Massive fraud in Iraq, & who gets screwed?

That would be the American taxpayer.

Last week, it was reported that there has been massive fraud in Iraq, and billions (yes, BILLIONS) of dollars are missing and can't be traced. Reports vary between $10-$12 billion in unaccounted funds, and that number is certain to climb higher when all of the dispensation of money is examined. But, the billion dollar question is, will this fiasco get investigated at all?

The Democrats had better have game on this one, because this is the chief reason America brought the Democrats back to power - to bring about much needed change and oversight to our government, something we haven't had during the entire Bush Administration.

Billions of dollars wasted - this is what happens when there's no oversight in our government. David M. Walker, the Comptroller General and head of the Government Accountability Office, has publicly said, "There is no accountability" regarding the missing money.

I can't overstate my outrage about these reports. This war is bankrupting my generation, and at least a few generations to follow. And, what's the response from this administration and this government? So far, not much.

Even more stupefying ~ the government reportedly sent entire planes filled with pallets of money to Iraq, and no one knows where the money went. And we're not talking chump change here - we're talking about $12 billion in cash, at least. It's just beyond words.I'd really love to know where all of the people are who typically complain and whine about our sending billions overseas, to countries like Africa, etc? Nowhere to be found is where.

I've got an idea ~ how about an airplane filled with $12 billion in cash land at the airport in New Orleans, and have it distributed to the needy who still have no homes, 1/2 a city and a host of troubles, including levees that still aren't nearly as adequate as they need to be. (With oversight, of course - something foreign to this government, so it seems.) If that happened, there would be a big outcry about "giving money to the poor." Guaranteed.

But, there hasn't been much of an uproar about this issue, and it's inexcusable.

There should be an immediate investigation by Congress, and I urge all of you to write your U.S. House of Representative (Click Here) and your Senators (Click Here) and demand they do something about it. (I've already written my U.S. House Rep. and both of my Senators.)

Here's a brief passage from the New York Times that I found online tonight from its February 7 edition (yea, I'm a little behind on blogging):

A House committee report on Tuesday questioned whether some of the billions of dollars in cash shipped to Iraq after the American invasion -- mostly in huge, shrink-wrapped stacks of $100 bills -- might have ended up with the insurgent groups now battling American troops.

The report was released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee at a hearing when Democrats sharply questioned the former American civilian administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, about lax management of the nearly $12 billion in cash shipped to Iraq between May 2003 and June 2004.

Mr. Bremer defended his performance as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, noting that the United States had to bring tons of American dollars into Iraq because the country had no functioning banking system.

''We had to pay Iraqis in cash,'' Mr. Bremer said of the money, most of which came from Iraqi oil sales. ''Delay would have been demoralizing and unfair to millions of Iraqi families.''

Unfair to Iraqi families, eh, Mr. Bremer? How about how unfair it is to American families? Has anyone considered that far out notion? Then again, I should take anything Bremer says with a grain of salt - his mismanagement of Iraq is well documented, and his decisions disastrous. For all we know, Bremer, one of the biggest disgraces in the history of American government, could have a Swiss bank account with a a million or two stashed away. How the hell would anyone know?

Even more damning is that neither our government nor the Iraqi government can answer whether any of the money ended up in the hands of our enemies in Iraq, who are picking off our troops just about every day.

Bremer is just the tip of the iceberg, though. There are many other people who need to be held accountable in this financial fiasco, the depths of which have only begun to be explored. Where is Donald Rumsfeld in all of this? Dick Cheney? Paul Wolfowitz? President Bush?

This is more than politics, folks - it's fraud, grand larceny, and treason. I don't care who is in the White House ~ this criminal behavior needs to be made public, and the guilty people need to be held accountable. I'm not holding my breath, but that's not good enough, either. We cannot afford, literally and figuratively, to let this one pass.

Predictably, some Republicans are just eager to sweep the whole mess under the rug, just like the good 'ole days during the GOP's reign in Congress during the last 12 years. I hope and pray that is not the ultimate outcome of this mess.

More from the Times article:

Republican committee members accused the panel's Democratic leaders of rehashing old allegations against Mr. Bremer and the conduct of American forces in Iraq for political gain.

''Self-righteous finger-wagging will not make Iraq any more secure,'' said Representative Tom Davis of Virginia, the [House Oversight and Government Reform] panel's ranking Republican. He said Mr. Bremer was asked to take charge of a ''country with, basically, no government.''

Really, Tom? There's a difference between political sniping and certain issues that should transcend traditional politics as usual. This is one of those issues. This isn't about political gain for the Democrats, or at least it shouldn't be. An investigation should go after whomever is responsible, be it corporations, politicians, Republicans, Democrats, etc. From no-bid contracts, to cronyism, fraud and downright criminal behavior, this investigation should rip the lid off of all of it. One thing's for sure - an investigation won't happen unless we demand one.

If you can pick one thing that has happened during this administration to write your elected Congressional representatives about, this is it.

So, let's get going.