• USAID Program, Iraq

I'm starting this new thread in response to dalek's post, currently the one left hanging in the thread about Islam, Baathism, Secularism. To reply there would move the thread off topic.

Dalek's post is here:

The Baathist army; oh there we were with thousands of men in a defeated but still organised army. So what did we do with them? Did we place them in camps and de-program them over years the way the US did in Germany after WW2?

No! What we did was simply tell then to piss off, "go home and by the way your pay is stopped and don't even think about leave and other entitlements". Now we are soo suprised  that they are really mad at us! They know where the weapons are buried too.

Did we institute a jobs program for ex soldiers and the citizenry at large? No we did not. Did we make any serious attempt to fix the infrastructure? Well we gave out contracts to our mates, but that's about all. Did we re-equip the hospitals? Well we gave out contracts for the purchase of MRI scanners but none for dressings and needles and ordinary stuff.

Did we make funds available for business activities and job creation? No we did not.

We said hey "heres a voting slip and it will be all fixed up" we would have done all those other things but we are neocons and those other things are just sooo socialist.

"Regime change" trips so glib from the tongue, hope it makes you feel better. 

Dalek. 

The thrust of what he says is that the US Government has made no serious effort to assist in fixing infrastructure, developing employment and business opportunities, etc. This is in keeping with his view that the US wants to rule the region (and the world) and has no interest in the welfare of the Iraqi people, other than giving them a "voting slip and it will all be fixed up". (The latter is yet another example of him responding to voices in his head - no-one at this site has argued that the mere act of voting will solve the problems of Iraq in the immediate-term. It has been argued that a democratically elected government, challengable at multi-party elections, is the best way to go for the future and much more likely to improve the lot of the Iraqi people than Ba'athist dictatorship).

In his claims about assistance to businesses, infrastructure, etc., Dalek is wrong at the factual level, as this link to the USAID program for Iraq shows: http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/ 

The 2003 USAID budget to assist Iraq was more than $5 billion and covers important areas such as developing civil society, creating and empowering community action groups (more than 1300 in all, involving the training of more than 17,000 Iraqis), repair and reconstruction (830 schools, 339 roads, 325 water resource projects, 292 electicity utility centres, 298 health-related initiatives), agricutlure, Marshlands restoration, food, education, sanitation, telecomunications, and others. The program pays special attention to Iraqi women: about 60% of USAID small business grants go to women.

Unemployment will remain extremely high so long as the insurgents continue to create havoc, targetting much of the above, and obviously creating conditions that are not conducive to job-creating investment.

Iraq's democracy allows hope for the future but is being stuffed up by those who oppose it via suicide bombings and death squads. These are the enemy.

There's nothing socialistic or democratic about dalek's views: he opposed the holding of multi-party elections in Iraq after the overthrow of a fascist regime there.

Barry

Barry, you might find this interesting -http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/indepth/310iraqoil/iraqoil.pdf

It is a critique of the US aid program written in 2003, it contains some useful data and less useful analysis.

My first point is that 5 billion dollars is a very small budget (we spend more on a few rivers), it was too little too late, but I have far more important concerns:

My concern with the whole US program in Iraq has always been this: If there really had been a plan to introduce democracy into Iraq surely there would have been an economic program that was designed to support this. Otherwise the whole exercise was just empty rhetoric. I understand that the State Department did draw up a plan that was along classical Keynsian lines and that included provisions for orderly demobbing the army, de Baathification of the public service etc etc and most important of all; Jobs programs. I think this plan lasted about a week before Cheney and the neocons threw it out.

The interim administration then stood by (literally) while criminal elements (not, in the main, jihadists) looted everything from museums and hospitals to arms caches. Surely you must remember this.

The result was total chaos; public services (that survived the bombing) such as remnant power generation, water supply, hospitals all collapsed, even before the bad guys got into the act. In fact by the time the Jihadis got their act together the public utilities were hardly worth attacking, they were crap already. Now of course the situation is different, anything that is shiny and new will be destroyed by some of the most reactionary forces in the world, this I agree. The scale of corruption in Iraq is unprecedented any-where.

You may argue that a plan by the occupation forces to introduce the economic underpinnings of democracy before and during the transition period in Iraq was paternalism and a slap in the face for market forces, you would be right.

What the people of Iraq got instead was the crudest and most brutal form of Social Darwinism.   

Dalek

Oh and I forgot to add; as well as Herbert Spencer, they got the re-emergence of  centuries old sectarian feuds.

