"The largest one-time cash transfer in the history of the New York Fed"

[StefanX]

This absolutely makes me ill, and it should make everyone else livid.

WASHINGTON -- It weighed 28 tons and took up as much room as 74 washing machines. It was $2.4 billion in $100 bills, and Baghdad needed it ASAP.

...

Officials had to scramble to line up U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo planes to hold the money. They did, and the $2,401,600,000 was delivered to Baghdad on June 22, 2004.

It was the largest one-time cash transfer in the history of the New York Fed.

And where did it all go? It was given away, handed out from the back of pickup trucks and stuffed into the duffelbags of "contractors".

And this is what the Iraq invasion was all about. Piracy on a huge scale, a looting of not only Iraq, but our own country.

They simply ordered up 2.4 billion dollars in $100 bills and shipped it to THEMSELVES.

Who's got the money now? Could be anybody. Could be Bremer, could be his friends, his cohorts, could be generals, could be KBR employees, could be just about anybody with a white face and an empty duffelbag.

Hell, it could be George Bush's family. It could be buying Christmas presents for Dick Cheney's nieces and nephews.

Why has this story disappeared down the memory hole? Why hasn't the press covered it?

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/8/17/1027/50222

This is absolutely disgusting.

[jpak]

1. "We don't care"

n/t

[JNelson6563]

2. They call themselves "conservative"???

I marvel at the fact that people consider this to be the "conservative" party. This is horrifying.

Julie

[whatever4]

9. And that's really it, isn't it?

On top of everything else, that's what gets me the most. The conservatives...not acting conservatively at all, and yet the conservative populace supports them? Unreal. I thought all those folks cared ABOUT was money. How can they not see this corruption?

I am not that smart, this I know, and it's a good thing to know. In having faith in my public school education and my monolingual zero-geography-n-forget-about-latin brain, it tells me that, if I'm bright enough to pick up on a thing...it just isn't that hard. Not rocket science. Simple economics.

And the one thing people learn to handle in life, if they learn nothing else, is how to handle money. Might not handle it well, but, money is a simple concept. Mine. Yours. Theirs. Ours. It's almost always plain to see who the money belongs to. There's hardly ever a doubt as to who it belongs to...unless one isn't even trying. Unless it's stolen.

[DaveJ]

11. They are not conservative on many levels

They are not fiscally conservative as you pointed out.

From a security standpoint, it's also not conservative to say Iraq is a threat, and then say that naturally the solution is to give them billions of dollars (at least they say they are doing with the money but we know that's not true).

And from a social standpoint, conservatives are the ones who say to teach people to fish, not give to them handouts, but their actions don't match up.

Cons are the biggest thieves and takers of handouts on the planet.

[ComerPerro]

48. "True Conservatives" don't exist. Just a bunch of sellouts and sycophants

[progdonkey]

53. one small point

Conservatives only want to teach those who can afford to pay for it. Too poor to pay for an education? You woulda been born wealthy, if you had been smart like me.

[JNelson6563]

27. It's Orwellian

You're bright enough to not drink the kool-aid so you are better off than a great many.

Julie

[Daphne08]

36. It would appear that the Republican Party

has been hijacked.

[Double T]

3. $$$ Transfered to halliburton.....

This exemplifies a presidential administration that has completely run amok with open corruption and arrogant behavior.

[tk2kewl]

12. I think a lot of it went to bribery in the run-up to the election as well

[Burried News]

41. You what I never thought of that.

It would sure buy alot of enthusiasm wouldn't it?

[DaveJ]

4. "It's hard work"

carrying 28 tons in $100 bills, but the rewards for Bushco are extraordinary. I wonder what good $100 bills would be in Iraq without enough money in smaller U.S. currency to break them.

[alfredo]

5. the corporatist have given up on America, so they are dividing up

what is left before the country implodes.

[Burried News]

42. I have thought this for about 20 years. It's the first time I have ever

seen it in print - but it is true and it explains alot of their behavior. They have given up on America.

[alfredo]

43. It's like Enron's execs cashing out before the bottom falls out.

[Burried News]

44. Or George looking to skim from Social Security so the big

Wall Street players can cash out without the market crashing.

[alfredo]

47. the stock market is a sucker's game.

The house always wins. That's why bush wants to privatize SS.

[Gabi Hayes]

6. anybody see Sy Hersh last night on TDS? he brought up the 3 BILLION

of Saddam's cash they found, and spread around, mainly, he said, to steal the election there, and in Afghanistan

it's in his book, apparently

not much mention of THAT anywhere, either, is there

is this 2.4 Bill part of the 8.8 that's unaccounted for?

[DaveJ]

8. I don't know but it's a good guess...

...that the money is now being used to buy weapons to attack our troops.

[Gabi Hayes]

10. they don't NEED any more weapons, they have hundreds of thousands

of TONS of weapons

they're using it for the electronic ancillaries to make the IEDs more effective, to pay the "terra" cells, the politicians/police the money for intel as to where they need to place said IEDs

stuff like that

[DaveJ]

17. Okay and after we pay for that where does the money go?

Soldiers have complained that the "terrorists" seem to have unlimited ammunition. Gee I wonder why. You're right they do not have a shortage of funds to kill us, but the problem is even more intensified by the money we are supplying them (Edit: correction, Bushco is supplying them the funds), even if it might be indirectly.

[Gabi Hayes]

28. can you say....Halliburton, Triple Canopy.....companies like that?

did you see the excellent NYT Magazine articles on the contractors cleaning up in Iraq?

from zero to 200 Million dollars in government business in a matter of weeks? stuff like that?

you can be certain that that's where the bulk of this phantom cash is going, with a percentage of it to well-place Iraqis like Chalabi and other INC stooges

[DaveJ]

34. I'm not disagreeing with you.

It's just that we all know war profiteers need someone to fight, so they need to create and supply an enemy (any enemy, it may be you or I next) in order to keep their business solvent (in this case, solvent with human blood).

[Gabi Hayes]

35. understood.....the entire deal was a money laundering scam from

the getgo

think they didn't realize the potential?

PNAC/PATRIOT/election/cash cow

what could be better for the KleptoKrat Partei?

[converted_democrat]

7. damn......

[Karenina]

13. Ah, liquidity...

:kick:

[Mr_Spock]

14. That is sickening, but not surprising

This is why we can't have a reactionary simpleton as President EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

EVER AGAIN!

EVER!

[City Lights]

15. Where is the GAO on this?

Where is the "liberal" media on this?

Where is the outrage?

:nuke:

[Wizard777]

16. I think this is where the Republicans start bitching about the poor people

on welfare. I can hear Rush now. Multi-Billion Dollar Corporations are people too. They just need their welfare payment in cash and by the ton.......

[toey]

18. Link with entire article.

Please don't beat me up, but its a little more clear.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0622-04.htm

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. BushCo sure raises corruption to new levels

[Twist_U_Up]

20. are we pissed off enough yet ?

its only our kids future at stake here

a little civil disobedience and mass protests are WAY past due

[DaveJ]

21. Back when we were able to make a difference...

Back when we were able to protest, a family could survive with one income. Now the husband, wife, kids, everyone is indentured to the corporation(s) and will lose their home if they dare leave work to take part in their government.

Anyone noticed we are indentured servants to say the least, more accurately slaves.

[htuttle]

22. This was the biggest robbery in human history

Put that one in the record books.

[DaveJ]

24. Seriously...

When * says "it's hard work" does he mean stealing from the U.S. is hard work. His definition of hard work probably is a lot more lax than the average American's definition. So when * says "it's hard work" he probably just means it's hard work to carry and conceal all the money he's stolen.

[Gabi Hayes]

29. not even close.....you forgot about the S&L scandal

there were LOTS of individual institutions that lost more than 2.4 billion

little Neil's was around a billion, and that wasn't even in the top 20.

[BrightKnight]

23. Why do Iraqis need hundred dollar bills?

28 tons of $100 bills shipped out of the Country with NO oversight!

[DaveJ]

30. I don't think they need it.

They're sitting on like the 2nd biggest oil reserve on the planet, so no I don't think they need our money.

[Gabi Hayes]

31. they do this because.......they CAN. no oversight is key, of course

certainly there's NO government oversight

the sad part is that, once again, the media makes all of this possible for them, just as they made impeachment possible, just as they made the continual lies about Gore possible, just as they BURIED the TRUTH about dumbass at the same time, just as they made the election theft possible, just as they did the same thing to Kerry, just as they've ignored EVERY SINGLE depredation committed by these criminals since they assumed power five years ago

the REAL culprits are the media

until we solve that problem....OK, there's the BBV voting thing, nothing is going to be any different than it is.....matter of fact, it's only going to get WORSE, if you can possibly imagine that possibility

[bobbieinok]

46. agree agree agree agree agree agree

[BrightKnight]

50. $1, $5, $10, $20 maybe, but 28 tons of $100's -- Why? -n/t

[Lori Price CLG]

25. Right, and the MEDIA DOES NOT COVER IT!!! n/t

[Lori Price CLG]

26. Pls. delete - I hit 'post' twice, sorry. Thanks. n/t

[me b zola]

32. livid is only one of the emotions I feel

I really can't take any more from this rogue regime. Their murder. Their corruption. Their piracy. Their arrogance. Their choke-hold on humanity. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE. :cry:

[CityZen-X]

33. Does Not Compare...

to what the Suadi's are pulling out of Wall Street! 216-BILLION! Bye, bye Amerika.

[rateyes]

37. And, every damned bit of it probably tax-free! eom

[BamaBecky]

38. It makes me ill, dumb a@@ Republicans make me ill.......

Our government makes me ill, stupid Americans make me ill, When I try to talk to people about this, they view me as some aberant mentally deformed L I B E R A L baby killer..........

So as far as waking people the fuck up......I'm really lost as to how to get them to listen.......they either distrust what you say, don't care cause they can't do anything about it, or they are thourghly brainwashed.........or they don't CARE......

Bama

[TahitiNut]

39. "$2,401,600,000 was delivered to Baghdad on June 22, 2004"????

Shit! So that's what happened to my birthday present!! How the hell did they get a wrong address for me in Baghdad?!?? :silly:

[nookiemonster]

40. They just screwed up on your zip code. You forgot zip + 4!

:silly:

eom

[stevedeshazer]

45. And the Congressional oversight?

I don't expect the Republicans to speak up on this, because they're all crooks anyway, and we already know it.

But where are the Democrats? Can ANYONE tell me? Who got their campaign skids greased with this money? :grr:

[rman]

51. Democrats: 75% crooks

Republicans: almost all crooks

[newyawker99]

49. You're right. It is absolutely disgusting.

:puke:

:grr:

[WMliberal]

52. The BFEE loves Bart's Rule #2

If someone makes a whole lot of money from a "mistake," expect them to make that mistake over and over again.

[oscar111]

54. S+L bailout, '89 was 500 Billion, right?

can someone tell me why we NEED even one S AND L?

Wouldnt banks take up the customers left in the absence of all s and l's ?

PS was it not true, that the s and l transfer of wealth was the largest in history? transfer, from middle class to upper.

are we still paying it?

[kid a]

55. Do you have a problem with this?

:sarcasm:

[Joanne98]

56. It's the "Bush for Bush Program"

[The_Casual_Observer]

57. It has kept us safe from terrorists, kind of like protection money,

right?

[Gregorian]

58. I've been calling this the biggest heist in history.

But nobody really listened.

I have made the analogy of this being like a bank robbery. The republicans standing in line while it's happening, want the robbers to stay. The Democrats want to call the police. The Republicans even get the robbers into the office, where they present themselves to the authorities as the true bank managers. The Democrats, at least a few of them, are screaming that there has just been a robbery, and noone listens. Meanwhile, the bank manager grabs wads of cash and bribes everyone in the town. They get the police on their sides, they take money from everyone's accounts and hand it out, to keep the people pacified. They pay the local newspaper to print false news, to make them look legitimate. Then they go on a rampage, and start robbing banks all over the place. People are killed, and still the Republicans, and half the Democrats say nothing. They make big issues about things like how to fold the flag, and who should be able to get married. And the robbers, who are now the managers of the bank, have even paid the newspapers to not print the truth about huge global events that will affect Americans in years to come. The people in line don't know what's coming.

[spuddonna]

59. I'm sure it's been re-invested in sound firms like...

Halliburton, Enron, Harken Oil... or at least, in their corp. back pockets...

There's so much crap coming out of this administration, and we've got CNN asking polls like "Do you want lions back in the US?" instead of investigating this...

Makes my head want to explode...

:mad: