Corruption widespread in Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/crime_courts/14646103.htm

Corruption widespread in Iraq
Conflicts of interest, bribes among many challenges new government faces, U.S., Iraqi officials say

LOS ANGELES TIMES

<snip>

Corruption is among the most critical problems facing Iraq's newly formed government, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.

Moments after announcing most of his new Cabinet on Saturday, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced that fighting corruption would be one of his main priorities. U.S. and Iraqi officials say endemic bribery, graft and conflicts of interest will await Maliki everywhere he turns.

Iraqi government documents reveal the breadth of corrupt crimes, from epic schemes involving hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts down to the more ordinary, including the hundreds of university students accused of buying better grades from their professors and the former Justice Ministry official who handed out U.S.-issue pistols to friends as party favors.

"We are seeing corruption everywhere in Iraq -- in every ministry, in every governorate," said Radhi Hamza Radhi, head of the Commission on Public Integrity, Iraq's anti-corruption agency.

[Kagemusha]

1. You don't say.

Good for the Los Angeles Times, telling us what we couldn't possibly have figured out ourselves.

[saigon68]

14. It's more crooked than Viet-Nam

The place where the well healed locals drank Dom Perrignon, and drove around in their Mercedes and Rolls Royce cars

[Cha]

2. Whoa! Newsflash!!

"Wide Spread Corruption in Iraq"..What else is new?

[tanyev]

3. Learned well, they have.

[Tight_rope]

4. Naw...It can't be!....Not a government that Bushco help to form!

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. Learning from the USA's version of "democracy" (think PNACers)

.
.
.

democracy means the rule of the majority

and if the majority are corrupt

then it's OK, right?

"USA Nomba One"

right . . .

[confludemocrat]

6. doesn't "corrupt" really only apply in a place other than HELL?

geezus

[redqueen]

7. Following our model, I see... n/t

[UpInArms]

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

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

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly $9 billion of money spent on Iraqi reconstruction is unaccounted for because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to a watchdog report published Sunday.

An inspector general's report said the U.S.-led administration that ran Iraq until June 2004 is unable to account for the funds.

"Severe inefficiencies and poor management" by the Coalition Provisional Authority has left auditors with no guarantee the money was properly used," the report said.

"The CPA did not establish or implement sufficient managerial, financial and contractual controls to ensure that funds were used in a transparent manner," said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., director of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

...more...

Corruption from corruption - when you breed two corrupt things together, you generally end up with corrupt offspring :eyes:

[lovuian]

9. Corruption is the rule of the day and makes for hard

times dealing with people who go to the highest bidder and even then screws them...

Ah now we know nothing is going to get done... :rofl:

[kineneb]

10. And this is "news"?

The Middle East has had corruption problems for centuries. One need only look at the history of the Persian Empire to find lots of corruption. (General rule: old king dies, new one comes in, kills all ministers and family of previous king. Nothing new, move along, move along.)

[0007]

11. Halliburton leads the pack of rats and private contractors

from the U.S. are right behind.

[zreosumgame]

12. um, yeah is is a wholly owned subsidiay

of Hallibuton after all. So there is supposed to be a surprise in this?

[Tansy_Gold]

13. "Corruption Widespread in USA."

That headline would be about as "late-breaking newsworthy."

:sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

15. the Neo-Conservative version of Iraqi democracy is corrupt--no way!!