Dear Mr. Brooks,

You encouraged me to contact you with questions.  I would like to ask the following, and hope to post them in a diary; your arrival at my blog stimulated a certain amount of interest.

      1        You are registered as a non-profit; do you publish your budget for the public to  see?

2        How much is your public relations budget?  How much has it increased over the past 8 years?

3        How many of your member organizations are shells for other companies?

4        Do you advise them to move under shell umbrellas when they are facing scrutiny for Bad Acts or deaths from incompetence, like KBR and the Iraqi shower deaths?

5        What security software led you to find my blog, and search out my name and blog at TPM Café?

6        The banner on your site labeled JOIP (Journal of International Peace) shows those sweet children, one with a rifle and bandolier of ammunition.  It carries the caption 'Somalia: A failed state?'  This looks like marketing to me; can you explain it?

7        The accountability section in your Code of Conduct section seems to protect you from liability.  If a member company is involved in infractions, what recourse do you have?

8        Do you ever remove a company from your organizations for misbehavior?

9        Why on earth is it worth your time to hunt down and comment on a piddley blog like mine?

10    Do you have funding sources outside the military-industrial complex areas?

11    I read that there will be a Summit on Haiti; why is it closed to outsiders, and will the Haitian governmental leaders be there?

12    What, if any, objections do you have to either Schakowsy's bill, or Bernie Sanders' Senate version? 

 If you came back and clicked on my December diary about the reports from the Congressional Research Service and Claire McCaskill's hearings on contractors, you will know what I found; I'm sure you've seen the reports.  I highlighted the portions Can contract Undermine US efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq?, Wasteful Spending, and Inadequate Contracting and Management Practices.

Thanks,

Wendy Davis

Mr. Brooks agreed, but said their response may delayed due to time constraints, said Google alerts picked it up, he reads TPM regularly, enjoys bloggers who do research, and that the Haiti conference is open, Haitian governmental officials will be there, and he hopes to see me there.

(Not so much, but thanks for the invitation.  ;-})

So I will post his answers when they come; they should prove interesting.

#11 question, I was referring to an Industry Summit on Haiti, concerning rebuilding.