U.S. to Create New Agency for Iraqi Contracts (Ten$ of Billion$)

[Khephra]

U.S. to Create New Agency for Iraqi Contracts
Tue October 14, 2003 10:18 AM ET
By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anxious to speed up work in Iraq, the Pentagon is planning a new office to oversee tens of billions of dollars in contracts, taking away some power held by the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

USAID, which falls under the auspices of the State Department, has been responsible for handing out many of the lucrative reconstruction projects in Iraq along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The process of rebuilding Iraq has been criticized for being too slow and for favoring U.S. companies. USAID says those claims are unfair considering the massive task it faced going into Iraq, where the security situation is still precarious and U.S. troops come under daily fire.

The new office, which will be based in Baghdad, is expected to handle most of the $20.3 billion in new reconstruction work requested by President Bush to Congress in supplemental funding for Iraq, U.S. officials said.

more.........

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=3610646

[Jacobin]

1. Is Ken Lay in charge?

Will Arthur Anderson remnants provide the accounting services?

This is great! More graft and corruption!!

Just what we need!!

[fizzana]

2. This should streamline the flow of money from U.S. taxpayers

into U.S. corporate coffers a lot faster and a lot more efficiently than if we continue to use those wimpy USAID people.

[tom_paine]

6. My thoughts exactly

This is to streamline the Bushevik Fraud and Theft process, in addition to putting Busveik Loyalists who will stonewall without question if ordered and cover-up for Busheviks automatically.

[E_Zapata]

9. Heck yeah.......

and they can just classify the contracts.....and no one will be the wiser.

Why didn't I think of it?

[Tempest]

3. From the party of "smaller government"

Another way of pushing the State Department out of the loop.

[cthrumatrix]

4. "get your handouts"...courtesy of the US Taxpayer....who has

been lied to repeatedly ..... truth will prevail.

[realFedUp]

5. hmmmm, going around the USAID....

that'll be interesting.

[Divernan]

7. Oversight? We don't need no stinkin oversight!

nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. So now the military IS a specialist in nation building?

I thought the Pentagon wanted to stick to defense, not reconstruction.