When you hear the Republicans talk about fiscal responsibility, you should really just laugh in their faces. Consider this:
A US federal watchdog has criticised the US military for failing to account properly for billions of dollars it received to help rebuild Iraq. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction says the US Department of Defence is unable to account properly for 96% of the [$9.1 billion allocated for Iraqi reconstruction]. Out of just over $9bn (£5.8bn), $8.7bn is unaccounted for, the inspector says. […]
The funds in question were administered by the US Department of Defence between 2004 and 2007, and were earmarked for reconstruction projects. But, the report says, a lack of proper accounting makes it impossible to say exactly what happened to most of the money.
When liberals say that Republicans use the federal treasury for looting, this is what we mean. Maybe you object to spending tax money on hunger or health care for kids. Maybe you don’t want blacks and latinos to get a helping hand from the federal government. But how do you feel about the Department of Defense losing track of 8.7 billion dollars? We gave them over nine billion dollars to rebuild Iraq and they can’t even tell us where they spent five percent of the money. That is looting. That is a total lack of accountability that enables people to walk off with pallets of U.S. dollars without anyone asking questions.
The Republicans are not fiscally responsible. They use the government to enrich themselves by cutting high-end marginal tax rates, estate taxes, dividends and captital gains taxes, and by stealing from the rest of us. It’s just that simple.
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I’m reading a different take on the audit in the Washington Post …
(WaPo) – American officials with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led occupation administration, took control in 2003 of $20 billion of Iraqi government funds and obtained permission through a U.N. Security Council resolution to use the money for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.
After the June 2004 dissolution of the CPA, the Iraqi government agreed to let the U.S. military control the remaining funds. It revoked the authority on Dec. 31, 2007.
The inspector general in 2005 criticized the CPA’s management of an $8.8 billion fund that belonged to the Iraqi government. A criminal probe conducted by the inspector general then led to the conviction of eight U.S. officials on bribery, fraud and money-laundering charges.
The latest audit does not include allegations of criminal conduct. [Original SIGIR Audit – July 27, 2010] (pdf)
The United States also has spent more than $50 billion in taxpayer money for reconstruction projects in Iraq.
Reports by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."I thought the good part was that they were supposed to put the money in Treasury accounts…never did. Isn’t that something? Gee, they stole it right out from under the Iraqis and up until now, have gotten off without even a tap on the wrist.
I despise the Bush Administration.
I’ve always wanted to loot stuff.
“Looters?” They don’t deserve the term so swiftly applied to New Orleanians taking food after Katrina.
Thieves, liars, predators, destroyers – those are all, IMO, better.
The only legitimate function of the State is to provide a police escort for their getaway car.
And they differ from the Democrats, how, exactly?