For years, the media has reported billions of dollars stolen or missing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Karzai family in particular has been singled out in allegations of such pilfering as well as an array of other crimes such as drug dealing. Now, auditors have found that $6.6 billion has simply disappeared — cash sent by the plane load to Iraq.
While congressional leadership is rolling back on essential programs (and even terminating the 200-year-old page program to save just $5 million), they are doing little on the billions that have been stolen by our allies — or ending the three unpopular wars.
In the latest scandal, a giant C-130 Hercules cargo plane brought $2.4 billion in shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills “followed by 20 other flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time.”
The money simply vanished in that Bermuda Triangle of corruption Baghdad-Kabul-Washington. What is astonishing is that there is no indication of a single person fired or disciplined for the loss of the money or lack of record keeping.
Source: LA Times
Jeez, how come airplanes like this never land in my town?
All I have to say wow! No wonder thos country is going to crap
And we will probally elect a women president next then we arereally screwed
And how much of that money didn’t even make it off the planes or all the way through the pipeline? Whenever money is involved it’s always, at least in part, an inside job.
Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes?
A whistle-blower claims that over the past two decades, the agency has destroyed records of thousands of investigations, whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s worst financial criminals.
by: Matt Taibbi
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/is-the-sec-covering-up-wall-street-crimes-20110817?print=true
If war profiteering were made illegal there would be no wars. Period.
Corporations exist to make a profit. Big Corporations exist to make big profits. Government starts to cut some of the money going to support illegal wars, big corporations use petty cash to make big explosions and kill expendible people (soldiers or civilians). Big Corporate news media reports “insurgents” are on the roam killing and maiming everyone in sight. Congress takes meetings with big corporation lobbyist’s and now the war profiteering circle is complete once more.
If we paid our taxes in fake bills then we wouldn’t have to worry about the government ruining the economy at our expense.
“….congressional leadership is rolling back on essential programs (and even terminating the 200-year-old page program to save just $5 million)…” -Jonathan Turley
Yes, cutting corners on essentials and other worthy programs… while at the same time, continuing to dump billions into the flourishing Surveillance State.
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/08/19/surveillance/index.html
Excerpt:
“Economic suffering and anxiety — and anger over it and the flamboyant prosperity of the elites who caused it — is only going to worsen. So, too, will the refusal of the Western citizenry to meekly accept their predicament. As that happens, who it is who controls the Internet and the flow of information and communications takes on greater importance. Those who are devoted to preserving the current system of prerogatives certainly know that, and that is what explains this obsession with expanding the Surveillance State and secrecy powers, maintaining control over the dissemination of information, and harshly punishing those who threaten it. That’s also why there are few conflicts, if there are any, of greater import than this one.”
Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, an office created by Congress, said the missing $6.6 billion may be “the largest theft of funds in national history.” -from the LA Times article
“What is astonishing is that there is no indication of a single person fired or disciplined for the loss of the money or lack of record keeping.” -Jonathan Turley
No, it’s the whistleblowers who are disciplined. Some are subjected to protracted harassment campaigns… wicked harassment campaigns…
Don’t you know this type of piece gives aid and comfort to Al Queda.
Oops, sorry. I thought this was 2003.
“It’s all for the good of the Syndicate, Yossarian..!”
Gee if we only had a Justice Department…
This is better than “Three Kings” w/ George Clooney and Mark Wahlburg.
Who’s got the movie rights???
The only quibble I have is with your statement that “no one has mentioned” the cost of the war in Iraq. I can think of one politician right now who has mentioned it, repeatedly, and been lambasted or ignored by the media.
I think you know who I’m talking about.
these are allies only as long as the money holds out. When my kid was there in the Army in the 00’s he worked with the now deceased Karsai & knew the guy was on the take from the CIA, the US State Dept, the heroin cartel, the ISI and probably a few others. It was well understood his loyalty went to the highest bidder & no further.
BTW – there are billions in fake US Cnotes running around the world because they are such an international exchange tool. It probably would have been better for the government to just print 70 million fake notes & let them go.
The definition of “ally” seems to have changed over the years. It didn’t used to be “people we allow to steal from us.”
Maybe the Bush=Cheney Syndicate is still sitting on it….. in Lichtenstein…a little country in the alps of Germany….that is an Off Shore Country for hiding money ……
The government could tell us if these notes are already back in circulation in the US.
I’m sure the CIA handed the cash out to black site operators as appropriate.
This was not unknown at the time of the ’04 election although the size of the theft was unclear.
Along with the $3TRILLION dollars we have wasted destroying Iran (thereby making Iraq more powerful) and mucking around in Afghanistan instead of rebuilding the country (thereby strengthening the Taliban & their ISI patrons) we have performed just about everything UBL said he wanted to do – bankrupt the US, force us out of the Middle East and undermine the Western Economic system.
“Farce” doesn’t begin to describe present-day USofA.
George W. Was reelected after this financial debacle and the MSM ignored it’s importance.