Investigators: $18B lost over last 3 years to Iraqi government corruption

[babylonsister]

Investigators: $18B lost over last 3 years to Iraqi government corruption
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, October 5, 2007


WASHINGTON — Rampant corruption in the Iraqi government is funding attacks against coalition forces and stalling reconstruction efforts across the country, U.S. and Iraqi investigators told Congress on Thursday.

The researchers estimate nearly $18 billion has been lost over the last three years through stolen funds, phony reconstruction projects and other illegal activities.

Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, the former head of Iraq’s Commission on Public Integrity, told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that government money has been funneled to sectarian militias and family of lawmakers while vital projects go unfunded.

“When you go to the field or you go to the ground, you don’t see signs of reconstruction,” he said. “You don’t find electricity, you don’t find water, you don’t find fuel.”

Radhi said in several instances he was blocked from prosecuting family and key political allies of top government officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Meanwhile, officials from the Government Accountability Office said U.S. agencies haven’t developed any clear strategy to help the new Iraqi bureaucrats battle corruption.

And Stuart Bowen Jr., special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, told the committee that many suggestions made by his office have not been implemented or have been ignored by U.S. officials.

more...

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49274

[Hydra]

1. Dur!

The insurgency is getting money from somewhere, and I doubt this bothers Bushco- if there was no trouble there, but they hadn't gotten the PSA's in place for Exxon and the others, there would be no excuse to keep our troops and hired terrorists(blackwater) there until they did.

[Nickster]

2. Wow, all that taxpayer money up in smoke. But hey, at least they shot down SCHIPS! /sarcasm

[sutz12]

3. Fricken' war is being run by Milo Minderbinder.

:shrug:

[tekisui]

4. What a complete and utter mess. How can professional

people screw up SO badly? Seriously, how can this many people, supposedly educated, be such complete failures. Our leadership is an insult to our intelligence, and are criminals.

[roesch]

5. as if we didn't know

War makes the money go round while the average citizen continues to worry about their credit card debt not realizing the real interest they are paying for this mercenary merry go round.

[WinkyDink]

6. I guess that's why we need a "war tax".

[madrchsod]

7. can`t have our kids having that federalized medicine

18 billion would have fixed a lot of things here in the usa...