Stuart Bowen

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Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., is an American lawyer who served as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), a position he held since October 2004. He previously served as the Inspector General for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA-IG), a position to which he was appointed in January 2004. Bowen's mission includes ensuring effective oversight of the $22 billion that comprise the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.^[1]

Contents 1 Background 2 Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Background

Bowen has served President George W. Bush as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary and Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel.^{[citation needed]} He has been a partner at the law firm of Patton Boggs LLP, in its Washington, D.C. office.^[2] Before his White House tenure, Bowen served as Counsel to the Bush-Cheney transition team; and from 1994 to 2000, he held a variety of positions on Governor George Bush's staff in Texas, including Deputy General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, and Assistant General Counsel.

From 1992 to 1994, Bowen served as an Assistant Attorney General of Texas in administrative law litigation. And from 1991 to 1992, he served as Briefing Attorney to Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez. Bowen is licensed by the Texas State Bar, Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, a variety of lower Federal courts, and all Texas state courts. Bowen spent four years on active duty as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force, achieving the rank of Captain (military). He holds a B.A. from the University of the South, attended Vanderbilt University Law School, and received a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law.

[edit] Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

As Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Bowen is tasked with providing oversight for funds spent in the Iraq reconstruction effort. His office, initially criticized for being too close to the Bush Administration to provide proper oversight for the reconstruction effort, has been highly critical of the management of the funds used in Iraq. His investigations have led to criminal probes for fraud related to the Development Fund for Iraq.^[3] In addition to cases of fraud, Bowen has found cases where projects in Iraq were abandoned, erroneously slated as completed or not sustained. ^[4]

As a result of his efforts, the SIGIR position, which was initially intended to last for only 10 months after 80 percent of the reconstruction funds had been contracted out ^[5], was extended several times due to support in the United States Congress.

In 2007, Bowen came under congressional investigation himself after several reports of misconduct were filed by former aides. The investigation which is being led by ranking Republicans in the House of Representatives has resulted in accusations that the investigation is politically motivated in order to silence a critic of the handling of the Iraq War. Investigators state, however, that the reports are serious enough to warrant an investigation into Bowen's conduct.^[6] As of May 2007, the investigation was ongoing. In January, 2007 Bowen spoke about the challenges of his job as an invited speaker of the Bangor, Maine Regional Chamber of Commerce, saying "I’m proud of the auditors and inspectors that have carried out the work that I have asked them to do, and they have done so under duress."^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Audit of Iraq Spending Spurs Criminal Probe, Washington Post, May 5, 2005
• U.S. Planned Poorly for Rebuilding Iraq, Inspector General Says, Bloomberg News, October 30, 2005