Another US scam operation in Iraq. I'm gonna be sick.

[lanlady]

I was catching up on some reading at counterpunch.org and in the middle of an August 2 Robert Fisk piece, this paragraph jumped out at me:

Health services? Well, yes, the new Iraqi health service is being encouraged to rehabilitate the country's hospitals and clinics. But a mysterious American company called Abt Associates has turned up in Baghdad to give "Ministry of Health Technical Assistance" support to the US Agency for International Development and "rapid response grants to address health needs in-country".

Mysterious indeed, dear DUer friends. Abt is a sinister, sophisticated con man operation that is run by a tight clique of Harvard grads. It has offices in Cambridge, Mass., Bethesda, MD, and Wash. DC. They produce a lot of glossy brochures about what they supposedly do, but it's the kind of stuff that still leaves you wondering what it is they really do.

Let's put it this way. If the SAICs and Lockheed Martins of the world suck off the teat of the Department of Defense, there is another category of leeches, to which Abt belongs, that lives off the misguided largesse of the USAID agency.

I got acquainted with Abt some years back when I innocently responded to a job opening. The opening called for a very specific, unusual mix of skills and experience that you don't find every day. Luckily, I thought, I fit the job description to a tee: amazing, what a perfect match! Plus, I have an M.A. from Hahvahd in internat'l affairs, so I reckoned I would fit in with these folks very well. I faxed and mailed my CV, all very professionally done, and followed up with phone calls to Cambridge and Bethesda. Inexplicably, I got no response whatsoever, and no one would get on the phone to speak with me.

After a week or two, I decided to hop in my car and boldly drive to Bethesda where I could present myself in person. I told the receptionist that I wished to speak to recruiting/personnel about my application for job #1234. The receptionist--and I'll never forget this--looked at me as if I were a terrorist. She kept me waiting in the lobby for 20 mins., then disappeared for her lunch hour. Meanwhile, I tried to collar several of the fresh-faced young Harvies at Abt, but they were all so busy, got a meeting, please leave your CV at the front desk, don't call us, we'll call you.

Well, I never managed to hook up with Abt. But because I was one part mystified, one part offended, by this brush-off, I looked into the outfit. And to cut to the chase, this so-called foreign aid organization is either a) totally bogus and corrupt b) run by intel agencies; or c) both. They solicit resumes which they forward to USAID to get money for some "medical" project in the developing world; but they never do hire the people who are supposed to run the project. Instead, they keep the money, concoct some phoney numbers charting their non-existing "achievements" and use what remains of the funds to produce another glossy brochure that is guaranteed to razzle-dazzle the bureaucrats at USAID.

It makes me sick to think we've entrusted the Abts of the world to "help" the people of Iraq. Really, really sick.

Link to Fisk article:
http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk08022003.html

[ewagner]

1. WHOA!!!

There's got to be something criminal in this.....

Thanks for the "heads up"!

[whirlygigspin]

2. sounds like

you spooked the spooks

[papau]

3. Seems legit - not a cover for CIA - but never know until you apply

[e-mail]

