U.S. Defense Department can't account for billions for Iraq, audit finds

[alp227]

The U.S. Defense Department cannot account for about $2 billion it was given to cover Iraq-related expenses and is not providing Iraq with a complete list of U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, according to two new government audits.

The reports come from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

The Iraqi government in 2004 gave the Department of Defense access to about $3 billion to pay bills for certain contracts, and the department can only show what happened to about a third of that, the inspector general says in an audit published Friday.

Although the Department of Defense (DoD) had "internal processes and controls" to track payments, the "bulk of the records are missing," the report says, adding that the department is searching for them.

full: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/29/world/meast/iraq-us-audit/index.html

[MichiganVote]

1. This is the stupid bullshit the 99% pay their taxes for. How the H can you lose billions of dollars

[FarPoint]

9. You don't loose billions or millions of dollars...

They are diverted and stolen.

[paparush]

11. It's called money laundering.

War is a great way to get $$ into your friends' hands without any accountability.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Bingo.

[New7up]

24. +1 n/t

[Javaman]

30. Yup. I said this years ago.

Iraq and afghanistan are the biggest money laundering operations ever.

I would love to see the clever accounting that was used to fix the books over at the RNC to show how the sudden flood of "donations" were accounted for.

[Octafish]

32. ''Money trumps peace.''

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=2177500&mesg_id=2177669

[Aaria]

28. Duh, Sept 10th Rummey announced that 2 trillion was missing at the Pentagon, Sept 11th .......

wiped out the records area. Billions? Woop the fuckin do.

[OranicManic]

2. Chickenfeed

roll eyes. Its like 2 trillion missing, plus 3 trillion for the war.

[baldguy]

3. I thought it was $8 billion?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1

[zbdent]

4. I'm sure if the U.S. made Dick Cheney turn his pockets inside out ...

you would find a good amount of that which disappeared ...

[HopeHoops]

5. Well 8 billion went to Halliburton right before the 2004 election - no accountability.

Bush just signed it over. "Here, have some money."

[geomon666]

6. Time to check some US bank accounts. n/t

[Amonester]

25. AND some off-shore ones also.

More so off shore, since it seems that's where the billions go to evade taxes.

[riverwalker]

7. hekuva job, Rummy

"From July 2004 through December 2007, DoD should have provided 42 monthly reports. However, it can locate only the first four reports."

[AnotherMcIntosh]

8. Is this one of those the-pallet-is-missing things?

[glinda]

14. lol!!!!

[bemildred]

10. So, same old same old, eh? nt

[mia]

13. 2005: So, Mr Bremer, where did all the money go?

When Paul Bremer, the American pro consul in Baghdad until June last year, arrived in Iraq soon after the official end of hostilities, there was $6bn left over from the UN Oil for Food Programme, as well as sequestered and frozen assets, and at least $10bn from resumed Iraqi oil exports. Under Security Council Resolution 1483, passed on May 22 2003, all these funds were transferred into a new account held at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, called the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), and intended to be spent by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) "in a transparent manner ... for the benefit of the Iraqi people".
The US Congress also voted to spend $18.4bn of US taxpayers' money on the redevelopment of Iraq. By June 28 last year, however, when Bremer left Baghdad two days early to avoid possible attack on the way to the airport, his CPA had spent up to $20bn of Iraqi money, compared with $300m of US funds. The "reconstruction" of Iraq is the largest American-led occupation programme since the Marshall Plan - but the US government funded the Marshall Plan. Defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Bremer have made sure that the reconstruction of Iraq is paid for by the "liberated" country, by the Iraqis themselves.

The CPA maintained one fund of nearly $600m cash for which there is no paperwork: $200m of it was kept in a room in one of Saddam's former palaces. The US soldier in charge used to keep the key to the room in his backpack, which he left on his desk when he popped out for lunch. Again, this is Iraqi money, not US funds.

The "financial irregularities" described in audit reports carried out by agencies of the American government and auditors working for the international community collectively give a detailed insight into the mentality of the American occupation authorities and the way they operated. Truckloads of dollars were handed out for which neither they nor the recipients felt they had to be accountable....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/jul/07/iraq.features11

[Sherman A1]

18. Precisely

[saras]

15. "the bulk of the records are missing" - no one LOST anything

[Amonester]

26. The US workers who pay taxes lost.

In fact, they lost so much they're still losing, plus interests.

Heck, their unborn grandchildren will probably die still losing.

[JJW]

16. How about we have a war against wars

[valerief]

17. But I thought our Defense Budget was the petty cash of the rich and richer. nt

[jody]

19. "can't account" doesn't mean misused, just that bean-counters lost track of it. nt

[sarcasmo]

20. Check every politician and lobbyists bank account.

[Solly Mack]

21. Snort

K&R

[eppur_se_muova]

22. Mission Accomplished ! nt

[annabanana]

23. That sure would come in handy here now, what with, you know

medicare, medicaid, social security, healthcare, infrastructure, unemployment insurance, education, renewable energy development, . .

feel free to add on...

[lovuian]

27. this has to STOP! It is like a bottomless pit

this war is Bankrupting America

Somebody needs to go to JAIL!!!

[marasinghe]

29. this is not US money, this is Iraqi money.

from the OP: ".... The Iraqi government in 2004 gave the Department of Defense access to about $3 billion to pay bills for certain contracts, and the department can only show what happened to about a third of that, the inspector general says in an audit published Friday ...."

but, i err: all their money are belong to us, now.

[we can do it]

33. Then the Missing Amount Comes Out of the Next Budget

maybe that would slow some of the greedy shit down.

[TroglodyteScholar]

34. In other news, water is wet. n/t

[Tx4obama]

35. Kick!

[Citizen Worker]

36. The "bulk of the records are missing." Did DoD have the Col. Ollie North high speed industrial

grade shredders in Iraq?