Iraq: State Of Corruption

Steve Kroft Reports On Widespread Corruption In Iraq's Government

(CBS)  Editor's Note: After receiving a request from the Iraqi government, Interpol no longer considers former electricity minister Aiham Alsammarae a fugitive. He was removed from the Interpol Web site April 29, 2008.

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General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Congress this past week that there has been substantial progress, but not enough to begin withdrawing American troops. There are questions about the readiness of the new Iraqi army and the competence of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition government, which is fraught with ethnic and religious divisions.

Electricity is still in short supply, medicines are available mainly through the black market, and there are long lines for fuel in a country that has the third largest oil reserves in the world. One of the biggest problems is corruption, which is robust even by Middle Eastern standards. According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, bribery and outright theft are flourishing in virtually every Iraqi ministry, and some of those ill-gotten gains are being used to kill American troops.

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This story begins 18 months ago, in the fall of 2006, when correspondent Steve Kroft first reported that more than a billion dollars from the previous Iraqi Defense Ministry had been wasted, stolen or misappropriated. The money was supposed to supply the new Iraqi army with desperately-needed equipment to fight the growing insurgency. But according to audits conducted by the Iraqi government, and to Judge Radhi al Radhi, Iraq's top anti-corruption official, millions were misspent on old and antiquated equipment and the rest simply disappeared.

Judge Radhi told Kroft that he estimated that "more than half" of the $1.3 billion had been stolen. "As we hear from some friends abroad, that they never heard of such corruption and embezzlement to such a degree," he said.

Radhi, who was imprisoned and tortured under Saddam Hussein, obtained arrest warrants for the former minister of defense and his top aides, who all fled the country. As Iraq's commissioner of public integrity, Radhi had one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. He launched investigations against 20 current and former ministers, alienating the political establishment to the point that parliament tried to fire him. He had 30 body guards and received constant death threats.

To the remark that lots of people would like to see him dead, Radhi told Kroft, "I don't care. That's their problem."

That was in 2006.

Today he's living with his extended family living in a small apartment with donated furniture in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The most public figure in Iraq's battle against corruption had finally been driven out of his job and his country and is now a refugee seeking asylum in the United States.

He showed Kroft pictures of some of the 31 members of his staff who were murdered. One was killed with his pregnant wife; the father of his security chief was found hanging on a meat hook.

"When we first interviewed you, I said, 'Look. There are all sorts of people that want you dead.' And you answered, 'I don't care,'" Kroft remarked.

"But this threat is now against my family too," Radhi said, with the help of a translator.

Asked what made him believe that his family was in danger, Radhi said, "At the end of July, a missile was fired at my home. It fell about five meters away. It hit another house next to mine, and of course my family was terrified."

"And it got to the point where his adversaries were left with few other options. But to possibly remove him, period," explained James Mattil, who was the chief of staff of the State Department’s Office of Accountability and Transparency in Iraq.

It was his job to assist Judge Radhi to clean up corruption in Iraq. And Mattil believes Radhi did a good job given the resources at Radhi's disposal and the scope of the problem, which was outlined in a draft report prepared by the State Department.

[repeacer]

Why is it suddenly so difficult to see the original interview in full length??

[pattipace7]

After many decades of also fighting this same war at home in the US by way of the war on illegal drugs, it would be safer, fast and much cheaper to end this war by legalizing the drugs. The worst resistance would come from the drug cartels and the terrorist networks in the Middle-East. Without the illegal drug industry funding the terrorists, this global war on terror would soon end. At the same time for just a few more years (not decades) the United States will still have to continue clearing up the mess by the once illegal drugs, the same way as usual; with tax-payer funded drug rehabs, including heroine or methadone babies and their medical costs etc. Our society needs to get more faith in itself, because in the Middle-East where it is much easier to get heroin than it is to get clean drinking water, they are not a society of drug addicts.

This would also cut off the funded government corruption in the Middle East, Mexico and the United States. In time this will also solve many other problems in our economy especially the cost and availability of health care. The repercussions this would help to create for a few years (not decades) is one of the best examples of why our forefathers emphasized so strongly on the necessity of separation between the church and state.

[eaglemo1]

This begs the question of how much corruption there is
when Ms. Rice has no idea of corrution within the government, that was virtually put into place by her boss. And are Petraeus and Crocker somehow overlooking this corruption? Is this one of the reasons there is no plan for troop pull-out? In one news story recently there were allegations that Petraues was contacting Oil companies regarding oil
contracts on the field 40 miles from Basra. Is this on the orders of the "Commander and Chief"?
Seems Congress neeeds to really start some investigations!

[twojohnny]

Here''s a good story...wonder how much of those "lost" American dollars went into Chalabi''s pockets? Did he, in fact, act as an agent for "redistribution" of those dollars? And if so, who received the "redistribution"?

[nanging3]

It is about time we start taking care of America and Americans.
Charity begins at home.
We have our own hungry and homeless, jobless.
We need to close all our borders and only buy American made goods.

[bm6005]

Got to love CBS. The pictures are from the Afghan Natioanal Army not the Iraqi National Army.
Posted by hillaryin012

And this changes the facts of corruption how???

[nanging3]

Obama says that rather than advising him on strategy, Wright helps keep his
priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated.

