A 'fraud' bigger than Madoff

[kpete]

Source: The Independent UK

A 'fraud' bigger than Madoff

Senior US soldiers investigated over missing Iraq reconstruction billions

By Patrick Cockburn in Sulaimaniyah, Northern Iraq

Monday, 16 February 2009

In what could turn out to be the greatest fraud in US history, American authorities have started to investigate the alleged role of senior military officers in the misuse of $125bn (£88bn) in a US -directed effort to reconstruct Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The exact sum missing may never be clear, but a report by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) suggests it may exceed $50bn, making it an even bigger theft than Bernard Madoff's notorious Ponzi scheme.

"I believe the real looting of Iraq after the invasion was by US officials and contractors, and not by people from the slums of Baghdad," said one US businessman active in Iraq since 2003.

In one case, auditors working for SIGIR discovered that $57.8m was sent in "pallet upon pallet of hundred-dollar bills" to the US comptroller for south-central Iraq, Robert J Stein Jr, who had himself photographed standing with the mound of money. He is among the few US officials who were in Iraq to be convicted of fraud and money-laundering.

Despite the vast sums expended on rebuilding by the US since 2003, there have been no cranes visible on the Baghdad skyline except those at work building a new US embassy and others rusting beside a half-built giant mosque that Saddam was constructing when he was overthrown. One of the few visible signs of government work on Baghdad's infrastructure is a tireless attention to planting palm trees and flowers in the centre strip between main roads. Those are then dug up and replanted a few months later.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-frau...

[HowHasItComeToThis]

1. THIS WHOLE WAR WAS JUST A WALL STREET MONEY MAKING SCHEME

[superconnected]

2. I don't doubt that at all. - 2nd rec.

[Autonomy]

11. Not Wall St.

the so-called Defense Industry. Wall St. people are finance only; they wouldn't know what to do with a war.

[ozone_man]

33. It trickles down to Wall Street

The MIC is part of the economy and creates jobs, and consumer spending, and 2/3 of GDP is consumer spending. It's not an efficient use of dollars, and the product has negative social value, but it does boost the economy. This is what kept us out of the recession in 2003, creating a temporary recover, the appearance of a booming economy and asset bubble in real estate and stocks. Now we pay the price for that party.

[daggahead]

44. As General Smedley Butler wrote, "War is a Racket." n/t

[Tommy_J]

3. Interesting that a UK paper has the courage to break this

Recommended

[blm]

25. Same sentiment I posted on the other thread. And GOPs refuse to fund OUR NATION and its needs

as they LINE THE BANK ACCOUNTS of the global death merchants and their thugs.

[mopinko]

4. much of that cash went to bribe the warlords

i was told that tammy duckworth told stories of being sent on delivery missions to take a pallet of cash and drop it out in the desert for some warlord. unfortunately, she told these stories to the campaign staff, and not the voters.

[mamameow]

5. saddam

what happened to the billions found in iraq that saddam and sons squirreled away???

[bertman]

6. Who woulda thunk it?

Recommend.

[shanti]

7. that's what I'M talking about

we've known about this for far too long and want answers NOW!!!

[Left Coast2020]

8. Another reason to put Bush-Cheney behind bars.

Actually put them under the prison to rot. They should add conspiracy charges for allowing this fraud to occur in the first place. Bush and Cheney just didn't give a shit and neither did anyone else. Any contractor who comes back from Iraq shoudl have his luggage confiscated and searched if it has large sums of cash in it.

[McCamy Taylor]

9. I suggest a round of war profiteering trials BEFORE we start the torture trials.

In light of our recession/depression, these will be wildly popular with the public, and the Republicans will not dare to say a word about them. War profiteers will doubtless volunteer information about torture and torture facilities in order to save their necks, which will make the torture trials much easier.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

13. History Rhymes, this time like WW1...

...after the American people found out about all of the war profiteering done in World War 1, information of which was still coming to light well into the late 30's and beyond, the United States wanted nothing to do with another war in Europe. Hopefully the lesson sticks this time around.

[Raksha]

43. That's an excellent idea!

Re In light of our recession/depression, these will be wildly popular with the public, and the Republicans will not dare to say a word about them. War profiteers will doubtless volunteer information about torture and torture facilities in order to save their necks, which will make the torture trials much easier.

[Undercurrent]

10. We will be uncovering this for years. Decades.

And we will probably never know the full extent of the gang raping of America under the Bush regime. So many crimes. So many perpetrators.

[hope1954]

12. Dick Cheney

They should check his bank accounts.

[Mind_your_head]

15. Dick Cheney

They should break his neck is what I thought I read at first (really).

Wishful thinking?

agent Mike

[stevedeshazer]

14. U$A U$A U$A U$AU$A U$AU$A U$A

At least I had a choice with Bernie Madoff.

How do I get my $$$ back from BUSHCO?

[daggahead]

45. Our money is gone ... however, I'd take a conviction from The Hague as repayment. n/t

[No Elephants]

16. Funny how Republicans could vote for an Iraq recovery bill like this without a whimper, but could

not bring themselves to vote AT ALL for a recovery bill for America. Sure, our recovery bill was bigger, but so is our country. (Iraq is about twice the size of Idhao.) And we don't have nationalized oil.

Which begs the question: Why do Republicans hate America?

[Sherman A1]

18. Agreed

[Doremus]

37. Good point.

I've been trying to find a breakdown of the Iraq funding bills that details exactly how much was earmarked for Iraq reconstruction in total.

Those numbers, along with a list of the repukes who voted for the various bills, would make an EXCELLENT counterpoint to their current vomitus about Obama's stimulus plan.

Wish I had more time to work on it, sigh. It would make a killer presentation.

