This is from a Reuters article we’d missed last week. It seems that there are still George W. Bush supporters who are gullible enough to believe he actually gives a damn about their tax burden and the way in which their money is spent. Apparently such folks will believe anything.
Yet since Bush didn’t feel it important enough to broach this subject last night in his report to the American People on how well things are going in Iraq, we suspect this news — even a week old — is still notable enough that we should help get out the word about what’s actually happening in Iraq…
One single shipment amounted to $2.4 billion — the largest movement of cash in the bank’s history, said Waxman.
…
Cash was loaded onto giant pallets for shipment by plane to Iraq, and paid out to contractors who carried it away in duffel bags.
The report, released at a House of Representatives committee hearing, said despite the huge amount of money, there was little U.S. scrutiny in how these assets were managed.
…
An audit by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said U.S. auditors could not account for nearly $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds and the United States had not provided adequate controls for this money.
…
Contractors were told to turn up with big duffel bags to pick up their payments and some were paid from the back of pick-up trucks.
One picture shows grinning CPA officials standing in front of a pile of cash said to be worth $2 million to be paid to a security contractor.
…
In total, more than 281 million individual bills, including more than 107 million $100 bills, were shipped to Iraq on giant pallets loaded onto C-130 planes, the report said.
Accountability in Iraq
29 June 2005
President Bush addressed the nation once again last night about the war in Iraq, and once again he refused to level with our troops and the American people and offer an effective strategy.
The Administration’s view of the war in Iraq is divorced from reality, and does a disservice to our troops and the American people. Only when President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and the rest of the Administration address the realities of what is happening on the ground can we hope to make progress in the region.
We must hold them accountable for refusing to outline an effective strategy for success in Iraq.
http://www.lightupthedarkness.o...k&id=1184
I think the trouble is, the war is going well ,just not for the people sent to fight it or the people made to pay for it ,so by bush standards the war is going very well indeed.
PS follow the money.
Bills were paid to contractors in CASH? In the billions of dollars? Is that even remotely possible? Bags of currency delivered to Iraq? Like a Mafia drug deal?
Legitimate companies don’t have bank accounts into which funds can be wired? For God’s sake, I was a broker with N.Y.S.E. firms, and cash wasn’t even allowed in payment for stock purchases! Not even $100!
At any other time in history, this administration would be identified as the most corrupt ever. But if everyone is corrupt, then no one is, because there’s no honest standard to operate from. Good God Almighty.
Thank the 62 million MORONS who voted for this corrupt guy in 2004 election. It surely is " American tax dollars at work".
I’ve been a bit worried lately that the rhetoric about George H.W. Bush may have gone too far. I haven’t heard details or corroboration of the allegations regarding child sex slaves. It reminds me too much of the allegations that Bill Clinton had several dozen people killed as he rose through the political ranks.
But, if there have been billions of dollars stolen and tens of thousands of people killed as part of this Iraq war, then who’s to say what is possible and what is fiction. This surreal presidency has lead us down a rabbit hole quite horrific and not at all entertaining as in The Matrix (which I must say is a terrific movie). It boggles the mind to consider what those people (the Bush clan and their friends) are capable of inflicting on everyone else.
Sounds like a Mafia-style "payoff" to me.
so, this $8.8 billion, combined with at least the $1.4 billion in overcharges from Halliburton means that the grand total in this war on terror (currently approaching $180 billion) should be at least $10 billion smaller. boy, would I love to see a pie chart of where all this money spent on the war has gone.
sure, $10 billion is less than 5% of the cost, but it’s all waste. you take $10 billion and divide it up between 50 states, and all of sudden you might find some states are able to balance their budgets now.
Smells like Democracy in IRAQ. Good thing those terrorists in Iraq don’t get pumped up by our President’s Red White and Blue speeches about bringing Freedom, Democracy and Safety to their country. It must be tough to listen to our Commander in Chief George Dubbya spredding his word up intelligence (American fantasy) about how the resistance to US occupation is waning. Definetely wouldn’t want any of that 4 billion in cash we sent over to get in the wrong hands!!! To bad those servicemen that were in attendance to listen to the Bushitmeister yesterday didn’t receive any complimentary duffle bags stuffed with Benjamins for having to listen a bunch of Bushit. Don’t worry Iraq, Halberton is gonna suck that dirty black stuff out of your soil so you don’t have to.
Watch True Majority’s movies — very easy to understand and very enlightening.
True Majority Oreo Cookie (Defense Budget) — flash movie
US Stockpile of Hiroshima size nuclear bombs — flash movie
* Who makes up True Majority? http://www.TrueMajority.org
If you’re looking for some old coverage related to auditing issues in Iraq, there was some stuff a while ago. [ More . . . ]
Most likely, the money is being deliberately mismanaged to finance operations that Congress knows nothing about… It is probably being used to finance the Salvador Option that is being deployed in Iraq. It might also be finding its way into Iran.
The CIA has a record of this sort of thing… from IranContra, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Noreaga, etc. It is especially scary if you consider the possibility that someone might be "investing" the money in the drug trade. Supposedly, the heroin trade that is now booming in Afghanistan sees its heaviest action in the most heavily fortified areas (along the pipeline). The same sort of money was used to enrich the bin Laden family in the construction of bunkers and tunnels in Afghanistan. How else can we build top secret prisons that don’t officially exist?
And Halliburton probably gets the contracts because they will play along. It’s creepy. They all feed each other… and it snowballs into big money, dirty deeds, and a circle of incrimination that keeps everybody quiet about it.
We’re turning the corner in Iraq. We’re over there because they hate our freedom. Does everybody forget about 9/11? It’s hard work! I think about the Iraq War every day! We’re fighting them over there, so we don’t have to fight them over here.
I didn’t watch Bush’s speech…I can’t stomach him. But, did he say any of the above? It was probably his whole speech……..so I didn’t miss anything. Except, maybe some creepy long extended pauses……..I’m too embarrassed to watch him, I can’t believe he’s the president.
Anyone who believes that the majority of this money ended up "lost" in Iraq, probably also believes that GWB is an intelligent, good man who doesn’t tell lies.
You can be sure the majority, or at least a very large portion, of this money ended up in the pockets of GWB and his friends.
I agree with RLM #3, that legitimate payments would have been handled properly. This distribution of cash was done deliberately so that funds stolen from the American people could not be traced.
Hi, Big Dan #12:
Here are some word counts from the Presidential Address, courtesy of “DailyDissent.org”:
Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists 33
Free, Freedom 29
Security 16
Defend, Protect 15
Election, Vote, Polls 10
Mission 9
Killers, Murderers 9
New York, September 11th 7
War 7
Insurgents 6
Violence 6
Democracy, Democratic 5
Liberty, Liberate 4
Attack 4
Dissent 1
WMD 0
Exit Strategy 0
Mission Accomplished 0
Heck, where do I post this?
Hot Off the Press
Bush OKs Shake-Up of Spy Agencies
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON –
President Bush granted the new national intelligence chief expanded power over the FBI on Wednesday and ordered dozens of other spy agency changes as the White House heeded a presidential commission that condemned the intelligence community for failures in Iraq and elsewhere.
=====================
Oh, yeah. Try to pin the blame on anybody else, shrubman. How many reports warning of 9/11 were laughed off & ignored by the fake cowboy?
=====================
The article suggests even more reasons for Freedom Lovers to beware this new national intelligence agency. No dissenters in bu$hworld.
Thank you brad, you’re magnificent, superb, splendid, brilliant, outstanding, amazing and, awe-inspiring … Thank you, for helping us in making an effort to take our country back. Thank you, for helping us receive information that maybe we would have never seen, or heard. Thank you, for all of your help. Thank you for understanding America, and our brave, courageous, and awaken people like you. The United States Constitution says “We The People”, not “Bush family and friends”. We shall over come!
Who would Jesus bomb?
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" Mahatma Gandhi"
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools". MLK, Jr.
"Hatred paralyzes life; Love releases it.
Hatred confuses life; Love harmonizes it.
Hatred darkens life; Love illuminates it".
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi
God Bless America, and those who reside in her Heart! bkh
"Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into".
Mahatma Gandhi
Be good to yourself, and your world around you will be good to you! bkh
Create Love, Know Peace, Understand Happiness! bkh
"….all things share the same breath….the beast, the tree, the man …. the air shares it’s spirit with all the life it supports."Chief Seattle Dwamish
"God is Watching" bkh
Could this equally apply to what we are seeing in Iraq?
"We have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. Our minimal expectation is to occupy it as an American colony and maintain social stability for our investments. This tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and Peru. Increasingly the role our nation has taken is the role of those who refuse to give up the privileges and pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment." –Martin Luther King, Jr. ["A Time to Break the Silence" speech given at Riverside Church New York City April 4, 1967]"
http://whatreallyhappened.com/t...fortheday.html
$$$$$$$$$$+$$$$$$$$$$$$+$$$$$$$$$=
WHAT LITTLE STASH IN OUR COUNTRY IS THE BUSH-EYE FOCUSED UPON NOW — OTHER THAN SOCIAL SECURITY?
Florida’s State pensions were heavily invested in Enron (remember); Ohio’s State pensions were heavily invested in rare coins, and those fund are where? Seems their collective memories pointed perhaps to campaign contributions. Hold on to your little piggy banks!
Found another $$$$$$$$$$$$$ comment on-line to share: (No words beneath this line are mine.)
http://www.thewashingtonnote.co...es/000762.html
"As if the average American middle-class taxpayer hasn’t been screwed by Bush enough.
US weighs $1 billion post-pullout aid
The United States government is considering giving Israel $1 billion in a post-disengagement aid package to develop the Negev and the Galilee, US-based sources close to the issue told The Jerusalem Post.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sa...=1119838849919
What’s this a pay-off for? Isn’t there something that we can do with this 1 billion for our own benefit?"
#18 Lindy
Well, yes – lots we can do with $1 bil., but we the people don’t count! bu$h said he has political capital and he’s (by damn) going to spend it. He has a mandate.
We won’t be able to stop this crook from raiding all the cookie jars. He ran all his own companies slap into the ground — "Are-Busto." After I read his history with finance, I decided Republicans (who voted for him) are "El-Stupido."
It’s sickening.
"El-Stupido" is only a cardboard cut-out, cheney is the prick committing the rape, probably the reason "El-Stupido" hasn’t had a "grassy knoll moment".
…well at least we can be glad Bush has finally recognized the problem and is working on a solution, like he said in his speech the other night, right?
for a comprehensive, in-depth analysis:
http://www.hairytruth.blogspot.com
Grassey knoll moment- ha ha. So true.
Read the article:
This was IRAQI money being distributed according to their orders for services performed in their country. If anybody needs to investigate it: it is the IRAQUIS not American Congressmen with a bone up their butt.
Al Franken has been trying to hype this story and mislead people into believing it is American money, but it was Iraqi money that was frozen from access by Saddam by the United Nations.
{Another Jimmo post deleted. Apparently he’s unable to post without personally insulting others. All such posts of his containing insults, spam, reposted articles and posts he makes in names other than his own will be deleted. Apparently he is unable to support his point of view on any topic without resorting to one of the above. -BF}
Smell the bacon frying — turn up the heat.
Halliburton’s Questioned and Unsupported Costs in Iraq Exceed $1.4 Billion
Monday, June 27, 2005 — Rep. Waxman and Sen. Dorgan release a new report, prepared jointly by the minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee and the staff of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, that is the first comprehensive assessment of the magnitude of Halliburton’s unreasonable billings in Iraq. The report finds that government auditors have identified more than $1 billion in "questioned" Halliburton costs and additional $442 million in "unsupported" charges.
IAMB Audits Raise More Questions – Iraq Funds
Monday, May 23, 2005 — On May 23, 2005, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) released several audits of the Oil for Food Program’s successor, the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI). These audits suggest serious U.S. mismanagement of DFI funds, and have led Rep. Waxman to call for hearings looking into the matter.
Rep. Waxman’s Statement:
New findings from the International Advisory and Monitoring Board raise growing concerns over how the Bush Administration mismanaged billions of dollars of Iraqi oil proceeds. The international auditors are questioning why the Bush Administration sought to conceal over $200 million in Halliburton overcharges. They also identify serious new worries about possible misappropriation of oil revenues and further violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483.
Committee On Government Reform
Special Investigations (highlights) –
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
U.S. Mismanaged Iraqi Funds
Monday, June 20, 2005
Subpoena Sought for Concealed Halliburton Documents
Monday, May 02, 2005
Halliburton Asked to Explain Discrepancies Between Testimony and Indictment (video)
Rep. Waxman and Rep. Lynch write to Halliburton CEO David Lesar asking for an explanation of discrepancies between Halliburton’s July 2004 testimony before the Committee regarding kickbacks taken by a Halliburton employee and an indictment recently handed down by a federal grand jury.
Monday, April 11, 2005
DOD Audits: Halliburton Overcharges Top $212 Million
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Administration Withheld Halliburton Overcharges from International Auditors
Rep. Waxman reveals that Administration officials, acting at the request of Halliburton, redacted a Pentagon report to conceal more than $100 million in fuel overcharges from international auditors overseeing the Development Fund for Iraq
Monday, March 14, 2005
Pentagon Auditors Conclude Halliburton Overcharged $100 Million
**and more**