Maine Owl

Iraq corruption kills Iraqis and U.S. troops alike; Maine Senator Collins among the Republicans who dropped the ball


Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) lambastes blind-eye Congress; go HERE to find webcast of complete 2-1/2 hour hearing

DORGAN: I think for five years Congress has done a miserable job of oversight, just a miserable job. We've just shoveled money out the door and it is the greatest example of waste, fraud and abuse in the history of this country, ... . I'm convinced the American taxpayers have just been stolen blind.

Embroidered KBR towel reveals arrogance of occupation and contempt for American taxpayers

The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations held a hearing examining "Waste, Fraud, and Abuse of American Tax Dollars in Iraq" on Tuesday March 11, 2008. Senator Dorgan is a key guy in exposing all this. Dorgan gives David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States; Claude M. Kicklighter, Inspector General, Department of Defense; and Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction appropriate praise for finally issuing certain reports exposing the truth about how the U.S. taxpayer (and the Iraqis) have been treated by the U.S. occupation regime.

The big story this week was about Halliburton/KBR negligence in failure to provide safe water for U.S. troops. Of course, the report was kept secret until just recently when Kicklighter brought it to light. Gerald at Turn Maine Blue put up a good post on this three days ago (thanks Gerald).

These facts alone should condemn U.S. Senator Susan Collins to an early retirement at the hands of voters in November. Senator Collins had one of the blindest of the Republican blind eyes during the crucial 2003-5 period when U.S. taxpayer and Iraqi money alike drained into the sea of corruption that was the U.S. occupation. Senator Dorgan has the goods on the whole thing.

When it really counted, Collins was more interested in sending her attack dog, Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota, to paint an overly-hysterical picture of the old U.N. Iraq Oil-for-Food program for the media. In 2004 and 2005, Coleman harassed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and unsuccessfully tried to spring a phony perjury trap on a high-profile Iraq sanctions and war opponent, U.K. politician George Galloway. Hers was a double standard when it came to her blindness about corruption since the U.S. took over.

Below is the full release on the hearing from the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Shouldn't Collins at least display some remorse for the thousands of U.S.-supplied weapons that have fallen into the hands of "insurgents and militias to use against U.S. troops"??

Update: HERE is a related post from Think Progress, emphasizing that "U.S. tax money is ending up in the hands of sectarian militias in Iraq." GAO Comptroller Walker later "confirmed that a 'significant' amount of what the U.S. spends on Iraqi contracts is being diverted to Sunni and Shiite militias. Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, agreed, adding that 'it is a significant problem.'"

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Contact: Appropriations Press Office, (202) 224-3904

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE EXAMINES WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE OF AMERICAN TAX DOLLARS IN IRAQ

Washington, DC – The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing today to examine the endemic waste, fraud and abuse that has resulted in the squandering of billions of American tax dollars in Iraq. With the cost of the war in Iraq projected to surpass $605 billion this year, the members of the committee heard a wide range of testimony from four witnesses who discussed how American funds are being spent and to what benefit. Testifying before the Committee were: The Honorable David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States; The Honorable Claude M. Kicklighter, Inspector General, Department of Defense; Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction; and The Honorable Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, Former Commissioner, Commission on Public Integrity, Republic of Iraq.

Major highlights of the hearing were as follows:

1. Fraud, waste, abuse and corruption in U.S. contracts in Iraq and within the Iraqi government were characterized by all witnesses as “significant,” “widespread,” “rampant,” and costing the United States taxpayers billions of dollars.
2. The Iraqi government’s ability to spend their budgeted funds has not improved and, in fact, most of it has not been spent. Iraq has a budget surplus while the United States this year will have one of the largest budget deficits in history due in part to the large amount of money we are spending on the war and failed reconstruction efforts in Iraq
3. U.S. government oversight has been lacking. Administration efforts to prosecute individuals responsible for the waste or theft of billions of taxpayer dollars have been grossly insufficient. Efforts need strengthening.
4. Corruption in Iraqi oil production is rampant and is feeding the insurgency which in turn is attacking U.S. troops.
5. Fraud, waste, abuse and corruption in Iraq have resulted in a situation in which reconstruction is stymied – oil production still has not exceeded pre-war levels, and water and power are still not available to most Iraqis. At the same time, Americans are paying record prices at the gas pump.
6. Poor accountability has resulted in thousands of weapons provided by the United States to the Iraqi security forces being stolen, looted, or otherwise provided to insurgents and militias to use against U.S. troops. In one case alone, 190,000 pistols and rifles turned over to Iraq cannot be accounted for.
7. The U.S. Department of State has balked at implementing GAO recommendations to develop strategic and integrated accountability measures.
8. Several witnesses’ recommendations regarding war profiteering and contract accountability legislation were made that need to be carefully considered.
9. The former head of the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity reported that $11 million in U.S. funds (cash) given to him with no benchmarks or restrictions to establish an Iraqi Academy of Integrity were seized by Iraqi officials; the money has not been accounted for.
10. The most effective way to fight al-Qaeda and other insurgents in Iraq is to cut off their funding by implementing strict accountability measures over all monies – U.S. and Iraqi.

The full hearing and testimony can be viewed [HERE].

The Senate Appropriations Committee will continue to hold hearings on this matter, with the next hearing to be held in April.