[Norrin Radd]

17. kr

[radfringe]

19. related to the RIO (Restore Iraqi Oil) contract

The probe mentioned in the article pertains to the RIO (Restore Iraqi Oil) contract...

A former DUer highlighted this months ago and stated it would heat up

interested DUers should bookmark and check the SIGIR site -- > http://www.sigir.mil /

[radfringe]

23. follow the oil slick - Halliburton/KBR RIO connection

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&fkt=3203&fsdt=7234&q...

KBR (company) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia From 1995-2002, Halliburton KBR was awarded at least $2.5 billion to construct .... mixed with the RIO contract in which KBR was given in a no-bid process. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBR_(company) - 80k - Cached - Similar pages

Halliburton Watch When the secret $7 billion Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) contract the Pentagon gave Halliburton KBR was revealed in March 2003, Bush administration critics began ...
www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/tappan.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages

Halliburton Watch Congress asserted the RIO contract was awarded without competition because Dick Cheney is the former CEO of KBR's parent, Halliburton. ...
www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/oilinfra.html - 10k - Cached - Similar pages

Crony Capitalism: Halliburton Gets $70 Million Bonus Despite Fraud ... The Bush administration awarded the RIO contract to Halliburton/KBR without asking for competitive bids. Under the RIO contract, Halliburton/KBR was issued ...
www.associatedcontent.com/article/3052/crony_capitalism... - 54k -

[AzDar]

20. K & R

[Optical.Catalyst]

21. Follow the money

[boobooday]

22. The same punks who are screaming about investing in our own country

Looted us already. They are so worried that our children might be "saddled" with paying for schools and roads, but swaggered as they stuck their hands in all our pockets and robbed us blind.

[radfringe]

24. Restore Iraqi Oil contract to Halliburton in 2002

Halliburton, KBR Plead Guilty to Cheney-Era Bribery Charges
http://pubrecord.org/law/676-halliburton-kbr-plead-guil...

---snip---

At the urging of unnamed officials in the Office of the Vice President , according to Defense Department documents, the DoD recommended the Army Corps of Engineers award a contract to KBR to extinguish Iraqi oil well fires in addition to "assessing the condition of oil-related infrastructure; cleaning up oil spills or other environmental damage at oil facilities; engineering design and repair or reconstruction of damaged infrastructure; assisting in making facilities operational; distribution of petroleum products; and assisting the Iraqis in resuming Iraqi oil company operations."

That was a deal hatched five months before the start of the Iraq war, when the Bush administration said publicly that it had not been working on war plans.

"The fact that the Department was planning for the possibility that it would need to repair and provide for continuity of operations of the Iraqi oil infrastructure was classified until March 2003," the Army Corps of Engineers said on its web site. "This prevented earlier acknowledgement or announcement of potential requirements to the business community."

A March 6, 2003 internal Pentagon e-mail sent by an Army Corps of Engineers official says "action" on the multibillion-dollar Halliburton contract was "coordinated" within Cheney's office.

The e-mail says Douglas Feith, the former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, received authorization from then Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to “execute” the Restore Iraqi Oil contract to Halliburton in 2002.

NOTE: We didn't invade Iraq until March of 2003
http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/newsiss3/a/iraqwart...

[pleah]

26. K&R

[The Wizard]

27. Time to start seizing assets

Law enforcement does it for cannabis possession.

[The Backlash Cometh]

28. If there is any compelling reason to cut back on the military budget,

It would be this one. They obviously have too much of it.

[Javaman]

29. Like I have been saying since the beginning, Iraq: biggest money laundering job ever. nt

[annabanana]

30. My 89 year old Dad said the whole war was an excuse to shovel out the Treasury

into Cheney's pockets. Turns out he was right.

[wroberts189]

41. funny the wisdom that comes with old age...wish more of us had it nt

[cascadiance]

31. Watch documentary "Iraq's Missing Billions" to find out about the "free fraud zone"...

"American law was suspended, Iraqi law was suspended... And Iraq basically became a 'free fraud zone'. In a 'free fire zone' you can shoot at anybody you want. In a 'free fraud zone' you can steal anything you like!"

- Alan Grayson on the Iraq "money pit".

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWBkKhr_1WA

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQu6JpEvxmE

Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9vcRfVhhks

[rollingrock]

32. And most Dems in Congress voted for every Iraq funding bill

[riverdeep]

34. Sending pallets of cash to defense contracters with no accountability system,

out in the middle of a distant land in the chaos of a war- what could go wrong? I also leave my aquarium maintenance to my cat.

Seriously, like others have said, where were the Republicans? Billions and billions of dollars just went poof, and not a peep.

[BanTheGOP]

35. And people think I MYSELF am too extreme...

...for wanting to ban the republican party. EVERY INSTANCE of party involvement is a crime against humanity, as the true intent of the party is to destroy the hopes and dreams of the vast majority of people and transfer the productive wealth of those poor individuals to the coffers of the rich republicanist bastards.

WHY is this party still allowed to exist? I will be writing on opinion piece on that very prospect this week in my journal. Stay tuned...

Article KR'd.

[goforit]

36. FREEZE all of Cheney's and Bush's assets domestic and abroad!!!

[veganlush]

38. wow....n/t

[damntexdem]

39. Oh, I thought you meant the past 8 years in the WH.

But you just meant one little part of it.

[wroberts189]

40. INVESTIGATE , PROSECUTE , NOW!!!!!!!!! FIX IT !

I want my tax dollars back.

[fascisthunter]

42. Wanna Take Care of the National Debt...

or at least a good chunk of it... confiscate the wealth of all the fascist fuckers who make a buck off of greed and war. There's where all the money went.