The head of the Pentagon's $4.4 billion agency for fighting roadside bombs is getting ready to leave the organization.
Retired Gen. Montgomery Meigs, has led the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO, since it was established. "The exact date of his departure has not been set and will largely be determined by the choice of his successor," according to InsideDefense.com.
In recent months, JIEDDO has been criticized for not showing enough progress in beating the improvised bomb threat. (Talk about a thankless job.) Some congressmen complained of fiscal irresponsibility and limited visibility into the group's metastasizing operations. *Washington Post *columnist David Ignatius grumbled that "we have thrown our money and technology at the problem, with limited effect." A former employee JIEDDO officer even wondered aloud whether the group, as organized, had a fatal "strategic flaw." After months of silence, JIEDDO hit back -- saying it now took six times as many bombs to inflict an American casualty as before.
In any event, these disputes didn't influence Gen, Meigs' departure, according to JIEDDO spokesperson Chistine Devries. Meigs, the former commander of U.S. Army Europe, was originally asked to lead the organization for a year. That was 18 months ago. "He was never supposed to be here forever," she said.
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