Watchdog says government has tried to silence him on Afghanistan

[zimmer]

The watchdog who tracks the billions of taxpayer dollars spent to rebuild Afghanistan says government officials have tried to silence him because they think he's embarrassing the White House... by pointing out the waste and fraud.

“Over the last 10 months, I have been criticized by some bureaucrats for not pre-clearing my press releases with them, for not letting them edit the titles of my audits, for talking too much to Congress, for talking too much to the press … and, basically, for not being a 'team player' and undermining 'our country’s mission in Afghanistan,'” he said.


“Since my appointment by the president last summer, I have been surprised to learn how many people both in and out of the government do not understand the role of an independent inspector general,” Sopko said.



...Sopko slammed the government for what he called a hostile attitude toward his work.


Since taking office last July, Sopko has increased the number of audits and investigations threefold. His office has made 73 recommendations to government agencies that he says would save at least $450 million if enacted.



Sopko defended his aggressive oversight of billions of taxpayer dollars being spent in Afghanistan, saying he's just trying to do the right thing.


“I am not a cheerleader. I’m a watchdog — it is my job to point out what isn’t working, so it can be fixed. To do it any other way is to just muddle along and then nothing will change,” he said.

Read more: Watchdog says government has tried to silence him on Afghanistan - Stephanie Gaskell - POLITICO.com
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We need more like him.

 

[tererun]

We need more like him.

So you admit obama did a good thing in appointing this guy. I knew you were really a fan for obama. Still, it would be nice if we actually got a lot more reporting on the extra spending in afganistan. Perhaps this is a media problem where they are not talking up what this guy is saying enough to make people care because both sides of the media are purchased by the people making money off of government contracts. If this guys reports got the same coverage as benghazi there might be a bit more support for his cause from the people. Of course, this might be bad for your hero obama as he may have appointed the guy, but he certainly does seem to be continuing in afganistan much like the previous administration.