In late March, Richard Perle resigned as chairman of the Defense Policy Board

Washington Monthly, May, 2003 by Susan Threadgill

In late March, Richard Perle resigned as chairman of the Defense Policy Board, a once-sleepy, bipartisan advisory group that, under Perle's tenure, became a hotbed of neoconservative hawks. Perle's resignation followed accusations by New Yorker reporter Seymour Hersch that he faced conflicts of interest between his work on the board (which is unpaid, but subject to government ethics rules) and his private business dealings--in particular reports that he had been retained by the bankrupt telecommunications firm Global Crossing, Ltd., to help smooth over government approval of their purchase of two Asian firms, a deal under scrutiny by Department of Defense officials.

But as the Center for Public Integrity reported recently, Perle isn't the only member of the Defense Policy Board with potential conflicts of interest. Eight other members are board members, employees, or trustees of corporations that earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year off of Pentagon contracts: Harold Brown, Ronald R. Fogleman, David Jeremiah, William Owens, dames Schlesinger, Jack Sheehan, Chris Williams, and former CIA director R. James Woolsey. Looks like a few more resignations are in order.