Afghanistan watchdog fires 2 top deputies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Criticized for incompetence and mismanagement, the U.S. official assigned to combat corruption in the multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild Afghanistan on Tuesday announced the firing of two top deputies and pledged to focus on financial fraud and waste.The moves come a few months after key members of Congress urged President Barack Obama to dismiss Arnold Fields, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who chairs the Senate contracting oversight subcommittee, and other senators have said that Fields' office has failed to aggressively oversee the $56 billion the U.S. has committed since 2002 to improving schools, roads, electricity and medical facilities in Afghanistan.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Fields said that the organization's upper ranks needed "new blood," and he rejected the idea that the changes were made to keep him from being fired. "This is not about saving Arnie Fields' job. This is about making SIGAR a better organization," he said, using the shorthand name for his office.

Fields said he removed John Brummet, the assistant inspector general for audits, and Raymond DiNunzio, the assistant inspector general for investigations. Their deputies will serve in acting capacities while Fields searches for replacements. DiNunzio will remain with the organization for 60 to 90 days as an adviser, Fields said. Brummet may also stay on for a limited period in a different capacity, he said.

Brummet joined the office in January 2009. Prior to that, he spent 35 years at the Government Accountability Office. DiNunzio, a former FBI special agent, was hired in September 2009. Brummet and DiNunzio did not immediately respond to telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

McCaskill said Tuesday that she's glad Fields is acknowledging improvements are needed in his office, but she said she still wants Obama to dismiss him. "SIGAR's shortcomings start at the very top and the changes need to happen there, as well," she said in an e-mailed statement. "Until there is new leadership, my concerns remain."

At a hearing in November, McCaskill sharply criticized Fields, telling him he was not the right person for the job. She said his office had completed only a few audits of Afghanistan reconstruction contracts even though thousands of contracts worth billions of dollars had been awarded for rebuilding work.

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., the contracting oversight subcommittee's top Republican, echoed McCaskill's concerns.

"I just want you to follow the money," Brown said at the hearing. "I want to know if there's any bribes or payoffs going on."

On Tuesday, Fields said the organizational moves will make the office more efficient at monitoring how U.S. tax dollars are spent in Afghanistan. There will be more emphasis on contract oversight and financial corruption, he said, and added that an ongoing review of the office's operations could result in more staff changes.

In a letter to Obama in late September, McCaskill, along with Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, called SIGAR a "failing organization" in need of new leadership.

An analysis by Coburn's staff showed that the inspectors general at the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development and for Iraq reconstruction have all been much more efficient than SIGAR at generating savings and recoveries through their audit and investigative work.

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