Great Dems-only hearing on missing Iraq funds - C-Span live

[welshTerrier2]

Senator Dorgan and Senator Reid have spoken so far ...

Comments from Reid:

"up to 30% of money allocated for reconstruction are missing" ...

"Planeloads of money were flown to Iraq for reconstruction and we've seen nothing but waste, fraud and abuse" ...

"unemployment in Iraq greater than 50%"

"pipeline explosion means no gasoline in cities for at least a week" ...

"electrical power, sewer and other utilities is highly sporadic"

"profiteering and corruption is rampant and is causing the poor security position we see today"

[Skink]

1. Bout time they started looking into the CPA.

[welshTerrier2]

3. this is a devastating story

it's great to see the Democrats forcing these hearings ... the republicans refused to participate ...

of course, while this should be front page news in every paper in the country, we'll be lucky if it gets any coverage at all ...

the press refuses to its job ...

[rodeodance]

5. some blogger will do an great write-up on it.

[AuntiBush]

65. Thank you!

I'm so disgusted by the press/TV media... I believe firmly that the Repuks will never be re-elected. Not after the piles of scandals, budget cutting every issue that matters (affecting everyone, not just us); and I believe Chimp&CO know this, or they'd not be so desperate to get their neocon issues passed this year (2006 will bring in more Dem's - count on it)... but the Media makes me :puke:

Shame on the media. :puke: :puke: :puke:

[rodeodance]

4. said Bremner and Halbertan and Wolfie were invited but did not hear

if any of them would show up. Have others heard?

[welshTerrier2]

6. i doubt they will

haven't heard anything except that republican senators were asked to participate and they refused ...

i'm sure the others you asked get their marching orders from the republicans so i doubt they'll appear ...

[FreedomAngel82]

51. Of course they refused

Why would we expect them to come to a democratic meeting? :eyes: They're so immature.

[tanyev]

61. Yeah, what about all those young employees of the CPA

via the Heritage Foundation. Any of them driving fancy cars and wearing expensive designer clothes since they got back?

[chicagojoe]

2. I'm watching it. We need more of this. n/t

[CWebster]

7. Oh, the irony

They are investigating corruption in propaganda efforts.

That takes the cake.

[burythehatchet]

8. I love the crawl that appeared a while ago

"Republican lawmakers were invited but declined to attend"

Does that not summarize their petty and vindictive souls?

[CWebster]

14. They are being "obstructionist"

So much for bi-partisan efforts to be responsible in investigating gov waste and fraud.

[Just Me]

45. They are ignoring one of the most corrupt MISAPPROPRIATION,...

,...of federal funds by numerous US Corporations and US individuals in history!!!

This is the most blatant example of criminal corruption!!! :mad:

But, why the hell should the beneficiaries of misappropriated taxpayer funds do anything to end that form of profitteering corruption?!?!?!

Republicans SUCK!!!! :mad:

[FreedomAngel82]

52. We can always use this against them

in the next election cycle. If it is found out a lot of government waste and fraud democrats can show the public how they didn't even try to stop it. Not one person. This is very irresponsible.

[burythehatchet]

9. This is absolutely critical

they are linking the billions of missing money to the incompetence on the ground. Why didn't the idiot republicans present the people on the ground to cite all the "successes". "OOOH OOOOH we took down Saddam's statue in a staged event"

[cthrumatrix]

11. the rethugs don't care about losing your tax dollars...they will ask for

more money....

WTF is our press... oopps...WTF are our bloggers covering this?

[burythehatchet]

13. get used to it dude

many of us have been saying for a while that we need to stop looking to corrupted institutions to do the job they should. We're IT.

[girl gone mad]

60. Yes.

It's about time that the connection between the massive fraud and corruption taking place and the chaos we see in Iraq was brought to light.

[burythehatchet]

10. btw, I'm lovin Harry Reid

They just showed a brief cut-away to him and I got a good feeling.