Far from "draining the Swamps" the Bush policy of social Darwinism and the Straussian Noble Lie of "democracy in an economic vacume" has made them even deeper.

Dalek

Planning for Iraq: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB214/index.htm

A close reading of this documant and its links bay be educational for us all.

Dalek.

Hey Barry, is this the sort of thing you mean about US aid to iraq??

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2007 Last modified: Thursday, February 15, 2007 5:37 PM EST

Auditors: Billions Squandered in Iraq

By HOPE YEN

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has squandered as much as $10 billion in public money on Iraq reconstruction aid because of overcharges and unsubstantiated expenses. More is yet to come, federal investigators said Thursday.

The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done.

More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall.

"There is no accountability," said David M. Walker, who heads the auditing arm of Congress. "Organizations charged with overseeing contracts are not held accountable. Contractors are not held accountable. The individuals responsible are not held accountable."

"People should be rewarded when they do a good job. But when things don't go right, there have to be consequences," he said.

Also testifying Thursday were Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, and William H. Reed, director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee came as Congress prepares for a showdown with President Bush next month over his budget request of nearly $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So far, the Bush administration has spent more than $350 million on the Iraq war and reconstruction effort.

The Army, which handles most of the Iraq contracting, said Thursday it had not reviewed the latest contract figures.

"The U.S. Army, along with the Departments of Defense and State, continue to help thousands of Iraqis daily with reconstruction projects to provide them with better lives," said spokeswoman Mary Ann Hodges. "We look forward to examining its findings and applying some of its recommendations in the future."

Senate Democrats said recently cited cases of waste were "outrageous rip-offs of the American taxpayer" and introduced legislation Thursday to stiffen punishment for war profiteers and cut down on cronyism in contracting.

According to their testimony, the investigators:

_Found overpricing and waste in Iraq contracts amounting to $4.9 billion since the Defense Contract Audit Agency began its work in 2003. Some of that money has been recovered. An additional $5.1 billion in expenses were charged without proper documentation.

_Pointed to growing Iraqi sectarian violence as a significant factor behind bloated U.S. contracting bills. Iraqi officials, they said, must begin to take primary responsibility for reconstruction efforts. That is an uncertain goal, given the widespread corruption in Iraq and the local government's inability to fund projects.

_Urged the Pentagon to reconsider its growing reliance on outside contractors in wars and reconstruction efforts. Layers of subcontractors, poor documentation and lack of strong contract management are rampant and promote waste even after the GAO first warned of problems 15 years ago.

Walker complained that GAO investigators have difficulty getting basic detail about reconstruction contracts such as expenses and subcontractors involved because many Pentagon divisions fail to consistently track or fully report them.

"It's absolutely essential if Congress wants to make an informed decision on authorizations and appropriations that we get this information," he said. "We're talking about billions of dollars and thousands of American lives at stake."

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the committee chairman, has pledged scores of investigations of fraud, waste and abuse _ with subpoenas if necessary _ on the administration's watch.

Of the $10 billion in overpriced contracts or undocumented costs, more than $2.7 billion were charged by Halliburton Co., the oil-field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Noting that auditors still have $300 billion of Iraq spending to review, Waxman said the total amount of waste, fraud and abuse "could be astronomical."

"It's no wonder that taxpayers all across our country are fed up and demanding that we bring real oversight to the 'anything goes' world of Iraq reconstruction," he said.

Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the committee's top Republican, said "poor security, an arcane, ill-suited management structure, and frequent management changes have produced a succession of troubled acquisitions."

On the Net:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee:

http://oversight.house.gov

House committee memorandum analyzing Iraq contracting costs:

http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070215105317-73621.pdf

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

Hey Barry, is this the sort of thing you mean about US aid to iraq??

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2007 Last modified: Thursday, February 15, 2007 5:37 PM EST

Auditors: Billions Squandered in Iraq

By HOPE YEN

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has squandered as much as $10 billion in public money on Iraq reconstruction aid because of overcharges and unsubstantiated expenses. More is yet to come, federal investigators said Thursday.

The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done.

More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall.

"There is no accountability," said David M. Walker, who heads the auditing arm of Congress. "Organizations charged with overseeing contracts are not held accountable. Contractors are not held accountable. The individuals responsible are not held accountable."

"People should be rewarded when they do a good job. But when things don't go right, there have to be consequences," he said.

Also testifying Thursday were Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, and William H. Reed, director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee came as Congress prepares for a showdown with President Bush next month over his budget request of nearly $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So far, the Bush administration has spent more than $350 million on the Iraq war and reconstruction effort.

