Center for American Progress

From Talking Points Memo
The latest from the Center for American Progress ...

From the people who bring you The Progress Report – the daily electronic newsletter the National Review calls "the most aggressive, most energetic opposition research in politics" – comes Thinkprogress.org, a new blog ready to revolutionize the world of research-intensive rapid response. Debuting in tandem with the State of the Union address on Feb. 2, Thinkprogress.org will give journalists and the public real-time access to American Progress’s highly regarded rapid response operation for the first time ever. And in honor of the launch, American Progress CEO John Podesta will be a guest blogger, providing live commentary throughout the entire State of the Union address.

Under the Radar

HALLIBURTON – FLEECING THE PENTAGON: Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the massive subsidiary of Vice President Cheney's former firm Halliburton, is estimating that costs for the basic services it provides in Iraq for U.S. troops "could exceed $10 billion." But even if it seems that President Bush is willing to hand over a blank check when it comes to the war in Iraq, the Army initially only budgeted $3.6 billion for these same services. Labeling the difference "an 'unaffordable' budget gap," Army officials have had to slash various troop services from their list, but the disparity still stands at about $4 billion, and the Army is not sure how much more can be cut "without causing significant disruptions." There was seemingly no discussion as to whether the notoriously wasteful KBR, which has yet to be fully investigated by Pentagon auditors, was just up to its old overcharging tricks once again. Whatever the compromise, hopefully this time the Army will get all that it pays for.