:)

[burythehatchet]

12. please nominate for greatest

this needs broad exposure

[burythehatchet]

15. What was the al-jazeera comment that Dorgan made?

I missed it cuz I was posting

[welshTerrier2]

38. al-jazeera was kicked out of baghdad during the election

i believe i heard that in this hearing ...

[burythehatchet]

16. Holy shit - Alan Grayson is not being shy about letting the

accusations fly. Attorney for former CPA employee

[welshTerrier2]

18. incredible testimony

if this stuff doesn't eventually find its way to the MSM, we are truly doomed ... it would be absolute proof that there is not one honest MSM outlet remaining ...

this Alan Grayson guy from Custer Battles is unbelievable and vey credible ...

[cthrumatrix]

19. the key point is the republicans refusal to cover "incompetence"

[welshTerrier2]

22. defrauding the CPA

the witness said the bush administation has refused to prosecute this fraud because "defrauding the CPA is not the same as defrauding the U.S. government" ...

he also said that Scott Custer has direct access to the White House and that he was a major contributor to the republican party ...

Reid just said he had other obligations but the testimony has been so stunning that he's decided to remain ...

[burythehatchet]

24. Steve Ellis just completely contradicted the statement

that the CPA is not part of the US govt. This is gettin good

[Skidmore]

46. "Incopetence" is a code word for

payback for campaign contributions and votes for the corporate bosses.

[FreedomAngel82]

53. Does anybody know if this will be on later tonight?

I'd love to catch it later this evening.

[welshTerrier2]

57. just called C-Span

the program is called: "Contracting in Iraq"

they told me they didn't know when, or if, it would be repeated ... they said their website is updated numerous times a day and that it could be aired again today or during the next few days ...

so, keep checking their website ...

[burythehatchet]

17. Custer Battles - time to GOOGLE, anyone have info?

[CWebster]

20. Unbelievable testimoy

"Battles is very active in the Republican party and speaks to people in the Whitehouse daily"

[burythehatchet]

21. I can't find the $$ amount they contributed

[Spazito]

30. I started researching them yesterday when they were mentioned

in a news article. This is what I found so far, lots more out there I have no doubt:

http://www.custerbattles.com/press/pr032203.html

and they are listed here on ContractWatch: (note they have not responded to the request)

http://www.contractwatch.org/datavault/FOIA.htm

Interesting, one of the principals in Custer Battles was a republican candidate, looks like he was defeated in his primary:

http://www.insidepolitics.org/heard/heard110401.html

Will keep looking for links

Edited to add this:

Fox interview excerpt with Battles:

http://www.custerbattles.com/press/news041904yourworld....

Whoa, papers file in 04 against Custer Battles

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

http://www.taf.org/custerbattles.pdf

Another interesting addition:

Mike Battles, Mike is a founding partner of the Global Risk Management Firm Custer Battles LLC. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in Geopolitics. He served over 7 years in the U.S. Army as an Infantry officer in Airborne and Special Operations assignments with extensive service throughout the Balkans and Eastern Europe. After leaving the military, Mike served as an operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. Mike was also a candidate for the US House of Representatives from Rhode Island. Mike is a visiting lecturer at West Point, a frequent commentator on national security affairs for the FOX NEWS Channel, and an active member of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs.

http://www.thecamelotgroup.com/mbattles.htm

[burythehatchet]

33. BINGO - I love it

[CWebster]

23. I can't help but feel cynical

that this will just be another crime in an ongoing criminal administration which will amount to nada.

[burythehatchet]

25. there's not going to be any "grand slam"

its going to be slow and painstaking, but the criminals will be prosecuted.

[CWebster]

26. wish I had your faith

doesn't seem there is anything this gang can't get away with.


Reid coming up.

[welshTerrier2]

31. sandcastles crumble

soon after the tide turns ...

the real issue here is that a tide is turning ... can you imagine having Democrats holding hearings like this a year or two years ago?

if Reid makes a big deal of this, the press won't be able to ignore it ... at least i don't think they will ...

will this get bush impeached? probably not ... but the day the American people start questioning whether their tax dollars are being handed out to corrupt, republican-supporting corporations, will be the day that signals the beginning of the end for all this neo-con madness ...

