$80M Believed Wasted in Iraq Police Training Camp

[RamboLiberal]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/IraqCoverage/story?id=2836444

It was supposed to be a residential housing camp in Baghdad for police trainers. But it's never been used. And all the weapons, vehicles and body armor that were supposed to be there can't be accounted for.

In all, the project added another $80 million of U.S. taxpayer money to the billions believed to have been wasted in Iraq.

The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, told Congress this month that 15 percent of all the money the United States had spent so far on Iraq reconstruction had been wasted.

The police training program is just the latest example. In SIGR's quarterly report that came out today, Bowen and his staff said the State Department spent nearly $44 million to build trailers and then store them for the residential camp.

But the SIGIR report said the camp "has never been used."

[Cabcere]

1. Well, you know what they say...

To paraphrase John Lennon (okay, to twist his words completely): "Money you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." :eyes:

This is completely ridiculous. :grr:

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. SOMEONE made money. Cash flowing to war countries is the new biz opportunity.

No one cares if you finish or follow through. Bush's "Base" know to create start-ups and suck up the bucks.

Stop the money flowing to Iraq and his Base will pressure him. There is no other way to put a lever to Bush.

[Amonester]

3. How many new homes would 80M help (re)build in New Orleans?

Where is the outrage ('outside' DU)?? :mad:

:boring: <- ?

[Irreverend IX]

4. America Under Bush.

We waste more money by 8:00 AM than most countries do all day.

[sutz12]

5. 15%....that's like $60 Billion so far....right? nt

[magellan]

6. Interesting! Remember the Karbala compound raid last week?

Wonder where the gunmen dressed as American soldiers got their weapons, vehicles (SUVs) and body armor?

"It was supposed to be a residential housing camp in Baghdad for police trainers. But it's never been used. And all the weapons, vehicles and body armor that were supposed to be there can't be accounted for."

I'm not saying it's these exact missing items the gunmen were using, but it should be obvious by now that at least a portion of the missing billions in Iraq has been turned against our own through incompetency at the Pentagon and State Dept.

[Blue_Tires]

7. wow...if they are admitting 15% publicly,

then it is probably closer to 40% in reality...

and I'm getting tired of the term 'wasted', as if the cash is disappearing into some harmless void never to be seen again--that's something you say when you lose your pocket change down a storm drain or spill a fine drink on the carpet...these unknown BILLIONS OF DOLLARS are being FUCKING STOLEN, LOOTED, PILFERED and HIDDEN....

If someone took the $80 million in cash and set fire to it, then it is wasted...This money is going into criminal bank accounts!!! We've been hearing about the 'waste' in the media for years now, but no one in the media dares take the next step and follow the money trails--that should be the next question...

[Heidi]

8. Kick.

:kick:

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Also on BBC ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6316057.stm

Another example cited in the report is $36.4m spent by US officials on armoured vehicles, body armour and communications equipment that cannot be accounted for because invoices were vague and there was no back-up documentation.

Contracts have been awarded for virtually all of the $21bn earmarked by the US government for Iraqi reconstruction, and some 80% has been spent.
***
Rep Henry Waxman is planning in-depth hearings next week into charges of waste and fraud in Iraq.

Since 2003, the way reconstruction aid is used has changed, with money originally destined for infrastructure programmes cut and more spent on areas like security and democracy projects.

Electricity output remains below pre-war levels, while funds initially earmarked for water and sewerage have been cut by 50%, the audit says.

[pinniped]

10. I'm sure it's all been accounted for.

And all the weapons, vehicles and body armor that were supposed to be there can't be accounted for.

Einsteiners, it was because the gear was never purchased in the first place.

The $80,000,000.00 went into the bank accounts of certain people.

Wait!

because of vague paperwork and invoices, according to the report.

See, it's all just a clerical error.

There are too many incidents of missing loot. It's only missing when you don't know where to look.

Take a picture, are they sure the Iraq residential housing camp is really there? Maybe they are pulling a Copperfield on us. They already demonstrated it with billions missing.

In this case, wasted is analogous to stolen.

at least $3 billion has been wasted.

[Tight_rope]

11. No Surprise here. The Chimp has shit for brains. And the brain is a piece of shit!

[Double T]

12. I don't believe tens of millions, BUT instead tens of billions of dollars........

have been totally wasted in Iraq. The survivors in the Gulf Coast Area sure could have used that money. So why haven't bush and cheney been indicted for fiscal incompetence along with all of their other incompetence??

[Contrite]

13. Parsons Corporation

Headed by James McNulty, former Star Wars program director. And, yes, it's a LOT more money than this.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec06/construction_11-15.html

(snip)

But the inspector general's office expects there will be additional costs to fix up the academy. That's just one of the many controversies enveloping Bowen as chief watchdog of America's $22 billion Iraq rebuilding program. Bowen is a former lawyer for George Bush in both Texas and Washington. His office has produced a stream of audits and reports highly critical of the Iraq reconstruction program.

(snip)

In fact, the U.S. government canceled two Parsons prison contracts worth more than $100 million.

With hundreds of projects worth $1.7 billion, Parsons has assumed a lion-sized role in the Iraq rebuilding program. It's worked on oil operations, schools, water systems, munitions disposal, and one of the most photographed buildings in recent Iraq history, the courthouse where Saddam Hussein has stood trial.

In other Parsons projects, health care facilities, border posts, and police stations, the inspector general cataloged contractor horror stories: posts that weren't straight, walls with cracks and gaps, and poor concrete work that made structures unsafe.

Parsons was supposed to renovate 20 hospitals but completed just 12. Among them was the Diwaniya Maternity and Pediatric Hospital, 100 miles south of Baghdad. In January, Iraqi physician Ali Fadhil filmed at the hospital for a British documentary.

(snip)