Corruption in Iraq may be so bad that it has actually nullified the "surge"

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Here's a simple question New Hampshire voters should ask every presidential candidate: "Why are we paying for some of the bullets the insurgents are using to kill our soldiers?"

Here's David Walker, comptroller general of the United States, addressing House committee hearings this month on the scope of corruption in Iraq: "Widespread corruption undermines efforts to develop the government's capacity by robbing it of needed resources, some of which are used to fund the insurgency."

The next question voters should ask: How much of the hundreds of millions of dollars American taxpayers have spent to pay for reconstruction efforts in Iraq has been used for that purpose?

Here's Judge Radhi al-Radhi, the chief of anti-corruption efforts in Iraq's government until, while he was in Washington for Justice Department training, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ousted him from his position. Maliki accused al-Rahdi of corruption and froze his assets, stranding him in the United States, David Corn of The Nation reported.

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071014/OPINION/710140355/1027/OPINION01