TYPICAL GOP WAR PROFITEERING

John A. "Jack" Shaw, a deputy undersecretary for international technology security, misrepresented himself and conducted an unauthorized "investigation" into shortcomings in Iraq reconstruction efforts to steer business toward friends, a Los Angeles Times story reveals.

The article (via Yahoo News) adds:

Shaw's actions are the latest to raise concerns that senior Republican officials working in Washington and Iraq have used the rebuilding effort in Iraq to reward associates and political allies. One of Shaw's close friends, the former top U.S. transportation official in Iraq, is under investigation for his role in promoting an Iraqi national airline with a company linked to the Saddam Hussein regime.

Business as usual: Send U.S. troops to fight and pay with their lives, then stick U.S. taxpayers with the cost of fattening your friends' wallets.