The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "army base" ...
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War on Error
An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Center for Public Integrity reveals that "more than six months of live pictures from U.S. aerial spy missions had been broadcast in real time to viewers throughout Europe and the Balkans. The spy flights, conduct by U.S. Army and Navy units and AirScan Inc, a Florida-based private military company, were used to monitor terrorist and smugglers trying to cross borders. The broadcasts were not encrypted, meaning that anyone in the region with a normal satellite TC receiver could spy on U.S. surveillance operations as they happened. Live pictures from the spy planes had been transmitted over the Internet by satellite enthusiasts. The stories pointed to a major security lapse at a time when questions were being asked about intelligence failures prior to September 11, 2001.
Tags: satellite; aerial; spy; missions; U.S. Army; Navy; AirScan Inc; September 11; 2001; surveillance; online; CD
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Willie Brown Inc.
The series presents how San Francisco's mayor Willie L. Brown introduced an influence system based on personal relationships, political loyalty and campaign donations that became the decisive factor in the awarding of city contracts and distribution of public funds. It is also reported how Brown has created a "patronage army" and how he has circumvented the city's tough campaign finance law to raise millions for his political machine. Specific references to people in his entourage, companies that benefitted from this process and subsequent investigation by the FBI are given.
Tags: mayor; San Francisco; William G. Ruthland; John deCastro; MissionBay; soft money; FBI; charity; indictment; business; civil service; political rewards; lobby; Warren Hellman; Wells Fargo; AT&T; patronage.
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Louis Freeh's Last Case
The New Yorker profiles former F.B.I. director Louis Freeh and document his struggle to solve his last case, the terrorist bombing of an army base in Saudi Arabia. Freeh's career was studded with conflicts over keeping the F.B.I. and the White House as far apart as possible. Still, the bombing case haunted him and he worked for years to get the Saudis to cooperate, to get the administration to pursue indictments even if it complicated politics with Saudi Arabia and Iran. Freeh saw himself as a policeman, politics being completely secondary to justice. For an F.B.I. director this approach did not always work.
Tags: Saudi Arabia; Khobar bombing; Hezbollah; Iranian Revolutionary Guard; Osama Bin Laden; President Clinton; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Iran; Middle East; terrorism
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Peace Is Hell
"Every six month the Pentagon sends nearly 4,000 soldiers to Bosnia and brings nearly 4,000 soldiers home. To see how it's done is to understand why keeping peace has become harder than waging war - and why the Pax Americana has stretched the mighty American military to the limit," reports the Atlantic Monthly. The story details the everyday life, preparation and responsibilities of the Amerian troops in Bosnia, and sheds light on their training and equipment. The article finds that the Bosnian mission requires "all of the subtlety, patience and personal wariness that operating in international coalitions and ambiguous civilian environments entails."
Tags: Army; peacekeeping; Serbia; Bosnia; the Gulf War; Eagle Base; soldiers; troops; U.S. Department of Defense; Kosovo; Macedonia; East Timor; Fort Stewart; Pentagon
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Faith, Hope and Charity
President Bush's controversial backing of non-secular social services through his newly-created White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives roused objections from many political camps. In Texas, the former governor pushed for a way to divert more federal funds to religious (or "faith-based") groups that provided social services. But the effort was hardly widespread: Only $8.4 million went to religious groups, compared to the $1 billion spent on social services in Texas in 2001. The debate surrounding charitable choice may well be one of semantics and political emphasis rather than true action as laws already exist that permit faith-based groups to be eligible for federal funds for social service work.
Tags: charity; religion; social services; faith; 501c 3; nonprofit; private sector; churches; separation of church and state; Salvation Army; Catholic Charities; welfare; effectiveness; social work and psychology replaced with faith; volunteerism; federal funds
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Anatomy of a Deal
"'Anatomy of a deal' and the series that followed covered the operation of the Fort McClellan Joint Powers Authority (JPA) in its mission to transform the former Fort McClellan Army base into part of the city of Anniston. The title story examined the specifics of the sale of the fort's prime real estate, the Buckner Circle area, to a group of developers with inside connections at the JPA. The story revealed the JPA gave the groups favorable treatment especially in neglecting to have the property appraised. The series that followed covered the JPA's response to the public fallout over the deal. Most residents of the area consider the redevelopment of the Fort McClellan of premier import, and the backlash over the deal reflected their concerns. Eventually the JPA was forces to open its meetings and records to the public."
Tags: real estate; historic preservation; former military base; development; option to buy; loophole of unincorporated nonprofit not subject to fair market value; property appraisal; cronyism; conflict of interest
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Death on the Tracks
The Stars and Stripes "takes a close look at the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two soldiers from the same Army base in Darmstadt, Germany, that were killed by trains in 1998. one was a suicide; the other may have been. The two junior enlisted men, who did not know each other, died eight months apart, but shared much in common. We found they were odd men out in their units, the NCOs directly over them failed to take care of them, and their parents believe the Army failed in investigating their deaths."
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Mercenaries in Kosovo
The Progressive investigates the MPRI's (Military Professional Resources, Inc.) involvement with the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army). MPRI is a Pentagon contractor known as a private military company providing support to the KLA. According to The Progressive, MPRI has used former U.S. military personnel to train KLA forces at secret bases.
Tags: Madsen; Kosovo; Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA); Military Professional Resources; Inc. (MPRI)
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No title (id: 12861)
The KPTV-TV investigation uncovered that former safety manager of the Army's nerve gas destruction plant in Tooele, Utah says safety measures ahv not veen followed. KPTV learned that he was fired, allegedly for pointing out deficits in plant safety. The Army plans to build a similar plant in Oregon taht is based on the Tooele plant's design. (February 5, 1995)
Tags: Larson Coffin Sears Turn left at the dead sherrif Contest entry 12 pgs. TAPE
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No title (id: 10175)
San Francisco Bay Guardian reveals how the vision of converting the Presidio, a California army base, into a national park which promotes environmentally-safe business enterprises has been subverted; lack of vision and concern for the bottom line promise to make the former base just another business park with typical pollution problems, April 20, 1994.