The future of Iraqi media

The Rendon Group is part of a nine-member consortium that has made a $98 million bid to rebuild the Iraqi Media Network.  article

Who is Rendon?

John Rendon's work in Kuwait continued after the war itself had ended. "If any of you either participated in the liberation of Kuwait City ... or if you watched it on television, you would have seen hundreds of Kuwaitis waving small American flags," Rendon said in his speech to the NSC. "Did you ever stop to wonder how the people of Kuwait City, after being held hostage for seven long and painful months, were able to get hand-held American flags? And for that matter, the flags of other coalition countries? Well, you now know the answer. That was one of my jobs."

...A February 1998 report by Peter Jennings cited records obtained by ABC News which showed that the Rendon Group spent more than $23 million dollars in the first year of its contract with the CIA. It worked closely with the Iraqi National Congress (INC), an opposition coalition of 19 Iraqi and Kurdish organizations whose main tasks were to "gather information, distribute propaganda and recruit dissidents." According to ABC, Rendon came up with the name for the Iraqi National Congress and channeled $12 million of covert CIA funding to it between 1992 and 1996. Writing in The New Yorker, Seymour Hersh says the Rendon Group was "paid close to a hundred million dollars by the CIA" for its work with the INC.

...In 1995 CIA accountants demanded an audit of his work. As ABC reported in 1998, Rendon's own records show he spent more than $23 million in the first year of his contract to work with the INC. Several of his operatives in London earned more than the director of Central Intelligence--about $19,000 per month. Rendon shot across the Atlantic on the Concorde, while his subordinates flew on open business-class tickets. According to one of those subordinates, 'There was no incentive for Rendon to hold down costs.'" Others have complained that his work is often inept and ineffective. However, he continues to win contracts because he is "superbly networked" with friends in high places in Washington.[

...Clients of the Rendon Group have included a number of foreign nations, as well as major corporations. Known specific clients have included:

American Housing Consortium (based in Kuwait)
American Business Council of Kuwait
Bulgaria
Colombian army
Indonesia
KPMY/Peat Marwick
Kuwait
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Kuwait University
Monsanto Chemical Company
Russia
United States
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
U.S. Pentagon
Uzbekistan
Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (which it helped promote a ban on landmines)

Interesting list.