State Department Spokesman Reacts to ArmorGroup Lawsuit, Loses Grasp on Reality
P.J. Crowley, the State Department’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said in today’s press briefing that he wouldn’t speak to any specific allegation in
Jul 31, 2020478.7K Shares8.2M Views
P.J. Crowley, the State Department’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said in today’s press briefing that he wouldn’t speak to any specific allegation in the new ArmorGroup whistleblower lawsuit. But he did say, repeatedly, that the department has exercised rigorous oversight over the company that it’s paying $189 million to guard the embassy in Kabul. For instance:
“„And we feel very strongly that our oversight has been aggressive. It began in the early stages of the contract. Why is that? It’s because we’ve set a high bar for this particular contract in this particular environment. The contract in Kabul, the static guard contract in Kabul, like the similar arrangement in Baghdad, these are unique circumstances. We have standing guards, local hires, guarding all of our facilities around the world, but in this particular case, the unique situations where our facilities are in the middle of conflict zones, and we have taken aggressive actions simply because we understood the threat to our personnel and our facilities in Kabul.
What? Yes, the State Department issued, as Crowley reminded reporters, “nine cure notices for a variety of issues, ranging from the number of people at a particular guard station to the language proficiency of particular guards in critical places.” But that’s not exculpatory. After all, the State Department last year rehiredArmorGroup, despite its proven record of repeatedly reprimanding the company for potentially contract-breaching violations.
It was already clear that State has had a long and checkered historywith contracting for security of the Kabul embassy. Today’s revelations make it even clearer. How could State brag about chiding ArmorGroup over and over while re-awarding a negligent company such a lucrative contract?
Paolo Reyna
Reviewer
Paolo Reyna is a writer and storyteller with a wide range of interests. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.
Paolo enjoys writing about celebrity culture, gaming, visual arts, and events. He has a keen eye for trends in popular culture and an enthusiasm for exploring new ideas. Paolo's writing aims to inform and entertain while providing fresh perspectives on the topics that interest him most.
In his free time, he loves to travel, watch films, read books, and socialize with friends.
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