Cerberus: Destroyer of Walter Reed Hospital

May 15, 2007 (EIRNS)--Those concerned about the U.S. auto industry and its production workforce following the Cerberus takeover of Chrysler, should recall that Cerberus owns the company that "privatized," and by all accounts helped to destroy, the Walter Reed Hospital system of dealing with disabled veterans of the Iraq War. The resulting neglect and abuse of veterans awaiting disability classification at Walter Reed, led to a press scandal and Congressional hearings.

IAP Worldwide Services is controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, but is a virtual "spinoff" of Halliburton's KBR subsidiary, which took over some Army logistics contracts after Halliburton itself was too exposed to hold on to them.

On March 2, Oversight Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and National Security Subcommittee chairman John Tierney (D-Mass.) noted that IAP Worldwide Services is run by Al Neffgen, who previously was Chief Operating Officer of Government and Infrastructure for the Americas Region at Halliburton's KBR. Neffgen had testified before the Oversight Committee on July 22, 2004, defending KBR's overcharging for importing gasoline into Iraq from Kuwait. Cerberus brought Neffgen in to run IAP in December of 2004, six months after becoming the majority owner of the firm. Neffgen was followed by Dave Swindle, vice president of KBR's business acquisition and national security programs, who became president of IAP in May 2005, and Chuck Dominy, a retired general who was Halliburton's chief lobbyist in Washington, and who became IAP's vice president for government affairs in July 2005.

For the full story, see "Cheney's Iraq War, Privatization, and BRAC Behind Walter Reed Scandal," at