Website review: Billions Wasted In Iraq?, U.S. Offi...
rieraci discovered this in Government
•4 reviews since Feb 10, 2006
government
•cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/09/60minutes/main...
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rieraci discovered 29 months ago- Some $8.8 billion dispersed for reconstruction efforts in Iraq is unaccounted for, says the U.S. official in charge of tracing it. Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, says $8.8 billion is unaccounted for because oversight on the part of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the entity governing Iraq after the war, "was relatively nonexistent."
- kroztron rated 5 months ago
- Sorry for just cutting and pasting. There is $9 Billion$ in Iraqi funds unaccounted for, not to mention what is approaching 1trillionUSD is USA reconstruction fund spent in Iraq, much of which went to private contractors under no monitoring authority (something like 12 auditors)... There were no banks or wire transfers to pay them, no bean counters to keep track of the money. Just vaults and footlockers stuffed with billions of dollars in cash. The money was a mixture of Iraqi oil revenues, war booty and U.S. government funds earmarked for the coalition authority. Whenever cash was needed, someone went down to the vault with a wheelbarrow or gunny sacks. Asked if he has any evidence that the accounting system was a little loose, Willis says, "I would describe it as nonexistent." "They came in with a 'can do' attitude whether they could or not. They always said yes," Willis says. Did they have any experience? "They were not experienced. They did not know what they were doing," Willis says. In a memo obtained by 60 Minutes, the airport's director of security wrote to the Coalition Authority: "Custer Battles has shown themselves to be unresponsive, uncooperative, incompetent, deceitful, manipulative and war profiteers. Other than that they are swell fellows." "When questioned as to the serviceability of the trucks was, 'We were only told we had to deliver the trucks.' The contract doesn't say they had to work," Wilkinson says. "Which, I mean, when you're given that sort of answer, what can you do?" How did they get away with it? "Oh," says Wilkinson laughing, "I really don't know. I mean it was just a joke. The assumption that we had was that they had to have high political top cover to be able to get away with it. Because it was just outrageous: their failure to deliver that which they were contracted to do." (The CEO was an unsuccessful congressional candidate from Rhode Island who claimed to be active in the Republican Party and have connections at the White House.)
- imacajun1 rated 20 months ago
- Just a reminder of more funding mysteries and the efficiency of our security efforts. Or did the vast funds going to security also fall into pockets on the penthouse elevations overlooking the masses of the lower classes. I think I'm growing antennae.
- sshhameless1 rated 24 months ago
- Are you watching 60 Minutes right now? YOU SHOULD BE
