POLITICS: Iraqis Steal, Waste Entire Defense Budget: "Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi has discovered that almost 100 percent of the US-taxpayer-bankrolled $1.27 billion Iraqi Defense Ministry budget has been embezzled or wasted. This effectively ends any current chance that the Iraqi military will ever be able to defend itself and ensuring that US troops won't return home anytime soon.

An official Iraqi audit said $1.27 billion allocated by the Defense Ministry for military procurement in 2005 was embezzled by officials and suppliers. In a report completed in May, the Board of Supreme Audit blamed the theft on U.S.-appointed senior Defense Ministry officials, including a former defense minister.



'Huge amounts of money have disappeared,' Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi said. 'In return we got nothing but scraps of metal. It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history.'



'There have been many violations of the bidding process that have led to huge losses of public funds,' Hadi Al Amiri, chairman of parliament's Integrity Committee, said. 'Many bids were improperly conducted and awarded by ministers without any input from committees established to assess the bids.'



'Our funds are under the control of ignorant people,' Al Amiri said.

Money was funneled to front companies, dishonest distributors, and utterly incompetent officials at every level. Ancient, nonfunctional equipment was purchased at sky-high prices.



US taxpayers just bankrolled $1.27 billion in corruption and bullshit. Are we supposed to consider this to be one of those little speed bumps on the long hard road to freedom and democracy?

(Written by: Shalome)

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(Via SuicideGirls: News Wire.)