Reid: "this is a scandal ... this is the tip of the iceberg ... this is about billions of dollars ... i can't believe our government would allow something like this to happen" ...

i understand your pessimism ... there's certainly a long history of events to justify it ... my take is that the tide has turned and the sandcastles will soon be washed into the sea ...

[cthrumatrix]

34. watch the MSM ignore this .... they will NOT investigate- Rove's order

[welshTerrier2]

36. or if they do ...

they won't place any responsibility for failed oversight on bush, the neo-cons and the CPA ...

this has been the pattern even from the Democrats ...

on the rare occasion the bad guys are identified, the allegations never go beyond those involved ... if that had happened during Watergate, only the 5 burglars who actually broke into the Watergate offices would have been prosecuted ... in those days, the press helped take down Nixon and so did the Democrats ... sure do miss those "plain old country lawyers" ...

think about Abu Ghraib ... punish the little people ... let the big boys walk ... Rummy, Condi and all the policy makers are still merrily doing their thing ...

so if the heat gets turned up high, Custer Battles gets a black eye ... and bush and the republicans will excuse themselves with nonsense like "we had a full time job ensuring our troops were safe" ... until that was solved, we couldn't focus on the mundane tasks of bookkeeping and auditing ... and the press will print every statement the republicans put out in their own defense ...

[Telly Savalas]

71. Journalists investigate things?

That's a good one.

[FreedomAngel82]

54. I hope so

I have faith in our leaders. I don't think Mr. Reid will let this go away. Remember, if he can deal with the mafia he can deal with these immatures.

[CWebster]

27. Think of all the billions of squandered taxpayers funds

and then think about them whining on and fear-mongering about Social Security viability.

It is the Gov defrauding taxpayers of their retirement investment, just like how Enron swindled it's employees out of their pensions.

[cthrumatrix]

28. they had to switch from Euros as the reserve currency... that was the plan

LOL...they call the "fraud" ---- "leakage"

[burythehatchet]

29. WHY THE FUCK DID THEY SEND PLANES FULL OF CASH???

People here are suffering goddamit. CRIMINALS

This is making me very angry

[cthrumatrix]

32. they don't care ---- it's OUR tax dollars

[burythehatchet]

35. Just had a sick thought

let them loot the country so we can "rebuild" more shit. Oh man, this is sad.

[cthrumatrix]

37. this is how war profiteering at it's best !

[cthrumatrix]

39. the "whistleblowers are afraid"..."bush retaliation" .....WTF is going on?

we have the mafia in the WH

[FreedomAngel82]

55. That's why Mr. Reid is so perfect for this

Because he has dealt with the mafia before. He knows how to handle them. I know he'll take them all down. It won't be a quick thing of course, but I think it will still happen sooner or later.

[CWebster]

40. Death threats and bounties on whistle blowers heads

prevented them from testifying.

[Just Me]

47. Death threats, fraud, blackmail, misappropriation of federal funds,...

,...conspiracy to cover-up, obstruction of justice,...

How many freakin' crimes will this administration and its cronies get away with before they are finally STOPPED!!!!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[cthrumatrix]

48. alot more...however it's getting soo large there will be an outcry

which might trigger "an emergency" against us.

[kentuck]

41. Dorgan is doing a great job with these hearings...

and others also.

[CWebster]

42. Wow Waxman just stated the Bush administration is

complicit. "No fraud-zone wherever this administration is involved"

[Lostnote03]

43. Graet Slogan used by the CPA labor attorney....

.....Iraq=Free Fraud Zone

[CWebster]

44. Related article

WASHINGTON - The US Army is investigating the killing in Iraq of a contractor who, according to his father, suspected that colleagues in his US-based company were involved in fraudulent activities with US Army contracting officers.


Kirk von Ackermann disappeared on a road between Tikrit and Kirkuk, leaving cash in his car. The murder of Ryan Manelick, 31, came two months after another Ultra Services employee, Kirk von Ackermann, 37, disappeared while driving alone in northern Iraq in 2003, Time magazine said.

