By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 47 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A State Department official said Thursday corruption in Iraq was serious, but he refused to say whether Iraq's prime minister was involved or capable of addressing the problem.
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Several times at the hearing, Waxman asked Butler whether the U.S.-backed government had the political will or ability to stop the corruption. Each time, Butler responded calmly that such information was not for public consumption.
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The testy exchange followed testimony by Iraq's former top anticorruption investigator that he was forced to leave the country after trying to unearth instances of government fraud and abuse.
Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, an Iraqi judge who led the U.S.-established Commission on Public Integrity, said he believed al-Maliki had protected some relatives involved in corruption and allowed other ministers to protect their employees from investigation.
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