December 02, 2005

After Bailey's latest $100 million dollar defense contract to place paid news stories in Iraqi media, he might be right. The question is, how was this defense contract steered to this young Republican fundraiser?

Bailey was a founder and active participant in Lead21, a fund-raising and networking operation for affluent young Republicans, some of whom have gone on to serve in the Bush administration. Click on the links to Lead21's site today and no mention of Bailey is to be found. But on a subscriber business and social networking site, there's an archived e-mail of Bailey discussing setting up a New York branch of Lead21, and his "personal network," which lists a half-dozen members of the organization's current board, including the chairman of the California Republican Party and the senior policy adviser to the Justice Department's chief information officer. "These are going to be the big supporters, the big donors to the Republican Party in five years' time," Bailey told The New York Times in an Aug. 31, 2004, video interview during a Lead21 party at the Republican convention in New York.
[What's Lincoln Group? - GOVEXEC.com - 12-01-05]

The first contract for the Lincoln Group, then known as Iraqex, was for PR work that prevented the American people from seeing American soldiers return home in caskets.

"The PR firm must coordinate the movement of the remains back to the U.S., and is responsible for notification of next of kin," the contract states.

Despite the dangers, a PR firm has stepped up to the plate.

"A Washington, D.C.-based entity called Iraqex got the contract," Kevin McCauley, editor of odwyerpr.com, tells The Beltway Beat. "Iraqex says it is wired into the Iraqi media, claiming contacts with 300 to 400 reporters.

"The contract is a blockbuster - in terms of dollars - for PR," he adds. "It is worth $5.5 million for the first year and totals $17.7 million with the three six-month option periods. Those are big numbers, even if one is operating in a war zone."
[Inside Track - John McCaslin - 10-08-04]

Being "wired into the Iraqi media" would later pay off with a $100 million dollar deal "to help develop materials for psychological operations in Iraq and elsewhere." Elsewhere?