Commentary: Intelligence contractors need more oversight

In the aftermath of Sept.11, Vice President Dick Cheney famously warned that the war on terrorism would be fought on “the dark side, if you will,” using “sources and methods that are available to our intelligence agencies.” ...

... In May, the Government Accountability Office reported that 2,435 former senior Pentagon officials had gone to work for 52 defense contractors, with 65 percent of them landing at seven key intelligence contractors: Science Applications International Corp., Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Raytheon. Of that total, GAO said, 422, or nearly a third, handle contracts related to their former agencies, while nine work on contracts over which they held oversight and decision-making authority while in government. Such a system is ripe for conflicts of interest and corruption. ...