This special report by the Center for Public Integrity looks at the people in the Defense Policy Board, and the strong connections that many of them have to defense contractors that do major business with the U.S.
Until recently Richard Perle, a PNAC principal, was Chairman of the Defense Policy Board. He resigned on March 27th of this year, after an article in the New Yorker brought to light his apparent conflict of interest. He remains on the board, but not in the position of Chairman. The Chairman, but not the other members of the Board, is governed by “special government employee” disclosure and conflict-of-interest rules.
Douglas Feith, mentioned in the report as the person who appoints the members of the DPB, is also affiliated with the PNAC, as is former CIA Director James Woolsey, who is one of the nine Board members with ties to major government contractors mentioned in the report.
Advisors of Influence: Nine Members of the Defense Policy Board Have Ties to Defense Contractors
By Andr� Verl�y and Daniel Politi
Data by Aron Pilhofer
Of the 30 members of the Defense Policy Board, the government-appointed group that advises the Pentagon, at least nine have ties to companies that have won more than $76 billion in defense contracts in 2001 and 2002. Four members are registered lobbyists, one of whom represents two of the three largest defense contractors.
The board�s chairman, Richard Perle, resigned yesterday, March 27, 2003, amid allegations of conflicts of interest for his representation of companies with business before the Defense Department, although he will remain a member of the board. Eight of Perle�s colleagues on the board have ties to companies with significant contracts from the Pentagon.
Members of the board disclose their business interests annually to the Pentagon, but the disclosures are not available to the public. �The forms are filed with the Standards of Conduct Office which review the filings to make sure they are in compliance with government ethics,� Pentagon spokesman Maj. Ted Wadsworth told the Center for Public Integrity.
The companies with ties to Defense Policy Board members include prominent firms like Boeing, TRW, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen Hamilton and smaller players like Symantec Corp., Technology Strategies and Alliance Corp., and Polycom Inc.
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According to its charter, the board was set up in 1985 to provide the Secretary of Defense �with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning major matters of defense policy.� The members are selected by and report to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy�currently Douglas Feith, a former Reagan administration official. All members are approved by the Secretary of Defense. The board�s quarterly meetings�normally held over a two-day period�are classified, and each session�s proceedings are summarized for the Defense Secretary. The board does not write reports or vote on issues. Feith, according to the charter, can call additional meetings if required. Notices of the meetings are filed at least 15 days before they are held in the Federal Register.
The board, whose list of members reads like a who�s who of former high-level government and military officials, focuses on long-term policy issues such as the strategic implications of defense policies and tactical considerations, including what types of weapons the military should develop.
Michael O�Hanlon, a military expert at The Brookings Institution, told Time magazine in November 2002 that the board �is just another [public relations] shop for Rumsfeld.� Former members said that the character of the board changed under Rumsfeld. Previously the board was more bi-partisan; under Rumsfeld, it has become more interested in policy changes. The board has no official role in policy decisions.
The following links are featured on the same page:
RELATED LINKS
Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee members
Corporate Affiliations of Defense Policy Board Members
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE
For additional information, visit the Web site of PBS’ “Now With Bill Moyers.”
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