Not Just the Military

We’ve been talking a lot here about the growing role of private contractors in the military. But to make the discussion complete we also need to focus on the role of contracting in the US Intelligence Community. It’s a small part of the overall equation, or hopefully a small part. But it’s worth remembering that the growth in private contracting in the intelligence budget was the angle that Mitchell Wade and Brent Wilkes — the bribers of Duke Cunningham — used for all their shenanigans. There may not be much accountability or oversight of military contracting. But the thick layers of classification in the intelligence budget meant there was virtually none in the intelligence budget. As long as they had a congressman on the take, Wilkes and Wade could have a field day. They only got caught because someone stumbled upon Duke’s outrageous house deal bribe.