Home
14/06/2011
U.S. Accounting: the missing funds in Iraq may be among the stolen
ترجمة- مرتضى صلاح Translation - Morteza Salah
Defense officials are still Americans are not able to determine what happened to the amount of 6.6 billion dollars which had been sent in cash on board the aircraft for the purpose of benefiting from it in the reconstruction of Iraq after the 2003 war.
After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March of the year 2003, the administration of President George W. Bush to plunge the country a lot of cash to pay for reconstruction and other projects in the first year that put the procedures relating to the Iraq war and reconstruction.
The Pentagon officials decided to carry the giant cargo plane (C-130 Hercules) a cash amount of $2.4 billion in the form of wrapped packages containing cards of $100 bills.
So they send a plane loaded with cash-filled first, followed by twentieth another trip to Iraq by month Maes 2004 in a shipment of up to $ 12 billion, which U.S. officials believe it was the largest shipment of cash are transferred across the air bridge in history.
Finally, the U.S. Defense Department and the Iraqi government in this month's closure of accounts for this program, which was treated all of those shipments.
However, despite many years of reviews and audit and investigations remain Pentagon officials are unable to find out what happened to $ 6.6 billion in cash, an amount large enough to run schools, Los Angeles, or public schools in Chicago for a full year, as well as many other things.
For the first time indicates the U.S. federal auditors that some of that cash, or all, had been stolen did not lose due to an accounting error, as was calculated in error.
Says Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq's reconstruction, an office which was created by Congress, that the amount of $ 6.6 billion lost may be the victim of "the largest theft of funds in the history of the U.S. National."
According to the Los Angeles Times that the U.S. would cause embarrassment growing puzzle of the Pentagon, as well as being a nuisance to Washington's relations with Baghdad.
Iraqi Officials threaten to bring the issue to court to recover the money came from Iraqi oil sales and frozen Iraqi assets and surplus funds from the program of the former United Nations "oil for food".
The newspaper added that Congress, which has already spent $ 61 billion of American taxpayer money for reconstruction projects and the development of similar in Iraq, very resentful of this result.
Said Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, who had presided over hearings on the fraud, waste and abuse in Iraq six years ago when he was chairman of the Committee on Government Reform in the House of Representatives, Congress is not looking forward to the process of spending billions of our money to offset billions of their money (the Iraqis) that We do not know what has been done by the determination, we can not find them as it seems."
Steal a staggering amount of such a process seems unlikely, but U.S. officials do not rule out it happening.
Have been charged to some American contractors to transfer tens of millions of dollars in the form of commissions on their behalf, and the graft during the period after the invasion, especially in the early days of chaos.
But Iraqi officials was seen as the main accused.
The airlift was the U.S. financial action reflects the despair.
Where it was organized by the Bush administration, which were eager to re-government services and the economy collapsed to instil confidence among Iraqis that the new system will bring improved dramatically in Iraq than it was during the reign of dictator Saddam Hussein. The White House decided to use the funds in what was called the Development Fund in Iraq, which was created by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the management of the funds accumulated during the years of Saddam's regime when he was subject to economic sanctions and trade.
Has been the transfer of cash by trucks withdrawn by the tractor and trailer from the bunkers of the currency and re-stock the Federal Reserve in East Rutherford, in the state of New Jersey, then transferred to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and then flown to Baghdad.
In Iraq, the U.S. officials to store these large funds in the basements of the basement in one of Saddam's former palaces, and U.S. military bases, before being distributed at the end of the day the Iraqi ministries and contracting companies.
But U.S. officials often did not have the time or staff to maintain strict financial controls.
The millions of dollars stuffed in canvas bags and placed in vans for the purpose of transfer of the services to the Iraqi or the contractors, according to the testimony of officials.
The investigators of the Commission on Government Reform U.S. task force in 2005 did not use virtually no financial controls to follow up on account of such funds enormous cash and Shobacha since arriving in Iraq, and there is considerable evidence of a waste of funds, as well as fraud and abuse in the actual expenditure and disbursement of Iraqi funds, as described by certification officials.
Officials at the Pentagon over the past six years, consider themselves to be able to follow the money, and calculated to get them, if they provide them with enough time to do track records and audited.
But repeated attempts to find any documentation, or cash itself, all ended in failure.
The Iraqi officials say that it was supposed to keep the United States Government that money hidden under the legal agreement was signed with Iraq in 2004, and this makes Washington responsible.
In turn, warned Abdul Basit Turki Saeed, Chairman of the Audit and Head of Financial Supervision Authority in Iraq, American officials that his government will resort to the courts if necessary to recover the lost funds. He also said Samir Sumaida'ie, Iraq's ambassador to the United States, that Iraq has an interest in the care of its assets and protection.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
