Rummy admits that $2.3 trillion (not billion) “missing”

[libertypirate]

from Defense Department financial systems.

http://www.oilempire.us/trillions.html

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/05/18/MN251738.DTL
Military waste under fire
$1 trillion missing -- Bush plan targets Pentagon accounting
Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, May 18, 2003


www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml
The War On Waste
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29, 2002

"How do we know we need $48 billion since we don't know what we're spending and what we're buying?"
Retired Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan

(CBS) On Sept. 10, <2001> Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared war. Not on foreign terrorists, "the adversary's closer to home. It's the Pentagon bureaucracy," he said.
He said money wasted by the military poses a serious threat.
"In fact, it could be said it's a matter of life and death," he said.
Rumsfeld promised change but the next day – Sept. 11-- the world changed and in the rush to fund the war on terrorism, the war on waste seems to have been forgotten.
Just last week President Bush announced, "my 2003 budget calls for more than $48 billion in new defense spending."
More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.
"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

This happened the day before 9-11 you have to question everything you think you know to find sanity in this world.

[seemslikeadream]

1. Ask Dov Zakheim

He SHOULD know where the money went

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=743997

[Deja Q]

2. "the party of fiscal responsibility", my ass. Fire the whole lot of them.

NOW.

$2.3 tril, give me strength! Does this mean we're now $10 tril up the shitter?! Or still $8.1 tril and our responsible folks just didn't know which hooker they shoved it up?

And if one person who thinks * is good at defending this country still does so, shun them now. This is a true joke on America.

[FreedomAngel82]

38. Don't forget the party of adults

:eyes:

[AuntiBush]

42. People are Reeling Over this Joke of an Administration!

Kid.You.Not!

The phone lines are HOT tonight & email box over what *&CO have done to all of us. No one is looking forward to the coming year. All are fed-up & in total disgust from *!

[HereSince1628]

3. Just how do you think we fund secret programs to illegally spy on US

citizens? The spending of this money wasn't lost, it was very likely simply done off the books.

[Sydnie]

5. DING DING DING

I think we have a winner!

[Deja Q]

6. Either way, it's irresponsible.

The enroning of our government. Damn straight our foreign investors will want their money back. x( (and do we have it? Nope. :scared: )

[HereSince1628]

8. Either way, it could be criminal.

[C_U_L8R]

10. Irresponsible ??????

I'd say.....
Holy Moly It's friggin CRIMINAL !!!

And SHOCKING that the REPUBLICAN
congress is facilitating all this CRIME AND CORRUPTION

THROW THE BUMS OUT !
(and throw them in jail)

[SmokingJacket]

13. Part of it, anyway. But a TRILLION?

That's a significant chunk of the treasury. I mean, wow. There are people out there with huge, massive, secret bank accounts out there, mark my word.

Meanwhile, they're putting a young local couple in jail because they collected foodstamps and other benefits while failing to declare their disability payments. Yep, they ripped off between one and three thousands dollars between them -- but Rummy "lost" a TRILLION.

[FreedomAngel82]

39. And remember when they lost money before?

They "lost" some money in Iraq that was supposed to go to them? How much you wanna be Haliburton, Carlyle or some other contracting group nice to them got it?

[cassiepriam]

18. How do you think we buy elections, the media, etc

Stealing a whole country is not cheap.

[julianer]

51. I thought secret programs were financed

by drug and gun running?

[MagickMuffin]

52. Cheney has admitted to "Creative Accounting"

(in an interview after becoming VP) when he worked @ Halliburton. I can't remember who interviewed him, but there was no follow ups to the original question, and Cheney admitted his knowledge of "cooking books, um, er, if you will."
Although Cheney didn't call it by its name that was in vogue at the time "cooking the books" instead he preferred the more classy phrase Creative Accounting", it has a nicer tone to it, don't ya think. I don't think I would have asked a follow up question or explanation either.:sarcasm:
I would think admitting a criminal activity would have the Justice Dept. all over it, but I guess not:eyes:

This money is not lost just diverted to the over-privileged, Personal bank accounts, RNC, the Media/Marketing Propaganda Campaign, Think Tanks, Lobbyist, etc, etc.:grr:

[Inland]

54. Our lost money is their found money. nt

[ThomWV]

4. If I'm Not Mistaken That's 1/4th Of The National Debt

Aren't they talking about raising the debt ceiling to a bit over $8 trillion? Because if they are that means we're at about 8 now and this 2 represents roughly one quarter of the entire national debt.

