33 a.m. Bye-bye, Mr. Bowen

Those (like myself) who don’t keep a list of all civilian personnel currently embedded in Iraq might not be familiar with attorney Stuart W. Bowen Jr. A Republican and long-time associate of the current president, Bowen was sent to Iraq in 2004 to open a federal oversight agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. During his tenure, he has exposed shoddy and dangerous construction, fraudelent use of funds and numerous incidents of bribery and conspiracy related to the reconstruction of Iraq. He’s even sent some of the worst offenders to jail. Not surprisingly, he has repeatedly investigated three of the biggest U.S. companies with contracts in Iraq – Haliburton, Parsons and Bechtel.

What may be surprising (or not), then, is the language buried deep inside the massive military authorization bill signed two weeks ago by Bush that eliminates Bowen’s position on Oct. 1, 2007. From a few yards back, it figures. But many of those who followed the bill closely are more taken aback than the average bear. And that includes Republicans. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is especially shocked. She says she read what she thought was the final conference report (this is where House and Senate versions of a bill are made to line up) and that the provision was not there. Other lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are in agreement. Turns out the language was slipped in at the last minute by “Congressional staff members working for Duncan Hunter, the California Republican who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and who declared on Monday that he plans to run for president in 2008.” (NYT, Nov. 3, 2006).

Josh Holly, House Armed Services spokesman and, I’m sure coincidentally, a member of Hunter’s staff, said that “politics played no role and that there had been no direction from the administration or lobbying from the companies whose work in Iraq Mr. Bowen’s office has severely critiqued.” Haliburton, Parsons and Bechtel, naturally, aver that they made absolutely no effort to lobby against Bowen or his office. Several lawmakers have come forward to say that they will fight the termination. Let’s see what happens next.