Pentagon's Top Inspector Resigns

hosted.ap.org — Claude Kicklighter, the Pentagon's inspector general, is resigning after just over a year in the job and at a time when defense spending has skyrocketed but personnel shortfalls in the oversight office have strained its ability to probe allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. Kicklighter's departure marks yet another shift in leadership at this key Pentagon office. In September 2005, Joseph Schmitz resigned to be chief operating officer and general counsel for the Prince Group, which owns security contractor Blackwater Worldwide. Schmitz's more than three-year tenure as Pentagon inspector general was marred by allegations he improperly interfered with two ongoing investigations to protect senior Bush administration officials. An independent inquiry later cleared Schmitz of any wrongdoing.

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