Report: Iraq could become 'the biggest corruption scandal in history.'

[G_j]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031805Y.shtml

Why Graft Thrives in Postconflict Zones
By Mark Rice-Oxley
The Christian Science Monitor

Thursday 17 March 2005

A report issued Wednesday said Iraq could become 'the biggest corruption scandal in history.'


London - Five Polish peacekeepers are arrested for allegedly taking $90,000 worth of bribes in Iraq. Several Sri Lankan officials are suspended for mishandling tsunami aid. US audits show large financial discrepancies in Iraq. Reports of aid abuse taunt Indonesia.

Two of the world's biggest-ever reconstruction projects - Iraq and post-tsunami Asia - are facing major tests of credibility, as billions of dollars of aid and reconstruction money pour in.

And according to a major report released Wednesday by Transparency International (TI), an international organization that focuses on issues of corruption, the omens are not good.

From Iraq and Afghanistan to Cambodia and Bosnia, from the wrecked coasts of Asia to the kleptocratic carve-up in some African countries, crisis zones are proving to be fertile soil for corruption, the report argues.

"Many postconflict countries figure among the most corrupt in the world," says Philippe le Billon of the University of British Columbia, Canada, in the TI report. "Corruption often predates hostilities and in many cases it features among the factors that triggered political unrest or facilitated conflict escalation."

..more..

[LynnTheDem]

1. Cheney's Halliburton were dealing with Saddam Hussein right up until

October 2002. And guess who's the #1 corrupt war-profiteering pig of the lot.

[G_j]

8. war-profiteering

you would think it would upset people's basic sensibilities.

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. no, it won't

scandals only occur when the media report on them. Ours won't.

[grumpy old fart]

3. No it won't....without a real Fourth Estate or a Watchdog Congress...

it's all just going down the memory hole. Bring on the NFL hearings....

[signmike]

4. "Kleptocrat" - my new word.

:-)

[Doctor_J]

5. So whoever was handing out the bribes

didn't "Forget Poland!"

Oh, we're tempting karma, folks. Hell's coming to breakfast, I hope I am far enough away to enjoy watching Rove, Inc. get their punishment.

[AzDar]

6. .."Hell's coming to breakfast"... LOL... (May have to steal that one) n/t

[zbdent]

7. Whatever happened to that $500Million that was just lying around

that they seized from Saddam Hussein - in US $100 bills?

Did the money still have the Halliburton wrappers on them?

[applegrove]

9. Can anyone say: Presidential Pardon?