Iraq: State Of Corruption

Steve Kroft Reports On Widespread Corruption In Iraq's Government

(CBS)  Back in 2006, Kroft interviewed Cattan in Paris and played him recordings in which he discussed what sounded like a pay-off to someone described as a representative of the president and prime minister of the interim government.

"He wants to know...," Cattan said on the audio recording.

"He wants to know how much they are going to place in his account …?" the associate asked.

"Yes, of course," Cattan replied.

"How much?" the associate asked.

"45 million," Cattan said.

"He wants to know how much money is gonna be placed in his account and you say …'45 million,'" Kroft told Cattan.

"Yes. But not dollar. I don't say dollar," Cattan replied.

Asked what currency or units he was talking about, Cattan told Kroft "I don't remember."

"Well, you're gonna give him 45 million of something," Kroft pointed out.

"Yes," Cattan acknowledged. "But, I don't remember what the matter was."

Warrants for the arrest of Cattan and former Defense Minister Shaalan have been sent to police agencies around the world, but there is not much chance of them being picked up and sent back to Iraq.

---

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.

---

The same goes for former Electricity Minister Aiham Alsammarae, an Iraqi-American businessman who got himself tangled up in the hot wires of Iraqi politics, and now faces prison time for mismanaging public funds. Alsammarae somehow escaped from Iraqi custody and made his way back to his home near Chicago. The only problem Kroft had finding him a few months ago was getting past the snowdrifts.

"I'm sitting here looking at a wanted poster from Interpol for Aiham Alsammarae, born 1951, Baghdad. Height: 1.9 meter, 75 inches, weight: 200 pounds,. This looks very much like you," Kroft said.

"Well it is me, but it is wrong because it is issued by Iraqi government based on false information," Alsammarae replied.

"You're not expecting the U.S. marshals to come in here and arrest you some day and send you off to Iraq to stand trial?" Kroft asked.

"Well, I will be so surprised if that happen in the States. Did I do anything wrong in United States? No. Did I pay my taxes, every penny, every year? Yes," he replied.

"Well, you're an international fugitive," Kroft remarked.

"The world is full of innocent victims. I am innocent and I will prove it," he vowed.

But there are indications that Alsammarae may have some problems here in the U.S.: his name has surfaced in connection with the corruption trial of his old friend, Chicago real estate developer Tony Rezko.

In a closed-door session, federal prosecutors reportedly accused Rezko of bribing Alsammarae in order to obtain an Iraqi electricity contract. Alsammarae denies the charges and says he's doing everything possible to clear his name, short of going back to Baghdad where he says he will be killed, perhaps by Iraqis who are only getting a few hours of electricity every day, despite billions of dollars of investment from the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

In the months before he left Iraq, Judge Radhi and his commission on public integrity began getting more and more interference from Prime Minster Maliki.

"He wrote a memo saying we could not recommend pressing charges against anyone from the president's office or from previous or current ministers," Radhi explained. "Who is corrupt in the ministries if it's not the ministers themselves? If we don't recommend they be tried, then corruption will stay as it is."

[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