The Army, which handles most of the Iraq contracting, said Thursday it had not reviewed the latest contract figures.

"The U.S. Army, along with the Departments of Defense and State, continue to help thousands of Iraqis daily with reconstruction projects to provide them with better lives," said spokeswoman Mary Ann Hodges. "We look forward to examining its findings and applying some of its recommendations in the future."

Senate Democrats said recently cited cases of waste were "outrageous rip-offs of the American taxpayer" and introduced legislation Thursday to stiffen punishment for war profiteers and cut down on cronyism in contracting.

According to their testimony, the investigators:

_Found overpricing and waste in Iraq contracts amounting to $4.9 billion since the Defense Contract Audit Agency began its work in 2003. Some of that money has been recovered. An additional $5.1 billion in expenses were charged without proper documentation.

_Pointed to growing Iraqi sectarian violence as a significant factor behind bloated U.S. contracting bills. Iraqi officials, they said, must begin to take primary responsibility for reconstruction efforts. That is an uncertain goal, given the widespread corruption in Iraq and the local government's inability to fund projects.

_Urged the Pentagon to reconsider its growing reliance on outside contractors in wars and reconstruction efforts. Layers of subcontractors, poor documentation and lack of strong contract management are rampant and promote waste even after the GAO first warned of problems 15 years ago.

Walker complained that GAO investigators have difficulty getting basic detail about reconstruction contracts such as expenses and subcontractors involved because many Pentagon divisions fail to consistently track or fully report them.

"It's absolutely essential if Congress wants to make an informed decision on authorizations and appropriations that we get this information," he said. "We're talking about billions of dollars and thousands of American lives at stake."

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the committee chairman, has pledged scores of investigations of fraud, waste and abuse _ with subpoenas if necessary _ on the administration's watch.

Of the $10 billion in overpriced contracts or undocumented costs, more than $2.7 billion were charged by Halliburton Co., the oil-field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Noting that auditors still have $300 billion of Iraq spending to review, Waxman said the total amount of waste, fraud and abuse "could be astronomical."

"It's no wonder that taxpayers all across our country are fed up and demanding that we bring real oversight to the 'anything goes' world of Iraq reconstruction," he said.

Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the committee's top Republican, said "poor security, an arcane, ill-suited management structure, and frequent management changes have produced a succession of troubled acquisitions."

On the Net:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee:

http://oversight.house.gov

House committee memorandum analyzing Iraq contracting costs:

http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070215105317-73621.pdf

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

Barry, the Iraqi government has certainly learned its lessons from the US very well. The embezzlement of US$8B is not really all that bad eh?

dpa German Press Agency

Cairo - Corruption in Iraq is now worse than it was during Saddam Hussein's regime, the Chairman of Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity (CPI), Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, said in an interview published Thursday in the Arabic-language Asharq Alawsat newspaper.

'There are eight ministers and 40 general directors against whom corruption charges have been brought and they had all fled abroad,' he said.

According to Al-Radhi, the commission was currently investigating the embezzlement of public funds to the tune of eight billion US dollars.

Independent observers in Baghdad report that it is very difficult to find an official who will discharge a public service without a bribe.

Al-Radhi conceded that the authority itself has been found guilty of corruption on several occasions.

However, he said,the problems which the commision had experienced were not of the magnitude that its critics had claimed.

The CPI was established in January 2003 by the now disbanded Iraqi Interim Governing Council to curb bribery, embezzlement, and the misuse of power and public funds.

In the latest corruption index of the Organization Transparency International, Iraq was found to be the fourth most corrupt country in the world. © 2007 - dpa German Press Agency

Widespread violence seriously compromised the government's ability to protect human rights.

 Sectarian-driven violence, acts of terrorism, and revenge by armed groups in a climate of criminality and impunity undercut government efforts to establish and maintain the rule of law.


On one side, predominantly Sunni Arab groups such as Al-Qa'ida in Iraq, irreconcilable remnants of the Ba'thist regime, and insurgents waging guerrilla warfare violently opposed the government and targeted Shi'a communities. The other, predominantly Shi'a militias with some ties to the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), targeted Sunnis in large-scale death squad and kidnapping activities. While the law provides for civilian authorities' control over the security forces, there were many instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently.

The February 22 bombing of the Al-Askariya Shrine in Samarra set off a series of violent attacks that continued throughout the year. An increased level of sectarianism resulted in significant population displacements. Estimates of those displaced after the bombing ranged widely from 380,000 to 500,000 persons.


