Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
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The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee (DPBAC or DPB) is a federal advisory committee to the United States Department of Defense. Their charter is available on line through the Director of the Office of Administration and Management of the Department of Defense. The committee type is discretionary.
Richard Perle was the chairman of the committee during the initial years of the George W. Bush administration.
Excerpt of Objectives and Scope of Activities from charter:
1. The Defense Policy Board will serve the public interest by providing the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning major matters of defense policy. It will focus upon long-term, enduring issues central to strategic planning for the Department of Defense and will be responsible for research and analysis of topics, long or short range, addressed to it by the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy.
Announcements for upcoming meetings of the DPBAC are published in the Federal Register.
Historically, the DPBAC has mostly served as a method for the Pentagon to leverage consulting expertise in the private sector. However, the DPBAC now serves a very powerful and influential role in foreign policy and the George W. Bush presidency.
One time chairman Richard Perle, a neo-conservative, is a staunch supporter for a war with Iraq. Perle and other members of the Board have strong ties to private interests that have profited financially from the Iraq occupation. Perle resigned his chairmanship of the Defense Policy Board in an attempt quiet the criticism.
Other members of the board also have strong ties to private business, especially defense contractors. Members disclose their business interests with the Pentagon, but those disclosures are not available to the public, leaving the Pentagon as the only ethical arbitar of the DPBAC. Companies with ties to DPBAC include Bechtel, Boeing, TRW, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. [1]
[edit] External links and references
- DPB charter (pdf)
- definition of DoD federal advisory committee
- Office of Administration and Management of the Department of Defense
- Federal Register
- [2]
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