Susie Dow in her ePluribus Media Journal article USAID: We don't know how many contractors we have working for us in Iraq points out that while USAID -- in answer to an ePluribus Media FOIA request -- claims not to have the aggregated data, yet CENTCOM -- in response to an earlier ePluribus Media FOIA request -- included the data in question.

As Dow reports,
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded over $5 billion in Iraq reconstruction projects. Yet according to a July 10, 2007 letter in response to an ePluribus Media FOIA request, USAID has no idea how many contractors are working on the reconstruction projects it funds in Iraq.

... our USAID Mission in Iraq informs us that USAID does not aggregate the kind of information for which you are asking.

ePluribus Media has repeatedly filed FOIA requests on a range of topics related to contractors in Iraq.

[ ... snip ...]

Although USAID claims not to "aggregate that type of information," the U.S. Army Central Command (CENTCOM) does, and was able to report 52 US citizens employed on USAID projects.

Deliberate obfuscation?  Miscommunication?  Orchestrated spin?  Read the rest of the article here and tell us what you think.

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