Although the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) called Blackwater’s contracts with State — and before that with the Coalition Provisional Authority — “no-bid contracts,” Blackwater CEO Erik Prince wouldn’t comment on SIGIR’s definitions. But he said that because his company’s security services were on the “GSA Schedule” — that’s the General Services Agency’s list of services that contractors offer to the government for purchase — they are “considered a bid.” Prince said, “[I]t’s like buying something from the Sears catalog,” and he expected that his competitors had the same arrangement with State.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=179724