British aid group: U.S.-run Iraqi authority fails to account for billions

[Judi Lynn]

British aid group: U.S.-run Iraqi authority fails to account for billions

Thursday, October 23, 2003

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(10-23) 00:57 PDT LONDON (AP) --

The U.S.-run body governing Iraq has failed to account for billions of dollars allocated for rebuilding the country, a prominent British aid group charged Thursday.

Christian Aid said in its report that the Coalition Provisional Authority had only explained publicly how it had spent $1 billion of the $5 billion it has been given for Iraqi development.

The funds include $1 billion from the former United Nations Oil for Food program, $2.5 billion in assets seized from Saddam Hussein's former regime an $1.5 billion in oil revenues, the group said.

"This is Iraqi money," said Roger Riddell, Christian Aid's international director. "The people of Iraq must know where it is going and it should be used for the benefit of all the country's people, particularly the poorest." (snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/10/23/international0357EDT0455.DTL

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. Why is this no surprise.

<snip>
Some American lawmakers have charged that money meant for Iraqi rebuilding has been squandered by paying inflated prices to Halliburton, the Texas-based company that buys oil for Iraq from neighboring countries.

Christian Aid said a monitoring board which the United Nations said it would set up to oversee the occupation authority's accounts had yet to begin operating.
<snip>
Hey, this was what it was all about, they're just going to be bitching because they got caught early.

[jamesinca]

2. So it is not just the U.S. that they are stealing from

They are also taking from the Iraqis. Maybe that $5 billion should be taken from the $87 billion he asked for until full disclosure is made of its where abouts is made.

[RC]

3. None of that US $87 billion should go anywhere

till there is a full accounting of the money already spent.

[0007]

4. Contact your congressman and senator

and scream bloody murder. How can we not want an account of where the money is going?