job postings
JobID Title Location Posted
3375 Senior Analyst Cambridge, MA 6/12/2003
3435 Analyst Bethesda, MD 6/12/2003
3436 Senior/Principal Associate Cambridge, MA 5/7/2003
3438 Senior Associate Cambridge, MA 5/7/2003
3439 Senior Associate Washington, DC 5/7/2003
3446 Outcomes Research Project Manager Cambridge, MA 5/28/2003
3460 Administrative Assistant Chicago, IL 6/18/2003
3477 Associate Cambridge, MA 8/7/2003
3492 Associate Programmer Analyst Cambridge, MA 8/7/2003
3508 C Senior Analyst Bethesda/Cambridge 8/7/2003
3511 Associate /Community Development Advisor Iraq 6/30/2003
3518 Senior Associate Bethesda, MD 5/26/2003
3519 Senior Associate Bethesda, MD 5/26/2003
3520 Senior Associate Bethesda, MD 5/26/2003
3523 Clinical Data Manager II Cambridge, MA 5/27/2003
3524 Senior Analyst Washington, DC 5/28/2003
3528 International Human Resources Generalist Bethesda, MD 5/28/2003
3532 Associate Finance & Contract Administrator / Financial Analyst Bethesda, MD 5/23/2003
3536 Administrative Assistant Bethesda, MD 5/29/2003
3537 B Research Assistant Bethesda, MD 5/30/2003
3541 Website Administrator Bethesda, MD 6/13/2003
3546 Senior Analyst Bethesda/Cambridge 6/16/2003
3547 Associate/Senior Associate Bethesda/Cambridge 6/16/2003
3548 Sr. Analyst - Health Economics and Costing Bethesda, MD 6/6/2003
3551 Associate/Sr. Associate Albania 6/13/2003
3554 Senior Finance & Contract Administrator/Financial Manager Bethesda, MD 6/20/2003
3559 A Health Financing & Economics - Senior Associate Bethesda, MD 6/17/2003
3560 Sr./Principal Associate - Knowledge Manager Bethesda, MD 6/24/2003
3566 Senior Analyst Bethesda, MD 6/24/2003
3567 Research Assistant Bethesda, MD 6/19/2003
3568 Area Administrator Bethesda, MD 7/1/2003
3569 Associate Finance and Contracts Administrator Bethesda, MD 7/1/2003
3570 Sr./Principal Associate/Practice Manager Bethesda, MD 7/1/2003
3573 Sr./Principal Associate/Practice Manager Bethesda, MD 7/2/2003
3576 Compensation Analyst Cambridge, MA 7/2/2003
3577 Analyst/New Business Development Bethesda, MD 7/2/2003
3579 Global Director, Internal Audit Cambridge, MA 7/14/2003
3580 Associate Analyst Chicago, IL 7/7/2003
3582 Research Assistant Bethesda, MD 7/24/2003
3583 Sr./Principal Associate - Homeland Defense Cambridge, MA 7/17/2003
3584 Administrative Assistant Bethesda, MD 7/22/2003
3587 Sr. Associate/Deputy Director of Operations Bethesda, MD 7/15/2003
3590 Research Assistant Cambridge, MA 7/24/2003
3591 IR Finance and Administration Manager/Grants Program Administrator Iraq 7/24/2003
3592 IR Associate Finance and Contracts Administrator for Travel and Logistics Bethesda, MD 7/24/2003
3593 IR Senior Finance & Contract Administrator/Lead Procurement Administrator Bethesda, MD 7/24/2003
3597 Software Support Specialist/Trainer Cambridge, MA 7/30/2003
3598 Senior Contracts/SubContracts Representative Bethesda, MD 7/30/2003
3599 C-D Supervisor I, Telephone Center Chicago, IL 7/31/2003
3600 Associate Finance and Contracts Administrator Bethesda, MD 8/4/2003
3601 Finance and Contract Administrator Bethesda, MD 8/4/2003
3602 Supervisor I, Telephone Center Hadley, MA 8/4/2003
3603 Payroll Manager Cambridge, MA 8/8/2003
3604 Programmer Analyst Cambridge, MA 8/8/2003
3605 Manager, Compensation & Benefits Cambridge, MA 8/11/2003
3606 International Staff Accountant Cambridge, MA 8/15/2003
3607 Order Entry Specialist Cambridge, MA 8/15/2003
3608 A-F Project Assistant 8 / Training Assistant Iraq 8/12/2003
3610 Project Assistant 9 /Regional Training Coordinator Iraq 8/12/2003
3611 A-F Project Assistant 9 / Monitoring & Evaluation Activity Manager Iraq 8/12/2003
3613 A-F Office Manager 9/Regional Office Manager Iraq 8/12/2003
3614 IR Finance and Administration Manager / Regional Office Manager Iraq 8/12/2003
3615 Sr. Associate/Health Policy Advisor Iraq 8/18/2003
3616 Sr. Associate/Chief of Party - South Africa South Africa 8/13/2003

Current Employees

Cabot WestOperations ManagerHuman RelationsM.S. Human Resource Management, Golden Gate UniversityB.A. Sociology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Pallavi KumarOracle Applications DeveloperManagement Information SystemsM.B.A., Nirma Institute of Management (India)B.B.A., Gujarat University (India)

Lazar TreschanSenior AnalystCommunity and Workforce Development GroupEducation and Family Services AreaM.P.P. Public Policy, Harvard UniversityB.A. History, Wesleyan University

Rhiannon PattersonAssociateHousing and Community Revitalization AreaPh.D. Economics, University of California, BerkeleyB.A. Economics and Political Science, Yale University

Zuheir Al-FaqihSenior AssociateInternational Health AreaM.A. Broadcast Communication Arts, San Francisco State UniversityB.A. English Literature and Journalism, American University of Beirut
Alan WhiteSenior AssociateHealth Services Research and Evaluation AreaPh.D. Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillB.A. Economics, Wake Forest

Gilbert KombeSenior Associate International Health AreaM.P.H International Health, George Washington UniversityB.M/B.S. Medicine and Surgery, Tongji Medical University (China)

Sara BennettPrincipal AssociateInternational Health AreaPh.D. Economics, London School of Economics and Political ScienceM.Ph. Economics, Cambridge UniversityB.A. Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, Oxford University

Alice TomeAssociateEnvironment AreaD.S. Engineering and Policy, Washington UniversityM.S. Engineering and Policy, Washington UniversityM.S. Chemical Engineering, University of PennsylvaniaB.S. Chemical Engineering and Economics, Carnegie Mellon University

John MellorVice PresidentInternational Development Group AreaPh.D. Agricultural Economics, Cornell UniversityDiploma Agricultural Economics, Oxford University M.S. Agricultural Economics, Cornell UniversityB.S. Poultry Husbandry, Cornell University

Susanna GinsburgManaging Vice PresidentHealth Services Research and Evaluation AreaM.S.W. Administration, University of MichiganB.A. Social Sciences, Michigan State

Grace CheeHealth Finance SpecialistInternational Health AreaB.S. Economics, University of Pennsylvania

Kevin WiedmannAssociate International Support UnitB.A. French Literature, Fordham University

[lanlady]

5. Guarantee you that none of those jobs exists

It's part of the resume-collection process.

[papau]

6. I am curious!

I wonder if the folks in the photo's that are the "current staff" are for real - they all look quite young.

[radwriter0555]

7. 3613 A-F Office Manager 9/Regional Office Manager Iraq 8/12/2003

Yeah, that's the gig I want! Wonder if there is some hazard duty pay on that?

[radwriter0555]

4. Hmmm, in a debate a couple weeks ago, I boldly stated that MOST aid orgs

are fronts for intel ops.

This sort of thing doesn't help dissuade me... thanks for the article.