Editorial: An abacus would be an upgrade

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2006 | 12:33 p.m.

Troops and others associated with the military have often joked that the term "military efficiency" is an oxymoron. But the line that always gets a chuckle is rooted in truth.

A story by McClatchy Newspapers last week disclosed the depth of the Pentagon's accounting crisis. The article began by illustrating the frustration of an Army sergeant in Iraq who was having to desperately scrounge for parts and drinking water, which a computer printout of his position showed were in plentiful supply.

But the Pentagon's computers are in such a mess the information they spew cannot be trusted. Accounting deficiencies are so severe they cost taxpayers $13 billion last year. The article went on to quote an official at the Center for Defense Information, who said, "It's not that (the Department of Defense) flunks audits, it's that DOD's books cannot be audited. DOD aspires for the position where it flunks an audit. If this were a public company, it would have gone belly up before World War II."

The article, quoting from General Accountability Office reports, said planes and tanks have been lost, wounded soldiers have been left without pay, and active troops left without meals, water, tires, generators and other supplies.

This reminds us of the levees in New Orleans that went unattended until disaster struck. Some of the money that President Bush wants to throw away on tax cuts for the wealthy should be put toward an efficient accounting system for the Pentagon.