London were set to capitalize on the "royal baby boom," observed the International Business Times.

And that boom was apparently resonating beyond London.

"Royal Baby to spark rise in tourist visits," read an Edinburgh Evening News headline.

"Royal attractions in Edinburgh are expecting a surge in visitor numbers as tourists flock to share in the baby joy," the article said.

Yet further afield (although still in a Commonwealth country) the travel editor of the Star, in Toronto, was not "necessarily gung ho" about the royal family but he still devoted a blog post to the "bounce" it was sure to give British tourism.

On social media, "A British Royal baby could spark a major boost to the UK tourism industry," was a typical comment from Airwise News.

Where's the evidence?

Looking for evidence for the widely touted princeling-tourism connection, the evidence becomes less clear.

Certainly tourists flocked to Buckingham Palace in advance of the birth, awaiting confirmation of the baby's arrival.

"Our holiday was booked months ago, so we did not expect to be over here while the baby was happening [but we've] been told to bring back as many newspapers and souvenirs with the baby on as possible," Matthew and Donna Harold, from Michigan, told the Telegraph.

A scan of social media reveals the odd international prince-fixated quote, such as this from a tweeter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: "Dear Kate Middleton, Please wait to have the Royal Baby until Thursday. Thank you, Annie Harley, an American Tourist."

But are there any hard numbers to support the idea of a baby-born tourist surge?

The Mail did cite a statistical precedent. In 2012, it said, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year, tourist visits (at 31 million) were at their highest level since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008.

However, even if hotels near Kensington Palace are throwing caution to the wind with "Tot-ter Around Kensington" shop-and-stay packages and converting luxury suites into five-star nurseries for the occasion, that still doesn't turn correlation into cause.

Negative effect?

If anything, the numbers point the other way.

A recent story in the Guardian refers to a document obtained under Freedom of Information legislation from Visit Britain on the marriage between Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986.

"We find that across the year as a whole there were 4% fewer visitors to Britain than in 1985, but that in July [1986] there were 8% fewer than in July of 1985," the document says.

"[S]uch as it is, the evidence points to royal weddings having a negative impact on inbound tourism."

Graham Smith, chief executive office of the campaign group Republic, concurs.

The argument that royal births, weddings and anniversaries benefit tourism is "a complete fiction," he tells CNN.

"There's not a shred of evidence for it. People don't make holiday decisions on the basis of who's living in what castle.

"Tourists are here for our culture, our common language. They may come and look at palaces but the fairy tale side of it is there regardless of whether the monarchy is or not.

"People have nothing [substantive] to say in defense of the monarchy so come up with a financial argument."

Culture and heritage

"We know that visitors drawn to Britain by the appeal of our culture and heritage spend over £4.5 billion annually and support around 100,000 jobs," a VisitBritain official tells CNN.

"This in part can be attributed to attractions and events with a connection to Britain's monarchs past and present."

Kate and William's wedding in 2011, VisitBritain says, "brought record numbers of visitors for the summer opening of Buckingham Palace.

More than 600,000 people passed through the gates to see the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress.

"That smashed the previous attendance figure set in 1994 and was an increase of almost 50%" on the previous year, says VisitBritain.

Such figures are compelling.

But whether anybody actually booked tickets to Britain for the birth of George Alexander Louis or any other royal event, as so many people in Britain and beyond seem to think, is far less certain.