Another $1 billion missing in Iraq

[Balta1701]

Here's another billion dollars that is going to come out of the pockets of the U.S. taxpayer entirely because no one at all is watching how the money we send to Iraq is being spent.

 

One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.

 

The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.

 

"It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history," Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told The Independent.

 

"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal."

 

The carefully planned theft has so weakened the army that it cannot hold Baghdad against insurgent attack without American military support, Iraqi officials say, making it difficult for the US to withdraw its 135,000- strong army from Iraq, as Washington says it wishes to do.

 

Most of the money was supposedly spent buying arms from Poland and Pakistan. The contracts were peculiar in four ways. According to Mr Allawi, they were awarded without bidding, and were signed with a Baghdad-based company, and not directly with the foreign supplier. The money was paid up front, and, surprisingly for Iraq, it was paid at great speed out of the ministry's account with the Central Bank. Military equipment purchased in Poland included 28-year-old Soviet-made helicopters. The manufacturers said they should have been scrapped after 25 years of service. Armoured cars purchased by Iraq turned out to be so poorly made that even a bullet from an elderly AK-47 machine-gun could penetrate their armour. A shipment of the latest MP5 American machine-guns, at a cost of $3,500 (£1,900) each, consisted in reality of Egyptian copies worth only $200 a gun. Other armoured cars leaked so much oil that they had to be abandoned. A deal was struck to buy 7.62mm machine-gun bullets for 16 cents each, although they should have cost between 4 and 6 cents.

 

Many Iraqi soldiers and police have died because they were not properly equipped. In Baghdad they often ride in civilian pick-up trucks vulnerable to gunfire, rocket- propelled grenades or roadside bombs. For months even men defusing bombs had no protection against blast because they worked without bullet-proof vests. These were often promised but never turned up.

 

The Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit says in a report to the Iraqi government that US-appointed Iraqi officials in the defence ministry allegedly presided over these dubious transactions.

 

Senior Iraqi officials now say they cannot understand how, if this is so, the disappearance of almost all the military procurement budget could have passed unnoticed by the US military in Baghdad and civilian advisers working in the defence ministry.

 

Government officials in Baghdad even suggest that the skill with which the robbery was organised suggests that the Iraqis involved were only front men, and "rogue elements" within the US military or intelligence services may have played a decisive role behind the scenes.

 

Given that building up an Iraqi army to replace American and British troops is a priority for Washington and London, the failure to notice that so much money was being siphoned off at the very least argues a high degree of negligence on the part of US officials and officers in Baghdad.

 

The report of the Board of Supreme Audit on the defence ministry contracts was presented to the office of Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Prime Minister, in May. But the extent of the losses has become apparent only gradually. The sum missing was first reported as $300m and then $500m, but in fact it is at least twice as large. "If you compare the amount that was allegedly stolen of about $1bn compared with the budget of the ministry of defence, it is nearly 100 per cent of the ministry's [procurement] budget that has gone Awol," said Mr Allawi.

 

The money missing from all ministries under the interim Iraqi government appointed by the US in June 2004 may turn out to be close to $2bn. Of a military procurement budget of $1.3bn, some $200m may have been spent on usable equipment, though this is a charitable view, say officials. As a result the Iraqi army has had to rely on cast-offs from the US military, and even these have been slow in coming.

 

Mr Allawi says a further $500m to $600m has allegedly disappeared from the electricity, transport, interior and other ministries. This helps to explain why the supply of electricity in Baghdad has been so poor since the fall of Saddam Hussein 29 months ago despite claims by the US and subsequent Iraqi governments that they are doing everything to improve power generation.

 

The sum missing over an eight-month period in 2004 and 2005 is the equivalent of the $1.8bn that Saddam allegedly received in kick- backs under the UN's oil-for-food programme between 1997 and 2003. The UN was pilloried for not stopping this corruption. The US military is likely to be criticised over the latest scandal because it was far better placed than the UN to monitor corruption.

[KipWellsFan]

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/0...0680555557.html

 

World Tribune calls it widespread corruption

[Benchwarmerjim]

im surprised that all the missing money in Iraq isnt a bigger story. Billions and Billions of dollars are gone whether stolen or skimmed away by middle men

 

While I disagree about the whole going to war thing, I do expect that my tax money is being spent properly and is not in some Swiss Bank Account of some dude

[FlaSoxxJim]

The missing money is bad, but the fact that it's left the Iraqi army completely under-equipped is by far the worse news.

 

Sounds like an enormous amount of internal corruption that US military oversight either missed outright or turned a blind eye to for the sake of perceived expediency.

[Balta1701]

Sounds like an enormous amount of internal corruption that US military oversight either missed outright or turned a blind eye to for the sake of perceived expediency.

Or because they were in on it.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Or because they were in on it.

I'm trying very hard not to be quite that cynical.

[Balta1701]

I'm trying very hard not to be quite that cynical.

I've learned from watching these people running this show that it's not worth the effort.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking about some real money.

 

 

:rolly

[Balta1701]

A billion here,  a billion there,  pretty soon you're talking about some real money.

:rolly

Well, the CPA that we originally stuck in there can't account for roughly $10 billion of what they were given.

[Rex Kickass]

Hey, there are no problems in Iraq.

 

That's all liberal media hype, dontchaknow?

[JUGGERNAUT]

A society void of a strong sense of morality will veer inevitably to corruption as the norm. Change can only begin in our morally decrept school system.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

A society void of a strong sense of morality will veer inevitably to corruption as the norm. Change can only begin in our morally decrept school system.

Or with the parents and the mantra of personal responsibility actually meaning something. But keep blaming it on the schools and washing your hands of any blame there, Juggs.

 

And as W&O said "Just. Shut up. Seriously."

[Wong & Owens]

Or with the parents and the mantra of personal responsibility actually meaning something.  But keep blaming it on the schools and washing your hands of any blame there, Juggs.

 

And as W&O said "Just. Shut up. Seriously."

 

 

To add, that tired crock of s*** that certain people keep spewing about how society is falling down a moral sewer, culture is devoid of morality, blah blah blah, continues to be refuted by what research tells us. Again today, there was a report on how the rate of almost every type of crime has declined since 1973(the first year they kept track of this stuff apparently).

 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm

[JUGGERNAUT]

What is there about today's public education system that endoctrinates a student towards "personal responsibility?" It's a joke. Personal responsibility stops at F all you want just be sure to use a condom. If you can't afford your own we have plenty :rolly:

 

It's nearly impossible for a Christian lay person to abstain from sex before marriage. It's foolish to believe free condoms is going to help the situation.

 

Increasing the appetite, increases the obsession. Increasing the obsession increases the desire of wanting to live dangerously. This is true for any drug of pleasure. Sex is no different.

[kapkomet]

JUGGS - typing in all caps in purpose - WHAT PART OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

[Rex Kickass]

I'm still waiting to see how this applies to Intelligent Design.

[kapkomet]

A society void of a strong sense of morality will veer inevitably to corruption as the norm. Change can only begin in our morally decrept school system.

Holy s***, now in this thread, too?

 

It HAS to start at home. Take the f***ing blinders off.

[kapkomet]

Holy s***, now in this thread, too?

 

It HAS to start at home.  Take the f***ing blinders off.

 

EDIT - oops - I'm in the same thread.

[Soxy]

It's nearly impossible for a Christian lay person to abstain from sex before marriage.  It's foolish to believe free condoms is going to help the situation. 

 

Increasing the appetite, increases the obsession.  Increasing the obsession increases the desire of wanting to live dangerously.  This is true for any drug of pleasure.  Sex is no different.

On your first point, I disagree. If you want to be celibate it's very easy to remain so. The real question here is: how many Christian lay people WANT to be celibate?

 

On your second point, I'm just flat out confused. Could you elaborate a little there please. I'm not sure exactly what you're point is.

[JUGGERNAUT]

The first point is obvious. It mentioned no distinction of want or how. It simply stated a common sense fact.

 

The second point is equally obvious. It requires no explanation.

 

How many more decades will go by before you realize the "start at home" argument is a losing one? It's obviously not happening & it's not likely to happen any time in the near future. Parents have micro-managed their kids lives so they don't have to be bothered by such "tough" stuff.

[kapkomet]

The first point is obvious.  It mentioned no distinction of want or how.  It simply stated a common sense fact.

 

The second point is equally obvious.  It requires no explanation.

 

How many more decades will go by before you realize the "start at home" argument is a losing one?  It's obviously not happening & it's not likely to happen any time in the near future.  Parents have micro-managed their kids lives so they don't have to be bothered by such "tough" stuff.

Welllll... NO s***, SHERLOCK. You just admitted in this post that it's easier to pass the buck then it is to take personal responsibility. And then, you wonder why America and our society is so f***ed up.

 

DING. You don't ever have to post another thing on 'SOXTALK', you made your point.

 

Thanks for playing.