The Army launched a fraud investigation in connection with the mysterious disappearance and subsequent killing, Time said, citing Defense Department officials.

Manelick and an Iraqi traveling with him by car were shot and killed by gunmen in a sport-utility vehicle.

Manelick's father claims that his son had told him in an e-mail that he suspected colleagues at Ultra Services were involved in fraudulent activities with US Army contracting officers, according to Time.

The Winters, California-based company's website says it has done 14 million dollars worth of business with the Pentagon, Time said.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Command told Time that Manelick met with its investigators in Iraq, but it refused to say what was discussed.

But an Army investigator, in an e-mail obtained by the magazine, said Manelick visited her days before he was killed and said he was "fearful for his life."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0213-07.htm

[CWebster]

49. Durbin on Cspan 2 now on Social security

He is going to town.

[Colorado Blue]

50. Sent thread to Keith at MSNBC! nt

[Q]

56. This needs to be done...

...whether the corporate media or the Republican Pirates want to participate or not.

Now...Dems are at least on the record.

[joanski01]

58. Senator Reid said that this testimony

was "compelling". It was truly that. Money was just being thrown around in Iraq. Did you all see the big picture of those three holding all that money. $100 bills packed in packages of $100,000. $2 million in cash and they called the guy and told him to come and pick it up.

More bags of money to pay people who they didn't even know whether or not were employees. Then then was the contractor who was paid for guarding civilian flights at the Bagdad Airport when there weren't any civilian flights.

People, if this hearing is repeated, you gotta see it.

[joanski01]

59. more - Then Don North, the TV guy,

said after he quit, they sent people to Dubai ? for training by Al Jeereza, instead of having the employees trained in Iraq. Every stinking little decision had to be cleared by the "front office". Bremmer turned the INM into an American propaganda outlet. Wouldn't let them broadcast stories from the street that the people were really interested in.

The CPA never supplied the personnel that they needed. The 61 year-old guy said he worked from 7:30 a.m. until 11:00 at night, and couldn't take it any more. He said he thought the war was the right thing to do, but he was testifying because he was a concerned taxpayer.

They had a big money vault at the CPA, and when they needed to pay someone, an Air Force guy went down to the vault and got the cash.

Lordy, lordy, what a mess. No wonder the Iraqi's hate us. Senator Reid looked so totally shocked and angry. I sure hope this goes somewhere. One of the guys testifying gave the name of a Justice Department guy who said the CPA was not the US Government.

[cthrumatrix]

62. this whole thing was unreal

[joanski01]

64. I'm still in a state of shock.

This whole Administration needs to be impeached.

[burythehatchet]

69. One thing that struck me was the statement

that the money came straight from the printing presses. Kind of odd, I thought.

[AuntiBush]

63. Seen it...

And again, the main television media ignores these vital issues.

Shame on network media! Can't say it enough - SHAME ON ALL TV NEWS MEDIA! It won't be forgotten for a long time!

[jbnow]

68. What is so odd about the media

Ignoring things that are SO important is that these are the same people who told us more then we ever would want to know about Clinton's semen and sex life.

MSM would say...what, Clinton was news, an investigation and all. Well now we are getting investigations, things on the record. So what excuse now?

I will pretend to believe this will be a growing part of the news. (But they sure didn't have a hard time dismissing the missing 9 billion)

[sunnystarr]

66. I watched it and kept saying OMG OMG OMG !!!

This was only the tip of the iceberg. Where is the media?? Americans need to know that their Repuke senators (and reps in the house) don't care, don't want to know, and don't want to stop this. Fraud Free America ... and every Senator who wasn't there was supporting it with their absence!

[joanski01]

67. Re-air at 8:00 p.m. Tonight

on C-Span. EST. Please don't miss this. You will be shocked.

[Just Me]

70. Yup. Profiteering and corruption RUN AMOK!!!!

Profiteering and corruption sponsored by the neoCONspirators and their Republican backers with a few simply democrats suckin' their tails.

The worst criminal acts committed against the American people,...and just as valuable human beings across the globe!!!

EVIL MO FOs!!! :mad: