What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn???

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=48b7a20f27e08302&cat=c08dd24cec417021

What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
Published: 19 September 2005
One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.
snip...

"It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history," Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told The Independent.

"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal."

The carefully planned theft has so weakened the army that it cannot hold Baghdad against insurgent attack without American military support, Iraqi officials say, making it difficult for the US to withdraw its 135,000- strong army from Iraq, as Washington says it wishes to do.

Most of the money was supposedly spent buying arms from Poland and Pakistan. The contracts were peculiar in four ways. According to Mr Allawi, they were awarded without bidding, and were signed with a Baghdad-based company, and not directly with the foreign supplier. The money was paid up front, and, surprisingly for Iraq, it was paid at great speed out of the ministry's account with the Central Bank. Military equipment purchased in Poland included 28-year-old Soviet-made helicopters. The manufacturers said they should have been scrapped after 25 years of service. Armoured cars purchased by Iraq turned out to be so poorly made that even a bullet from an elderly AK-47 machine-gun could penetrate their armour. A shipment of the latest MP5 American machine-guns, at a cost of $3,500 (£1,900) each, consisted in reality of Egyptian copies worth only $200 a gun. Other armoured cars leaked so much oil that they had to be abandoned. A deal was struck to buy 7.62mm machine-gun bullets for 16 cents each, although they should have cost between 4 and 6 cents.
snip...

The Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit says in a report to the Iraqi government that US-appointed Iraqi officials in the defence ministry allegedly presided over these dubious transactions.

more...

This is turning out to be bank robbers going from one bank to another!!!

[understandinglife]

1. I thought it was 8 or 9 billion???

Peace.

[JuniperLea]

2. That's how I remember it too

:mad:

[OKthatsIT]

21. yup...its 8 billion

[struggle4progress]

15. Iraq: the missing billions - Transition and transparency in post-war Iraq

The US-controlled coalition in Baghdad is handing over power to an Iraqi government without having properly accounted for what it has done with some $20 billion of Iraq's own money, says a new report published by Christian Aid. /27.06.04
• Download full report (166kb PDF)

http://www.christianaid.org.uk/indepth/310iraqoil/


... and ...

Pentagon accused of wasting billions

By Christian Miller
Washington
June 17, 2004

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The Pentagon may have wasted billions of dollars in Iraq because of a lack of planning and poor oversight, top congressional and Defence Department investigators say.

David Walker, head of the General Accounting Office (GAO), has told a congressional panel that Defence Department planners failed to determine adequately the needs of US soldiers in Iraq or effectively oversee the contracts worth billions of dollars that they had issued.

While Pentagon officials blamed any mistakes on the pressure of the war's early days, the investigators said they had found ongoing waste in the contracting process a year after the invasion.

Mr Walker speculated that the waste could amount to "billions". <snip>

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/16/1087244976139.html?from=storylhs

[Just Me]

27. This must be an ADDITIONAL billion to the 9 billion missing,...

,...on "reconstruction costs".

Audit: U.S. lost track of $9 billion in Iraq funds

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.audit/

That is A LOT OF MONEY!!!!

Think of it: T-E-N BBBBB-I-L-L-I-O-N DOLLARS missing.

Someone sure as hell is getting rich off the BushCO/neoCON war(s). The only exception I'd make to my anti-death penalty stance is those who have pocketed 10 BILLION off human death,...I'd even go for a public stoning. Wow, I can't even belive I'm saying that!!!

[lovuian]

3. LOL!!! Good point this is just for defence!!!

It makes me sick!!! To see a corrupt few stealing from the poor!!!

Dickens Days are here but Worldwide!!!

[Mnemosyne]

4. They don't care about 3.4 trillion dollars missing from

the Pentagon since before 9/11, they will never care about such a "paltry" amount missing in Iraq.
Have I mentioned I hate these idiots?!

Oh, and check Cheney's pockets for the money.

[Kagemusha]

5. Sloppy article.

It's no secret at all that the contract for the MP5's was signed by their main procurement guy. So this isn't a theft they argue is anonymous. They're painting this as a specific guy who orchestrated that and many other bad deals.

And a billion is definitely a bit conservative.... but that's not the point. This is new spin on old facts which I personally commented on at the time when they were reported on DU.

[lovuian]

9. Can you bring up the other article to compare??? This was

written by the Independant on their headlines!!!

I think Iraq is a bottomless pitt to take cash and hand out!!!

notice Poland is involved!!! this is a mafia of the highest order!!!

[Kagemusha]

11. I'd have done so if I could.

I'm pretty sure I saw the original just from paying attention to Juan Cole's blog.. but he certainly wasn't the origin of the claims.

[lovuian]

12. Thanks Kage for trying!!! I'm just fascinated at why the US ARMY

would allow the Iraqi Army to buy Antiques and not buy from US Defense companies since its our money???

[leesa]

6. Check Cheney's lair.

[lovuian]

25. Wheres CNN Wheres MSNBC Wheres ABC Wheres FOX!!!

This is the INDEPENDANT a BRITISH NEWSPAPER!!!!!!!

The American News Media is a part of this thievery!!!!!!

[SpiralHawk]

7. Check the Republican Cabal's Swiss Bank Accounts

It's pretty damn obvious by now who will have gotten away with the loot

As usual.

[Disturbed]

8. Googled 9 Billion Dollars

CNN.com - Audit: US lost track of $9 billion in Iraq funds - Jan ...
Nearly $9 billion of money spent on Iraqi reconstruction is unaccounted for
because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to a watchdog report ...
edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.audit/

ABUSE CRISIS: 9 Billion Dollars in Iraqi Oil Revenue Missing
I back you 9 billion percent on that call! Remember when losing 9 billion dollars
meant something? Is this Iraqi money or my money or Halliburton money and ...
www.atsnn.com/story/80901.html

Where Did 9 Billion Dollars Go?
Where Did 9 Billion Dollars Go? At least $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds that was
given to Iraqi ministries by the former US-led authority there cannot be ...
homepage.mac.com/gcatalone/iblog/B946297652/C734535497/E2005708086/

[lovuian]

10. ok this is a different story on reconstruction this has to do with

arms procurement by the Iraqi Army!!!

Two separate stories but the same stealing!!! That has to do with Ghost employees and this is a different story entirely on the stealing of a billion dollars to by antique weapons from Pakistan and Poland for their army!!!

Thank you!!!

[pinniped]

13. So, print up another $1,000,000,000 and the US can come home????

--The carefully planned theft has so weakened the army that it cannot hold Baghdad against insurgent attack without American military support, Iraqi officials say, making it difficult for the US to withdraw its 135,000- strong army from Iraq, as Washington says it wishes to do.--

[lovuian]

14. Pin yes print a billion more and lets get out of there!!!

I totally agree but that ain't gonna happen is it!!!

[Gloria]

16. What Happened to Iraq's Missing $1BN--Independent (EXPLOSIVE)

1//The Independent, UK Published: 19 September 2005

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article313538.ece



WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO IRAQ’S MISSING $1BN

By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad



One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.

The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.

"It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history," Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told The Independent.

"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal."

The carefully planned theft has so weakened the army that it cannot hold Baghdad against insurgent attack without American military support, Iraqi officials say, making it difficult for the US to withdraw its 135,000- strong army from Iraq, as Washington says it wishes to do.

SNIP

The Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit says in a report to the Iraqi government that US-appointed Iraqi officials in the defence ministry allegedly presided over these dubious transactions.

Senior Iraqi officials now say they cannot understand how, if this is so, the disappearance of almost all the military procurement budget could have passed unnoticed by the US military in Baghdad and civilian advisers working in the defence ministry.

Government officials in Baghdad even suggest that the skill with which the robbery was organised suggests that the Iraqis involved were only front men, and "rogue elements" within the US military or intelligence services may have played a decisive role behind the scenes.

Given that building up an Iraqi army to replace American and British troops is a priority for Washington and London, the failure to notice that so much money was being siphoned off at the very least argues a high degree of negligence on the part of US officials and officers in Baghdad.

MORE

[libodem]

17. ballpark figures

about 97 billion has been spent over there...about 2 billion on the Iraqi's....you figure it out....

[Old and In the Way]

18. I'll bet Ahmad Chalabi and Joe Allbaugh might know....

nt

[VegasWolf]

19. One word - Halliburton. nt

[goforit]

20. It's amazing how the US purposely wants to keep others oppressed.

All this money disappeared with intent.

Keep US forces there and keep people oppressed.

Intentional failure!!!Amazing!!!

[EndElectoral]

22. Unbeleivable!!! Why aren't the TV news outlets picking this UP???

[Ganja Ninja]

34. Do you really have to ask?

:sarcasm:

[lovuian]

23. Doesn't the Pentagon watch arms buying in Iraq???

Can you just buy a billion dollars of arms and ship them in and the US ARMY NAVY AND AIRFORCE sit back and watch them come in???

Give us a freakin Break Rumsfeld!!!

[daninthemoon]

24. Ask your vice presidetn.

[Roland99]

26. Probably shacking up with our $9 billion

[flamingyouth]

28. .

kick

[DemsUnited]

Independent: What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?

By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
Published: 19 September 2005

One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.

The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.

"It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history," Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told The Independent.

"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal."

<snip>

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article313538.ece

Just add it to the 8.8 billion already unaccounted for...

[Whoa_Nelly]

29. But what about the US$8.4 billion not accounted for?

Listening to that one interview on Real Time w/ Bill Maher, the idiot being interviewed stated that when that money was sent there wasn't time for accounting, but it went ot the right people.

OK...so if there's no accounting, how can the "right people" receive it?

Anyway...yes re: the UK article, there has been MORE theft. But, it also brings to mind the billions of dollars from the US for which there will never be an accounting.

[defiant1]

30. Well I'm glad I didn't eat breakfast this morning....

Cuz that article makes me want to :puke:

[Benhurst]

31. I'm not sure; BUT Condoleezza was out buying very expensive

shoes in New York City a while back. :shrug:

[cassiepriam]

32. And Cheney was buying a very expensive mansion... nt

[EndElectoral]

36. This should be in Late Breaking News- reported on CNN and on Voice of Amer

It is HUGE!!!

[Old and In the Way]

33. Chalabi, world-class bank embezzler and Allbaugh, bagman for the

Republican Syndicate....you just know these 2 guys have a handle on where that $1 BB went.

[MetaTrope]

35. Ernst Stavro Blofeld would have been proud

But prouder still of not being George W. Bush.

[EndElectoral]

37. Links below to CNN and Voice of America - This is huge!!

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast...tion=cnn_latest

CNN –

“LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Large-scale corruption in Iraq's ministries, particularly the defense ministry, has led to one of the biggest thefts in history with more than $1 billion going missing, Iraq's finance minister said in an interview."

"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal," Finance Minister Ali Allawi told British newspaper The Independent in a report published on Monday. "It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history."

Voice of America

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-09-19-voa50.cfm

"Iraqi officials say at least $1 billion disappeared from Iraq's defense ministry during the interim government of Iyad Allawi."

"The officials call the situation one of the largest thefts in history. They say it left the Defense Ministry with almost no money to buy arms, further complicating its fight against insurgents."