Insurgents and terrorists increased their bombing and targeting of markets, mosques, and religious pilgrims, largely on a sectarian basis. In addition to these attacks, death squads and terrorist groups attacked and killed shoppers and ordinary citizens such as bakers, street cleaners, and storeowners, again largely on a sectarian basis. These attacks caused thousands of deaths, principally in Baghdad, but also across the country in Kirkuk, Mosul, and in the South and to the northwest of Baghdad, reflecting a marked increase in extrajudicial killings over the previous year. The government was unable to diminish these violent attacks, although large efforts were made to implement better security measures, particularly in Baghdad.


The prime minister, with the concurrence of the CoR, renewed each month the "state of emergency" originally declared in November 2004, excluding the provinces of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). The state of emergency allows the prime minister to impose curfews and restrictions on public gatherings, associations, unions, and other entities; to put a preventive freeze on assets; to impose monitoring of and seizure of means of communication; and to have all armed forces directly report to him.



On November 5, the Iraqi Higher Tribunal found Saddam Hussein, whose regime murdered, tortured, and caused the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of persons, guilty of ordering the execution of 148 men and boys in Ad-Dujayl in 1982. On December 30, Hussein was executed.


During the year, the following significant human rights problems were reported: Pervasive climate of violence; misappropriation of official authority by sectarian, criminal, terrorist, and insurgent groups; arbitrary deprivation of life; disappearances; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; impunity; poor conditions in pretrial detention facilities; arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of fair public trial; an immature judicial system lacking capacity; limitations on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association due to terrorist and militia violence; restrictions on religious freedom; large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs); lack of transparency and widespread corruption at all levels of government; constraints on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); discrimination against women, ethnic, and religious minorities; and limited exercise of labor rights. ...


 a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life


The year was characterized by a climate of increasing violence, principally carried out by Sunni insurgents, Shi'a militias, terrorists, criminal elements, death squads, and errant government agents. The level of extrajudicial killings increased markedly over the previous year, according to numerous independent studies, but there is no consensus on the correct figures. During the year, according to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), citing Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Baghdad Medical Legal Institute data, 34,452 civilians were violently killed (16,867 in Baghdad).



There were also other estimates of violent deaths directly attributed to the conflict. A government report presented a total of 14,298 violent civilian deaths directly attributed to the conflict. The large variation in numbers reflected different criteria for inclusion in the total (e.g., exclusion of deaths attributed to criminality), as well as uncertainty about additionality of hospital/morgue counts, among other possibilities. Unauthorized government agent involvement in extrajudicial killings throughout the country was widely reported. Shi'a sectarian militias such as the oppositionist Jaysh al-Mahdi (Mahdi's Army) and the Badr Corps continued to be prevalent in the ISF, particularly in the center and south of the country. For example, killings and kidnappings in Basrah were carried out by militia members wearing police uniforms and driving police cars.



MoI-affiliated death squads targeted Sunnis and conducted kidnapping raids and killings in Baghdad and its environs, largely with impunity. On May 7, then minister of interior Bayan Jabr announced to the press the arrest of a major general and 17 other ministry employees implicated in kidnapping and "death squad activities." Jabr also noted that that the MoI had found a terror group in its 16th Brigade that carried out "killings of citizens". On October 4, the MoI announced its decision to dissolve the 8th Brigade of the police for its support of death squads, and sent hundreds of personnel from that brigade to training. No results of the investigation of the brigade, or of the other arrests, were available by year's end.



In Irbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, the three provinces comprising the KRG area of the country, there were fewer reports of violence than elsewhere. However, the KRG security forces were sometimes accused of using excessive force that resulted in deaths. For example, on March 16, at a student protest in Halabja, KRG security forces fired into the crowd when the protest turned violent, killing one student and injuring several others.


Insurgent and terrorist bombings, executions, and killings were a daily occurrence throughout all regions and sectors of society. Apart from attacks in Baghdad, the Sunni insurgency and terrorists launched numerous attacks in Anbar and Diyala provinces, and in Mosul and Kirkuk--areas noted for their high level of violence. A large number of attacks targeting Shi'a civilians were attributable to the jihadist Al-Qa'ida in Iraq, in furtherance of its stated goal to spark a sectarian conflict, weaken the government, force the Coalition to withdraw, and establish a base for transnational terror operations. Other insurgent and terrorist groups also were involved in the violence. These groups targeted government workers, ordinary citizens, and members of the ISF among other groups.



