Free Republic

Covert US group plots to isolate 'rising' Iran Farah Stockman, Washington January 3, 2007 A SELECT group of US officials has been quietly co-ordinating actions for nearly a year to counter the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, including increasing the military capabilities of Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The group, known as the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group, is also giving covert help to Iranian dissidents and building international outrage towards Iran by publicising its alleged role in a 1994 terrorist attack in Argentina. Pentagon officials involved with the group intend to...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Taxpayers face a price tag of at least $1 billion over the next seven years to fix the state's aging computer systems that run payroll, budgeting and purchasing functions, according to the state's technology chief. Consumers and businesses would also be asked to pay user fees to support new Web-based services such as renewing driver's licenses, obtaining business licenses or filing corporate documents. Meanwhile, the state will aggressively continue to consolidate its many computer processing facilities, call centers and other information systems to save money and improve services. The ideas are all part of a grand technology...

US-firm contracted to support economic reform in Iraq The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a nine million dollar initial award to McLean, Virginia-based BearingPoint, Inc., to support integrated and sustainable economic reform in Iraq. The one-year contract is intended to facilitate Iraq's regional and international economic integration, stimulate the country's international trade engagement and increase employment and broad-based prosperity. BearingPoint Inc.'s work will support activities and policies undertaken by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), which are designed to create a competitive private sector. Under the terms of the contract, BearingPoint, Inc. may examine current Iraq government policies,...

Agency nears completion of financial enterprise architectureBy Matthew FrenchThe Defense Department next month will complete a $100 million project that few thought could be finished on time and within budget: the world's largest financial enterprise architecture. The financial management enterprise architecture project, an ambitious undertaking designed to consolidate and standardize all of DOD's financial reporting systems, is scheduled to be completed in April, just one year after the contract was awarded.The project is designed to help the department obtain a clean financial audit — something it has been unable to do. With DOD on the brink of war, this goal...