From yesterday's UK publication, The Independent:
What Has Happened to Iraq's Missing $1bn?
Apparently, just about ALL of the money in Iraq's Defense budget has been stolen.
"If you compare the amount that was allegedly stolen of about $1bn compared with the budget of the ministry of defence, it is nearly 100 per cent of the ministry's [procurement] budget that has gone Awol,"
- Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister
This is why Iraq finds it so difficult to build and maintain a security force. And it's why we continue to need 135,000 US troops performing that function in a sovereign country.
Would we tolerate that in this country? How would taxpayers behave if say, FEMA couldn't respond to Katrina because ALL of its budget was hijacked? A 100% loss is a lot more than negligence or stupidity. It's corruption.
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