 According to government reports, 1,455 police officers were killed in targeted attacks during the year. For example, in a suicide bombing attack January 5 against a police recruitment center in Ramadi, 82 persons, many of whom were police, were killed, and 70 were wounded. Potential recruits were also widely targeted. For example, 23 potential police recruits were abducted, shot, and killed north of Baghdad on January 23.



The February 22 terrorist bombing of the al-Askariya Shrine in Samarra provoked a rise in sectarian violence. The al-Askariya Shrine represents one of the most revered sites for those of the Shi'a faith. Hours after the bombing of the holy shrine, a number of attackers, reportedly from the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, conducted extensive raids and killings in Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad.



In the months that followed the bombing, a cycle of daily sectarian retaliatory attacks resulted between Shi'a and Sunni. Sunni terrorist groups continued to engage in a number of bomb and mortar attacks on dense Shi'a neighborhoods. In a few examples among hundreds, on March 12, car bombs detonated at three markets in Baghdad's Shi'a-dominant Sadr City while families were shopping for food. These attacks killed at least 58 individuals and injured 200. On July 1, a car bomb at a crowded market in Sadr City killed 62 and wounded 114 in an explosion claimed by "the Supporters of the Sunni People," ('Ahl al-Sunnah al-Munaserai), a previously unknown group.



Terrorist attacks also targeted religious sites. On July 18, a suicide bomb killed 59 persons in Kufa, near the Shi'a holy city of Najaf, in an attack claimed by Al-Qa'ida. On August 10, 35 persons were killed and 122 injured by bomb blasts near the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf on a day commemorating the death of Zainab, the Prophet's daughter. The soldiers of the Prophet's Companions (Jamaat Jund al-Sahaba) claimed responsibility.



 The actions and apparent growth of predominantly Shi'a militias similarly contributed to the marked rise in violence. In particular, numerous reports indicated that the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia was responsible for a growing number of raids and killings of Sunni citizens in Baghdad and other parts of the country during the year.


Throughout the country terrorist groups conducted sectarian attacks that appeared to be carried out with the intent of instilling fear and chaos in the population. On September 23, a Sadr City attack drew international attention when a suicide bomber killed up to 35 Shi'a women and children as they were waiting in line for cooking gas. On November 23, six car bombs in different parts of Sadr City killed 202 and wounded 250 persons. On December 12, a suicide bomber killed 70 persons and wounded at least 236 in Tayran Square, in Baghdad after attracting a crowd of day laborers to his truck with promises of work. There were numerous reports of terrorists attacking shoppers on the street, shopkeepers, garbage collectors, and others. ...



Government Corruption and Transparency



Large-scale corruption pervaded the government and was a severe problem. Public perception of government corruption continued to be high. Intimidation and politics were factors in some allegations of corruption, and officials sometimes used "de-Ba'athification" as a means to further political and personal agendas.


 Anticorruption institutions were fragmented and interaction among them was hampered by a lack of consensus about their role. Lack of accountability continued to be widespread and was reinforced by several provisions in statute as well as lack of transparency. The law did not provide public access to government information for citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.



The constitution provides immunity from arrest to members of the CoR unless the member is caught in the criminal act, or the charge is a felony and the immunity is overturned by a majority vote.


CoR member Mishan al-Jabouri, charged with embezzlement, enjoyed this immunity until October 9 when the CoR voted to overturn his immunity.



Paragraph 136 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code provides ministers with the ability to prevent enforcement of the arrest of their employees. This law allows ministers to halt corruption proceedings against their employees. On 15 separate occasions, the involved minister reportedly halted adjudication and arrest of employees suspected of corruption by the Commission on Public Integrity (CPI). In other cases, ministries effectively stalled the investigation by failing to provide information.



Despite these obstacles, there were several high-profile corruption cases that reached resolution. During the year, former minister of defense Hazem Sha'alan was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 60 years' imprisonment. He and 27 other officials were alleged to have played a key role in the theft of $1 billion (1.3 trillion dinars) in 2004. A number of other MoD officials were arrested and were pending trial at year's end. Former minister of electricity, Ayham al-Samaraii was sentenced to two years' imprisonment on charges of corruption on October 11. He subsequently escaped from detention.



The CPI, formed in January 2004, is the government's commission charged with preventing and investigating cases of corruption in all ministries and other components of the government nationwide (except for the KRG). The CPI, with a staff of 119 investigators, reports to the country's chief executive and legislature and has the authority to refer cases for criminal prosecution. During the year, the CPI received more than 2,000 cases to investigate, a caseload that far outstripped the organization's investigative capacity. By the end of the year, it had adjudicated few of its cases, due to intimidation and lack of training.