Isn't that remarkable?

[SmokingJacket]

14. Absolutely mind-boggling. nt

[ny_liberal]

7. What? All Enron accountants got fired by the Gov'mt?

eom

[Frustratedlady]

9. This is obscene...I am livid!!!!

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

I guess it's time for me to exit this world. I simply cannot tolerate much more of these news reports. Every day, I get more and more frustrated with this administration and their inept handling of the war, our economy and our country, in general. WHAT is the total bill going to be for George's reign? Are there any bean counters out there?

What is the leadership of the Democratic party doing to demand an accounting? It's as though they are sitting back, waiting for George to hang himself. He's hanging us, that's for sure!

Every single day, someone should be standing before the American public and pointing out this crap as it is happening, and not wait until an election campaign to do the shaming. We need a Mr. Smith to go to Washington--to stand up and shout it to the rooftops that this administration is raping this country. Make the Republican party PROVE them wrong!!! Damn it, anyway!

[eppur_se_muova]

41. " guess it's time for me to exit this world. "

Please don't talk like that, Frustratedlady. There will be justice in *this* life for these criminals. The wheels are turning now, however agonizingly slowly. We will survive to see the world a better place, and THAT will be our revenge.

[bullimiami]

11. so throwing 500 Billion more away every year without first figuring out

where its all been going is fiscal responsibility.

[WinkyDink]

12. CLASSIC Mafia tactics.

Take over a legit business---or, say, nation---and loot it unto bankruptcy.
Plain and simple.
And we looted Iraq, too.

Next stop, the Persian Empire's ancient treasures.

We are "governed" by mobsters, thugs, criminals---psychopaths all.

[glitch]

15. Yep. It's been rampant since the 80s, one industry after another and now

the coup de grace, the federal government of the USA.

Politics, Bush-style.

[RazzleDazzle]

36. You are both exactly right

and Americans sit and take it, totally unawares of what's going on right under their noses.

[cassiepriam]

17. Worse than the mafia. There is no one to stop the bush co crime syndicate.

[cassiepriam]

16. Look in Cheney's or Delay's swiss bank accounts.

[acmavm]

19. Nuts. The money isn't lost. There ARE people who know just who's

pockets, both corporate and private, the money's ending up in.

They don't lose it, it's just diverted for God only knows what purpose.

Like the $500.00 hammers. That's money for 'a friend of a friend who has a company' who's more than willing to kickback a few bucks. Or a brother-in-law maybe. Or a group 'who sees issues the same way'. Or maybe just another really wealthy corporation who just can't get enough.

See, it's not lost in the conventional sense. There's just no proof as to where it went.

[Hyernel]

20. Must be for that secret moonbase...

on the...um...Moon.

[WI_DEM]

21. Rove has appropriated it to the RNC

but seriously, that's a hell of an accounting error, Rum! No doubt about it Rummy will be out in '06.

[WePurrsevere]

22. If it was that much back in 2003/2003 how much more is missing NOW?

With a system as large as the gov I can understand not being able to track every dime but millions? Billions? TRILLIONS? There is some SERIOUS and totally independent auditing needed to find out where this money, TAXPAYERS money, is all going.

My God/dess... Can you image all the good that our government, if it was actually the type that a gives a damn about people, could be done with that kind of money? Imagine how fast New Orleans could be rebuilt... how many homes you could help heat... how much high quality body and truck armor could be bought for our troops in Iraq could be bought... how many veterans could be assisted properly... how many people could get proper medical and very important dental care... etc... etc.. etc... DAMN where is the uproar by our representatives... this how missing and/or wasted should not only have Dems furious but this should have TRUE "old style" Republicans heads exploding.

[Joanne98]

23. Something from Catherine Austin Fitts.........

The truth is that the private sector is eating government programs and administration alive. This means that fundamental economic productivity is decreasing while government investment earns a constantly decreasing rate of return to taxpayers. This has been going on for a long time. For example, in 1988, I was invited to a budget briefing for business leaders by Secretary of Defence Weinberger at the Pentagon. For eight hours he and his corporate guests painted a clear and detailed picture as to how the top corporations in America would protect themselves during globalisation. This would be accomplished by substantially increasing the amount of cost-plus fixed price contracts they would be guaranteed from Washington.
I had little appreciation then for what this meant Wall Street might be cooking up in the mortgage and mortgage securities market.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0208/S00055.htm

[mopaul]

24. so the 2,178 dead soldiers WAS worth it!

