Whore House Ugly Bob scribbles...

The only thing scary about it would be if an aggressor
were in your "six"

If you only had a brain Bob, if you only had a brain!!

$24,000 sofa among luxuries bought by Army and Air Force By LISA HOFFMA -
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON -- A $24,000 sofa and armchair. An $1,800 pillow. And $45,800 in
silver and china. Such accoutrements would cause little surprise if found in the
abodes of the wealthy and well-known.  But government auditors discovered these
pricey items -- and many more -- not in a mansion but at Air Force and Army
bases in Saudi Arabia, the rest of the Persian Gulf, Europe and the Balkans.

In a just-released report, the General Accounting Office informed Congress that
its auditors found a number of "seemingly unneeded expenditures" made by the Air
Force and Army in 2000 and 2001.

"As much as $101 million in contingency operations funds were spent on
questionable expenditures" -- a small fraction of the estimated $2.2 billion
examined by the investigators, but troubling nonetheless, the report said. Among
those were $4,600 worth of "white beach sand" for an air base in the Arabian
desert and a $3,400 Sumo wrestling suit for another. The Army came in for
criticism for duplicating purchases of computers and office equipment at its
bases in Bosnia to the tune of $2.3 million.

Rather than using equipment already there or sharing new items, four successive
Army units heading for Bosnia bought their own sets of equipment, the GAO said.

That struck the auditors as particularly wasteful, given that the Army has
stocked more than 2,000 computers, 865 printers, 91 copiers and "a multitude of
other office equipment" in the area. However, Army officials said that
differences in missions and training of the various units serving in Bosnia
necessitated some of the equipment purchases.  The auditors blamed Pentagon and
Army superiors for failing to provide the clear guidance and strict oversight
needed to rein in such practices.  The Air Force was also criticized for an
array of what the GAO deemed unjustified and excessive spending, including:

*At al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, the service bought a $2,200
coffee table.

*At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, it bought a $24,000 loveseat and arm
chair and $9,800 worth of Halloween decorations.

*At al Jaber Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the questionable spending included an
$1,800 "executive high-back" pillow, a $3,000 computer tutorial titled "The
Intelligent Investor" and $19,000 worth of decorative "river rock."

*At various Air Force installations in the Persian Gulf region, the service
bought a $35,000 golf cart, a $16,000 corporate golf membership and $5,333in
golf passes.

Military experts claim that such recreational items can be a useful tool for
building good relations with officials of a host country, whom base officers can
invite for, say, a friendly round or two of golf.  The GAO report said Pentagon
officials generally agreed that better oversight is needed to prevent wasteful
spending.

� 1998-2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer - SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER