The Iraqi and U.S. governments have been unable to account for a substantial chunk of the billions of dollars in reconstruction aid the Bush administration literally airlifted into the country. If the cash proves to have been stolen, the heist could represent "the largest theft of funds in national history," according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The Times' description of how the billions of dollars entered the country is a must-read: Pentagon officials determined that one giant C-130 Hercules cargo plane could carry $2.4 billion in shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills. They sent an initial full planeload of cash, followed by 20 other flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time. Special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction Stuart Bowen told the paper the missing $6.6 billion may be "the largest theft of funds in national history." Iraqi officials say it was the U.S. government's job to keep track of the funds, which were brought in as an emergency measure to keep basic infrastructure going after Saddam Hussein's ouster. House Government Reform Committee investigators found in 2005 evidence of "substantial waste, fraud and abuse in the actual spending and disbursement of the Iraqi funds." Witnesses testified that millions of dollars were shoved into "gunnysacks" and disbursed to Iraqi contractors on pick-up trucks, with what seemed to be little financial controls or accounting on the part of the U.S. government.
Himmm, I bet CIA's unvisible budget went up by the same amount. The whole system is rotten and will fall down like Roman Empire.
Somebody has to pay to the US Army so that they can use F16s with 1MPG killing innocent people overseas.
which is why OVERSIGHT is so crucial. Everybody hates bureaucrats but sometimes they are a necessary evil. The fact that they can't pinpoint who should have been on top of this means they didn't have the proper oversight
DOH!!! Has that self-validating geometric shape ever heard of electronic transfers??? Have they heard of an expense sheet??? Have they heard of authorization procedures??? When shit like this happens it makes me not want to pay my taxes!!! I'm outraged!
It's amazing how little coverage this story is getting on the news channels. We work hard, pay our taxes and the Government just pisses our money away. Shameful.
The money wasn't "lost". It was used to bribe troops - on both sides - to go along with the invasion, and all it's atrocities. That's what I've heard. That's why they flew in cash money. Untraceable.
I always love how Hollywood portrays the American military, always winners, high fives all around with a shot of the Stars and Stripes gently fluttering in the wind as the sun sets on another successful mission. But the reality is normally a lot different, ie general incompetence.