%u201CWhat I value most about Pastor Wright is his day-to-day political
advice,%u201D
Obama said. %u201CHe%u2019s much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am
speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I%u2019m not
losing
myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that%u2019s involved in national
politics.%u201D

I suggest that if you have not looked at http://www.savagepolitics.com you
should do so when you have some time to read it. Here is just a small part of
one of their stories:

{JERUSALEM - Sen. Barack Obama%u2019s Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas
that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right
of Israel to exist and compared the terror group%u2019s official charter - which
calls for the murder of Jews - to America%u2019s Declaration of Independence.

The Hamas piece was published on the %u201CPastor%u2019s Page%u201D of the Trinity United
Church of Christ newsletter reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

The revelation follows a recent WND article quoting Israeli security officials
who expressed %u201Cconcern%u201D about Robert Malley, an adviser to Obama who has
advocated negotiations with Hamas and providing international assistance to the
terrorist group.

[nanging3]

Trip Rev.Wright (just sound bites) took with Farrahkan:

While visiting that mercurial miscreant Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Qaddafi,
Farrakhan struck a deal which secured millions of dollars from Libya to lobby
for the secession of part of the United States. The goal is the formation of a
separate black nation on the North American Continent replete with a 500,000 man
army and nuclear weapons.

[bm6005]

Interesting that CBS pointed out a connection to the U.S. elections here. Obama''''s buddy Rezko is here......
Posted by TheGateway1

What partisan c rap!! If the guy did something crooked prosecute him. Why do you Bozo''s still think that independents care what party a crook belongs to? I don''t give a rat''s as s what their political philosophy is. If they''ve done something illegal hand "em!!!

[nanging3]

They need to pay the US for our military services. And provide free gas for their vehicles. Iraq needs to foot some of the cost. They continue to sell oil for over $100 a barrell, while we protect their oil fields for free.
US is going broke while the Arab countries get richer off our blood.

[bm6005]

This being my first full year of retirement my plan is to refuse paying taxes. My pitiful sum will certainly be laughable but when my gov''t spends money not in my interest I''ll withold those dollars. Maybe some of you would like to join me in this tax protest. I''m planning on calling it "No taxation without representation" and I don''t know of ANYONE in gov''t representing my priorities!! Hang''em all!!!

[bestillandno]

The U.S. is getting something in return for its investment in Israel, the only problem is no one seems to be able to define it to anyones satisfaction!

Posted by tbweb at 01:00 PM : Apr 14, 2008



From a Christian stand-point, it should be quite obvious, but from a governmental stand-point, I don''t know.

[bestillandno]

Give it a year, there''''ll bee Freakvanpublican suicide bombers. Go watch Jesus Camp.....

Posted by FloydZepp at 12:53 PM : Apr 14, 20


I doubt it.

[tbweb]

Israel is the 51st state. Well, as far as their annual welfare payment is concerned anyway.

Posted by hungry1968 at 12:35 PM : Apr 14, 2008
--------

No kidding. a $2 billion a year minimum, RINO social program for the Israelis using American Tax Dollars.

Posted by FloydZepp at 12:54 PM : Apr 14, 2008,,,

The U.S. is getting something in return for its investment in Israel, the only problem is no one seems to be able to define it to anyones satisfaction!

[oscarez]

"They hate us,"

Posted by hungry1968 at 12:34 PM : Apr 14, 2008

I''ll bet they don''t hate all the dollars borrowed from China we give them!!!

[lochlan-2009]

"According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, bribery and outright theft are flourishing in virtually every Iraqi ministry, and some of those ill-gotten gains are being used to kill American troops."

Has Haliburton fixed those meters yet, or are they still pumping who knows how much oil into the black market?

American Tax dollars paying them to steal everything they possibly can in Iraq.

[bestillandno]

Just like the christians in America.

Posted by hungry1968 at 12:34 PM : Apr 14, 2008


Not quite.

[hungry1968]

I believe that, (fedupwithit1) is right.An American Democracy is not going to work in that part of the world,unless we put an American flag in the ground ,and take it over as the 51st state.I won''''t move my family over there even if it becomes like the Virgin Islands.Those extremist will never quit until all of us(AMERICANS)are dead,or under shiri law.

Posted by Swwils at 10:57 AM : Apr 14, 2008





Israel is the 51st state. Well, as far as their annual welfare payment is concerned anyway.

[hungry1968]

All im saying is that maybe, just maybe an American style democracy is not going to work over there. These ppl need to be ruled with an iron hand. Maybe a more benevolent iron hand than Saddam Hussain''''s but an iron hand never the less.

Posted by fedupwithit1 at 10:37 AM : Apr 14, 2008






I''ve been saying the same thing for a couple of years. They view us - not just the military, but the whole country - as "evil occupiers", NOT LIBERATORS.

They hate us, they resent us, they want us to leave, they hate our freedoms and liberties, our equal rights provisions, and most of all they hate our form of government. They don''t want a democracy, they want a supreme religious ruler. Just like the christians in America.

[hungry1968]

Make no mistake about it - it was HAND PICKED neo cons that went into Iraq and "built" the government in their ideal image.

It''s no surprise that the corruption runs rampant in their neo con inspired government, in much the same way that it runs through our neo con hijacked government.

Posted by hungry1968 at 09:18 AM : Apr 14, 2008