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$20 Billion in Afghanistan, Iraq Contract Cash Goes to Unidentified Companies
Ah, Iraq. The land of milk and honey for a defense contractor. Not that all those contractors have such high profiles. In fact, due to a clever bit of disclosure chicanery, some of them are completely unknown, even to budget watchdogs.
The Center for Public Integrity's brand-new report on Iraq contracting, Windfalls of War II, identifies at least $20 billion in contract money that has gone to non-U.S. companies that it cannot identify:
When the 2003 study was published, federal agencies did not comprehensively distinguish war contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan from other government contracts; therefore, Center researchers had to flush out these contracts one by one. Since then, however, most such contracts list Iraq or Afghanistan as their "place of performance," making the contracting process more transparent and the search for data—available from the General Service Administration's Federal Procurement Data System—more methodical.But not all contracts for Iraq and Afghanistan are reported in this federal data system, including awards originating at one contracting agency in Baghdad, which reports only some aggregate totals for inclusion in the central database. Because the agency has so far refused to furnish these missing contracts, the Center is now seeking copies via Freedom of Information Act requests.
What would happen to you, do you think, if you couldn't account for, oh, $2,000 of your boss's money? And then pleaded that there was a glitch in the database you maintain to keep track of the cash?
Comments (16)
JW wrote on November 20, 2007 2:15 PM:The White House is a crime organization that owns the cops, that's all.
Bert wrote on November 20, 2007 2:19 PM:Makes a great case for massive spending
Swiss Cheese wrote on November 20, 2007 2:43 PM:cuts, as far as I'm concerned...Bush
has strong-armed Congress into signing
all these things to spend spend spend,
it's time for them to strong-arm him
right back and account, account, account,
and then cut, cut, cut. War profiteering
should be a full-fledged federal crime
including 20 years in the Big House.
But, first, they have to get the lead
mobster out of the White House...
Well, at least now they're finding the holes. Iraq, the Swiss Cheese War!
kerryinalaska wrote on November 20, 2007 2:46 PM:Crap. 20 billion. That'd pay for a bit of health care wouldn't it? Maybe a prescription or two?
Persona non grata wrote on November 20, 2007 3:06 PM:Our country has become a criminal enterprise on a vast scale. Death and destruction for profit. The future for human beings doesn't look good. If greed continues it's present course we will indeed burn ourselves right off the planet; maybe already have. And we salute the mf'rs who run it. Each time I see a marine salute the pretender in cheif I want to puke. Criminal is as criminal does. How is it that we, the "free" people of the United States of America, put up with this?
kerryinalaska typed:
"How is it that we, the "free" people of the United States of America, put up with this?"
Very good question kerry. I've been searching for the past decade or so for some answers to that very question.
A Nation of Sheep
sandy wrote on November 20, 2007 3:13 PM:Wonder if our Dem leaders will even make mention of this? Since emporeress Pelosi has decided impeachment is off the table and more or less given this bunch carte blanch, it's hard to tell if this upsets her and she'll do anything. And since queen pelosi has all say in all things I guess we should just sit back and watch what she does.
ARG in Chicago wrote on November 20, 2007 3:31 PM:Does this remind anyone else of Iran-Contra??
Didn't I read somewhere that one of the key lessons learned (by Cheney, specifically) from the Iran-Contra affair was that you had to run these things out of the Vice President's office.
So could some (most?) of this missing $20B be finding its way back into the hands of the Vice, to fund his special projects -- whatever those may be (and the will of Congress be damned)?
Seems plausible.
-- ARG
JA wrote on November 20, 2007 3:59 PM:How can I get ahold of some of that money. It seems like it is just there for the asking.
haddie wrote on November 20, 2007 4:09 PM:Oh and btw Queen Pelosi won't do or say a damn thing about this. I think she must be getting some of that money.
Could not the Dems, long ago, have made transperancy a quid pro quo issue? I'm exasperated that they continue to go along w the fraud.
Aaron G. Stock wrote on November 20, 2007 4:10 PM:sandy and JA,
Then either run against Pelosi, or find someone else who will and support that person.
Anonymous wrote on November 20, 2007 7:20 PM:Let's see...
There's this $20 billion... $6 billion last month... $12 billion several weeks ago... how many billions in cash were on those pallets?
Anyone notice that nobody has yet been prosecuted and none of those billions have yet to be recovered?
Anyone think for a minute that any of the beaurocrats in Washington are the least bit concerned that this money was stolen from everyday working people?
Remember folks... if the President, Congress, or Senate really WERE concerned, they would be getting the money BACK, rather than talking about what a travesty it is and how we need to do better!
There ARE no honest folks in Washington anymore, only opportunists... IMHO
TheraP wrote on November 20, 2007 8:11 PM:ARG, I'm with you.
There's a lot of fishy stuff going on. And something has to be paying for it. Too much money missing. And all those secret privatized data farms, where all that warrantless surveillance is going.
A lot more muck, waiting to be unearthed.
TheraP wrote on November 20, 2007 8:27 PM:I have my money on that Grand Jury... and regardless of what other folks want us to believe, those citizens are impaneled with subpoena powers. And I hope they use them!
parrot wrote on November 21, 2007 12:34 AM:$20 billion? Say, isn't that about how much money you need to pump back into America's political system to stay President?
Michael Jones wrote on November 21, 2007 12:49 PM:URG in Chicago- That's exactly what I thought when I first heard of the missing 8.8 billion in Iraq (cash). These are the same guys that were there in Iran Contra!
BigRicko In Canada wrote on November 30, 2007 9:16 PM:Imagine us (yes, us, Canadians) counting backwards on our fingers and some toes; this is in the number of months to go before your election and the possible criminal trial of your President Bush (not Cheney, he's got too much cash!! har har!). If I were to hedge on the futures markets, I'd be into corn, not for the fuel but the popcorn sales' rise for the trials!! This will be good!!
Feel the love from the north; ask a Canadian and most of us would say," We love Americans, just hate their foriegn policy and the only thing we hate more is Bush!" Can't vote in the US, but I'm for "The Hill in 08!!"