Trump was right to call out defense industry influence on the Pentagon
But Trump has not only done nothing to mitigate the problem, he has also contributed to it.
Mandy Smithberger rejoined POGO as the director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information in December 2014. Previously she was a national security policy adviser to U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) worked on passing key provisions of the Military Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act into law, which expands protections by increasing the level of Inspector General review for complaints, requiring timely action on findings of reprisal, and increasing the time whistleblowers have to report reprisals. Previously an investigator with POGO, she was part of a team that received the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sunshine Award for contributions in the area of open government. Ms. Smithberger received her B.A. in government from Smith College and her Masters in Strategic Studies and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. She also served as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency and U.S. Central Command.
But Trump has not only done nothing to mitigate the problem, he has also contributed to it.
While Americans are overwhelmed by the pandemic, the Pentagon and its boosters are exploiting the emergency to feather their own nests.
Congress’s work should include continuing the investigations the IGs were not able to complete, one of many overdue steps for it to reassert itself as a coequal branch in foreign policy.
The defense industry is exploiting the pandemic to ask for bailouts and reduced government oversight. It should be paying back the American public instead.