Corruption Is Rampant In Iraq On Both Sides

I'm beginning to see why no one in charge wants to end the Iraq war and bring our soldiers home. There's just far too much money to be made by those willing to lie, cheat and steal [and that seems to be a lot of people on both sides of the conflict]. It is estimated that $4 billion a year is lost to corruption in Iraq. Personally, I think it's probably even more than that.

Consider the following facts quoted from an article in the U.K. newspaper, The Guardian:

A US government report has concluded that oil smuggling abetted by corrupt Iraqi officials is netting insurgents $100m a year, helping to make them financially self-sustaining.

...nearly $9bn in Iraqi oil revenues could not be accounted for. The cash was flown into the country in shrink-wrapped bundles on military transport planes and handed over by the ton to Iraqi ministries by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) run by Paul Bremer, a veteran diplomat. The money was meant to demonstrate the invaders' good intentions and boost the Iraqi economy, which Mr Bremer later insisted had been "dead in the water". But it also fuelled a cycle of corruption left over from Saddam Hussein's rule.
"We know it got to the Iraqis, but we don't know how it was used," Mr Bowen later told Congress.

In the Hillah region a defence department contract employee and two lieutenant colonels were found to have steered $8m in contracts to a US contractor in return for bribes. The Pentagon contract employee, Robert Stein, pleaded guilty earlier this year, admitting he and his co-conspirators received more than $1m in cash, help with laundering the funds, jewellery, cars and sex with prostitutes. Stein also admitted that they simply stole $2m from the construction fund, accounting for the money with receipts from fictitious construction companies.

Kellogg, Brown and Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former company) was awarded an oil industry repair contract in February 2004 but "direct project activity" did not begin until November 19. In that time KBR's overhead costs were nearly $53m. In fact more than half the company's $300m project costs from 2004-06 went on overheads, the audit found.

KBR was found to have overcharged the US military about $60m for fuel deliveries, but that did not stop it winning more government contracts.

A California company, Parsons, had its contract terminated this year after it was found to have finished only six of more than 140 primary healthcare centres it was supposed to build, after two years work and $500m spent. However, the contract was ended "for convenience", meaning Parsons was paid in full. In a police college Parsons built for $75m in Baghdad the plumbing was so bad that urine and excrement rained down from the toilets on to the police cadets.

And the corruption goes on and on, filling the pockets of corrupt Iraqi and American officials, dishonest American corporations, and even the insurgents who are killing more of our soldiers each day.

Why would any of these entities want the war to end? It is virtually a "gold mine" with an endless vein of the richest ore. And where is this seemingly endless supply of ill-gotten gains coming from? From the American taxpayers, of course!

We can't seem to find the money to properly outfit our troops with the equipment they need, but we can throw billions down the bottomless hole that is Iraq.

The Republicans weren't willing to investigate this mess and fix it. Fortunately, the Democrats have now taken over the House and Senate. As soon as they are sworn in, the Democratic majority needs to start investigating and issuing subpoenas.

The criminals, whether individuals or corporations, must be brought to justice for their corrupt actions.