[petgoat]

25. LIHOP and MIHOP theorists connect these facts

1. The missing $2.3 trillion was announced 9/10/01 (so the report was buried in
subsequent news)

2. The Pentagon had a very expensive wish list for their plans to weaponize space

3. The missing $2.3 trillion would have made the American public reluctant to fund
expensive Pentagon programs

4. 9/11 made the American public willing to throw blank checks at the Pentagon

5. 9/11 justified in the American mind the initiation of a program of neverending war

6. The Iraq war represents an opportunity for a great deal of moneyskimming

7. The resurgent opium trade in Afghanistan (Taliban shut down the trade) provides
an opportunity for a great deal of moneyskimming

8. Many of the people high in the Bush Admoinistration today are veterans of the Iran-Contra
and Contra drugs scandals in the 1980s.

Dr. David Ray Griffin's book, "The New Pearl Harbor" has a lot of interesting things to say
about the program to weaponize space. It can be read online here:

http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/141355.php



"A document called "Vision for 2020" ... begins with this mission statement: "US Space
Command—dominating the space dimension of military operations to protect US interests and
investment.">40 Its primary purpose, in other words, is not to protect the American homeland,
but to protect American investments abroad. It makes this point even more explicit by comparing
the importance of the Space Command today with the fact that in previous times "nations built
navies to protect and enhance their commercial interests." It is to dominate space to protect
the commercial interests of America's elite class that, according to current projections, over $1
trillion will be required from American taxpayers.>41

"The "Vision for 2020" document engages in no sentimental propaganda about the need for the United
States to dominate space for the sake of promoting democracy or otherwise serving humanity. Rather,
it says candidly, if indiscreetly: "The globalization of the world economy...will continue with a
widening between 'haves' and 'have-nots.'" In other words, as America's domination of the world
economy increases, the poor will get still poorer while the rich get still richer, and this will
make the "have-nots" hate America all the more, so we need to be able to keep them in line....

<snip>

"The only part of this program that has received much public discussion is the defensive aspect of
it, which in the Reagan Administration was called the Strategic Defensive Initiative and is today
called the Missile Defense Shield. Although these names suggest that America's goal in space is
purely defensive, this so-called shield is only one part of a three-part program. One of the other
parts is putting surveillance technology in space, with the goal of being able to zero on any part
of the planet with such precision that every enemy of US forces can be identified. This part is
already well on the way to realization.>43 The third part of the prograrn - which shows that the
informal name for this program, "Star Wars," is more accurate than its technical name - is putting
actual weapons in space, including laser cannons. These lasercannons have the offensive potential,
as one writer put it, to "make a cruise missile look like a firecracker.">44 With lazer weapons on
our satellites, the United States will be able to destroy the military satellites any adversarial
country would try to send up, and this is, indeed, part of the announced intention: "to deny others
the use of space." The US Space Command could thereby maintain total and permanent dominance. The
aggressive purpose of the US Space Command's program is announced in the logo of one of its
divisions: "In Your Face from Outer Space.">45"

[Beam Me Up]

26. AND The head of NORAD on 9/11 was C-in-C, U.S. Space Command

RALPH E. EBERHART

Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and Commander, U.S. Northern Command

General Ralph E. "Ed" Eberhart is Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command, and Commander, U.S. Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

General Eberhart entered the Air Force in 1968 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. His staff experience includes serving as Executive Officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force; Deputy Chief of Staff for Inspection, Safety and Security, Headquarters Tactical Air Command; Director for Programs and Evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Air Force; Director of Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, the Joint Staff; and Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. The general has also served as Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Commander, Air Combat Command, Commander, Air Force Space Command, and as Commander in Chief, U.S. Space Command.

General Eberhart has commanded a flight, squadron, wing, numbered air force and two major commands, as well as one sub-unified command, two unified commands and one bi-national command. While Commander of the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing during Operation Desert Shield, the unit established the theater's initial air-to-ground combat capability from a forward operating location. While serving as the Commander of U.S. Forces, Japan, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Emperor of Japan. A command pilot, General Eberhart has logged more than 4,500 hours, primarily in fighter and trainer aircraft, including 300 combat missions as a forward air controller in Vietnam.

EDUCATION
1968 Bachelor of science degree in political science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1973 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1974 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1977 Master's degree in political science, Troy State University
1987 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1968 - August 1969, student, undergraduate pilot training, 615th Student Squadron, Air Training Command, Craig AFB, Ala.
2. February 1970 - December 1970, forward air controller, 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam
3. December 1970 - June 1974, T-38 instructor pilot, assistant flight commander, flight commander and headquarters squadron commander, 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB, Okla.
4. June 1974 - June 1975, Resource Manager, Air Staff Training Program, Special Category Management Section, Rated Career Management Branch, Headquarters Air Force Military Personnel Center, Randolph AFB, Texas
5. December 1975 - February 1977, F-4E flight commander and instructor pilot, 525th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bitburg AB, West Germany
6. February 1977 - December 1978, F-4E instructor pilot, standardization and evaluation flight examiner, and assistant chief, standardization and evaluation, 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hahn AB, West Germany
7. January 1979 - July 1980, action officer, Readiness Initiative Group, Directorate of Operations, later, Chief, Executive Committee, Air Force Budget Issues Team, Directorate of Plans, Congressional and External Affairs Division, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
8. July 1980 - June 1982, Aide to the Commander in Chief, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, Ramstein AB, West Germany
9. September 1982 - May 1984, Commander, 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron, later, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hahn AB, West Germany
10. May 1984 - July 1986, Executive Officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
11. July 1986 - July 1987, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
12. July 1987 - October 1990, Vice Commander, later, Commander, 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, S.C.
13. October 1990 - February 1991, Deputy Chief of Staff for Inspection, Safety and Security, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, Va.
14. February 1991 - February 1994, Director, Directorate of Programs and Evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
15. February 1994 - June 1995, Director, Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
16. June 1995 - June 1996, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
17. June 1996 - June 1997, Commander, U.S. Forces, Japan, and Commander, 5th Air Force, Yokota AB, Japan
18. July 1997 - June 1999, Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
19. June 1999 - February 2000, Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
20. February 2000 - April 2002, Commander in Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command; Commander, Air Force Space Command; and Department of Defense Manager for Manned Space Flight Support Operations, Peterson AFB, Colo.
21. April 2002 - October 2002, Commander in Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command, and Department of Defense Manager for Manned Space Flight Support Operations, Peterson AFB, Colo.
22. October 2002 - present, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command, and Commander, U.S. Northern Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.

http://www.dod.gov/bios/eberhart_bio.html

Other bios:

http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/eberhart_bio.html

http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=5317

[jbnow]

27. I couldn't tell if the 2.3 trillion

missing on/9/10/01 was all missing in the <9 months since bush was elected. Because there is no way 2.3 trillion goes "missing" in 9 years, let alone 9 months.

That is $8,000 for every man, woman, child. I would like mine back now please.

Good Lord, how much is missing by now? Missing is so much the wrong word. What/who was it diverted to? Is anyone looking (that is not part of the corruption?)

[Duppers]

49. YOU'RE RIGHT! IT TOOK MORE THAN 9 MOS., FOLKS.

The dems need to get some balls and ask some questions. Or are most of them just bought off too???

Think about this!

[leftofthedial]

28. consider the hundreds of thousands of people these assholes have murdered

the millions more whose lives they have ruined or whom their corruption is directly and indirectly killing

and the TRILLIONS of dollars they have stolen and lost


every repuke and every repuke voter should be removed from the gene pool

[MichiganVote]

29. Unfucking believable....I am so gd sick of that city of dickwads

[Vinca]

30. I swear I'm going to start sending bills to the defense department

for stupid things like "Thinking Good Thoughts - $9,000." They'd probably pay them.

[Nothing Without Hope]

31. And they can't buy armor and can't give proper medical care. This

information needs media-blasting. The level and pervasiveness of corruption are just amazing.

[Nothing Without Hope]

33. Remember, the Bushies want the military in charge of domestic "security"

and response to natural disasters. Not only are they a black hole for money, their continuing response to the hurricanes shows just how murderous and distructive this approach is. The US military - they really broke it, and yet they want to use it at the whim of the White House.