The government also has a system of 31 inspectors general in the various ministries, the city of Baghdad, the Central Bank, and the religious endowments. The mandate of this program, which comprises 2,500 total staff, is to audit, inspect, and investigate in order to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. More than 50 percent of these offices have a human rights unit within their organization.



The Board of Supreme Audit is responsible for conducting audits of all contracts that ministries undertake. Both the CPI and the inspection system remained vulnerable during the year. There was widespread intimidation, as well as killings and attempted attacks against CPI employees, inspection personnel, and witnesses and family members involved with CPI cases. CPI had 11 employees or family members killed during the year.


CPI received a number of high level attempts to influence prosecutions of members of the ruling party. Members of the legislature also reportedly attempted to pressure the court on numerous occasions to a particular ruling.


The former deputy commissioner of CPI was dismissed for engaging in prosecutions along sectarian lines. According to UNAMI's September-October report, payroll fraud in the security forces was widespread. Police officers frequently required payment from would-be recruits to join the police force. Absenteeism was widespread, and in Kirkuk alone, half of the 5,000 police force and 13,000 army soldiers were reportedly absent at any given time, and many were permanently absent without leave, but still received their pay (see section 1.d.).

Grim indeed but the Iraqi government is after some of the culprits and the continuation of such a situation is cleartly not in the Iraqi government's and people's interests. The Iraqi government has an arrest warrant out for Hazem al-Shaalan, who was Defence Minister in 2004-2005. He seems to have skipped the country with $800 million of government funds and is living happily in London. All the government can do is issue the warrant and, hopefully, it can be executed in London via an extradiction arrangement (if such agreement exists between UK and Iraq).

Solidarity with Iraq means support for the government in measures to catch and make an example of individuals who engage in large-scale corruption.

More info on the al-Shaalan case: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21364539-601,00.html 

Barry

Barry, Arthur, This is the parliament that is about to vote to rubber stamp the Iraq oil laws that were drawn up in secret by an US corporation and approved by a corrupt cabinet. Should that concern us?

Gee saying "rubber stamp" makes dalek sound so "left".

The Iraqi Parliament is bitterly divided, and has not been able to agree on critically important legislation within a reasonable time, so let's call it a "rubber stamp".

Then let's demand that there be more economic development while simultaneously being "concerned" about oil development, which happens to be the main industry.

Then we can be "concerned" about corruption based on the fact that corrupt Ministers are being prosecuted.

This is all so "progressive".

But how would one be reacting if one was a reactionary? What would be different about the way one would approach these issues?

Barry,

You should not conflate the development of the oil industry with economic developement. As I told Arthur the oil industry is not big on jobs creation - it tends to reward only the owners. In Saudi for example, the oil revenues are used in massive job creation schemes. I spent some time investigating (on the ground) various large industrial enterprises in Saudi, they were using 1960's technology imported from the US but it was very labour intensive. When I suggested modernisation of the plants I was told that the policy was to create as many jobs as possible to keep down unrest. (They were quite frank about this). That's how they keep the lid on these regimes, that plus a good dose of fascist repression. ( By the way don't even try to pretend that I support the Saudi and similar regimes)

The point being that no amount of repression in particular by foreign forces will control thousands and thousands of young testosterone laden young men. You can continue supporting this program in Iraq or you can advocate massive job creation schemes and the consequences that flow from this. In Saudi the fastest growing stores are "Toys-R-us". Figure that out. It is ironic that these regimes in order to maintain stability are forced to create the very class that will eventually overthrow them.

The policies that you are advocating in Iraq are (obviously) creating the exact fascist army that you now blame for the situation. You need look no further than Germany in the 30's; massive unemployment and unrest, caused by the surrender terms from WW1 created the ideal breeding grounds for the rise of fascism there. The same situation pertains in Iraq. Years of economic blockade, oveflights and bombings followed by invasion and the installation (OK - election) of a rampantly corrupt government and a collapsed economy conspire to create the conditions for the rise of fascism.  

All that blather about Sunni's and Shias etc etc is like arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The issue is that far from defeating fascism you have created it all over again. The more "insurgents" you kill the more fascist troopers you make. Give them jobs and they will be spending up big at "Toys-R-us".  

Dalek

P.S if that all sounds like rampant empiricism then so be it.