[patdem]

32. Our TOTAL US DEBT is 8 trillion...that is 29% of our FUCKING DEBT

WTF? Almost 1/3 of our TOTAL DEBT is just LOST MONEY? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

[Bluebear]

47. IOKIYAR nt

[WePurrsevere]

56. IOKIYAR? Please define... this isn't one I'm familiar with yet. TIA :-)

n/t

[MelissaB]

34. Hellava way to run a country.

My children could to better. :grr:

[rumpel]

35. and because it is a matter of "National Security", we do not talk about it

nor should it be investigated, and any journalist that might even think of writing about this matter or revive this issue in the years to come (note these articles are 2002 & 2003) will be investigated and held accountable to the highest extent of the law.

On December 31, 2005 let's see how much more we have increased this amount, has Rummy spoken about this since?

What crooks

[donkeyotay]

37. I read an estimate of the S&L Crisis that it cost us a trillion

and most of that fraud happened in Texas. Where do you think all these GOP scum got their money? They don't believe in government? Ha! They believe in looting government.

No wonder average Americans are hardly getting by. No wonder they need to steal our pensions and Social Security. What's left?

[Marr]

40. $2.3 trillion that's guaranteed to have been spent on things that

even this Republican Congress would never approve.

[AuntiBush]

43. "the war on waste..."

Says it all. :banghead:

Waste of:

Lives, countless undeserving lives on all sides of the Atlantic.
Our great nation, our Constitution & Bill of Rights.
Economy - What we know of our WORSE THEN EVER deficit is bad enough, but this... boggles the mind.
Stolen Treasury - repeatedly to China, and god-knows what other countries.
Lies, lies and more lies so much so, one can't keep-up.

And on, and on, and on and on...
Like nothing imaginable.

And now this, the day before 9-11. Imagine that. Shew!

[The Backlash Cometh]

44. Grand Larceny. The Republican cabal just stole America's future.

[AgadorSparticus]

45. 2.3 TRILLION! and yet they quibble about the measly billions to

fund domestic programs like social security. All I can say is, THANK GOD everyone dies sooner or later. Karma can be a bitch.

[RB TexLa]

46. And to think

The apolitical Americans used to think republicans were the ones that were good with money.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[earth mom]

48. They're all a bunch of CROOKS!

No doubt much of that money-OUR MONEY-went to THE BFEEs friends and relatives!

The BASTARDS! :grr:

[lovuian]

50. Ya that would have paid for Social Security Medicaid & Medicare

this is in your face thievery... and Rumsfeld admits it...

[Hubert Flottz]

53. "You're doin' a HECKUVA Job Mr. Rum-boo-boo..."

Ask Dick Cheney where all the cash went and he'll tell you to go get effed.(pervert) The deputy King of our new "thousand year" bushco/exxon realm, has been handing out the no bid contracts and other assorted sweetheart deals, to his old crony company Heil-liburton and such like, hand over fist. We've even been paying for black operations against ourselves and for high dollar propaganda campaigns aimed at our own country too.

Iraqi hearts and minds sure don't come cheap either. In Iraq the folks probably don't get spied on at the library like we do, but since bush blew up all their libraries and homes and "liberated" them, they're probably just happy to still be anywhere.

"Freedom is just around the corner," here at home and in Iraq, but if you ain't got it, it might just as well be 2.3 trillion miles away. "Noble causes" cost big bucks, but the pubbies are the Tax Cut and Spend Party, so now they'll just print more cash and worry about it later. Worrying is hard work, on their "beautiful minds," so they figure we owe it to them now, just to totally hand over the entire country to bushco/exxon. That's the kind of "OWNERSHIP" that Bush was really selling last year and the GOP voters/sheep/fools, bought it.

Do I have any Republican friends? Nope...they've all seen to that.

[bigtree]

55. !!!!!!!

!!!!

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

57. Yup, conservatives love to complain about money going to waste

so we should all expect them to raise an outcry about this. After all, their tax dollars are going down the drain. :sarcasm:

[librechik]

58. If that's what he admits, then it's more like five trillion, I bet

and I know I heard the figure 4 associated with unaccounted for DOD dollars long ago, before the invasion.

[Karenina]

60. That 2.3T figure

has to be at least 2 years old...

[Supersedeas]

59. Why is this not the lead story in the Corporate Media?