When Bremer Ruled Baghdad How Iraq was Looted

Hi i found this article

By EVELYN PRINGLE

When President Bush announced "Mission Accomplished," and the end of the war in May 2003, he also said we would help the citizens of Iraq rebuild their country. "Now that the dictator's gone," he stated, "we and our coalition partners are helping Iraqis to lay the foundations of a free economy."

Apparently he was referring to the Coalition Provisional Authority that took up residence in Saddam's luxurious palace in May 2003, with the newly appointed King, Paul Bremer. The CPA was granted the authority to award reconstruction contracts in Iraq and it used that authority to implement what will go down in the history books as the most blatant war profiteering scheme of all time.

In large part, the masterminds of the reconstruction disaster that would occur after the CPA took over Iraq were Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and Undersecretary of Defense, Douglas Feith.

But to ensure control of the contracting process on the ground in Iraq, Bush filled the top slots of the CPA with the administration cronies. For instance, a friend of Cheney's, Peter McPherson, took a leave of absence as president of Michigan State University to serve as Bremer's economic deputy.

The leader of the CPA's private development sector was Thomas Foley, an old college classmate of Bush, who served as finance chairman for his Presidential campaign in Connecticut and also raised more than $100,000 for Bush.

Relatives of the administration were also given jobs, such as Ari Fleischer's brother Michael, and Simone Ledeen, the daughter of Michael Ledeen. Cheney's daughter Liz, also did a short stint. However, it should be noted that none of them lounged around for too long in what soon became a hellhole in Iraq.

On May 16, 2003, the CPA issued its first regulation and described its authority in no uncertain terms stating:

"The CPA is vested with all executive, legislative, and judicial authority necessary to achieve its objectives, to be exercised under relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1483 (2003), and the laws and usages of war. This authority shall be exercised by the CPA Administrator."

With one swipe of the pen, Bremer granted himself the authority to run the government ministries, appoint Iraqi officials and award contracts for reconstruction. Next he fired 500,000 Iraqis, most of them soldiers, but pink slips also went out to many doctors, nurses, teachers and other public employees as well.

For the most part, the CPA financed its activities with billions of dollars that belonged to the Iraqis. On May 22, 2003, a UN Security Council passed a resolution that directed the proceeds from Iraqi oil to be placed in a Development Fund for Iraq, and the CPA was granted authority to control the fund and decide which profiteers would get contracts.

During the year that Bremer controlled the purse strings, the Iraqi Development Fund received $20.2 billion, including $8.1 billion from the UN's oil-for-food program, $10.8 billion from Iraqi oil, and the rest from repatriated funds, vested assets and donations.

The CPA accounting system was cash and carry and a steady stream of cash was flown into Bagdad from the US. Inspector General, Stuart Bowen later said that he knew of one $2 billion flight.

A report released by the House Government Reform Committee in February 2007, shows that in the 13 months that Bremer ruled, from May 2003 to June 2004, the Federal Reserve Bank in New York shipped nearly $12 billion in a cash to Iraq.

One can only imagine the Bank service charges associated with these shipments because to accomplish this feat, according to the Democratic chairman of the Reform Committee, Henry Waxman, the cash weighed 363 tons and the Bank had to count and pack 281 million individual bills, including more than 107 million $100 bills, and then load them onto wooden pallets to be shipped to Bagdad on C-130 cargo planes.

Inspector Bowen later said that he determined that some of this cash went to pay salaries for thousands of "ghost employees" and Iraqi civil servants who did not exist.

Within a few months of the CPA's arrival in Iraq reports of corruption in the contracting process began appearing in the media. A British adviser to the Iraqi Governing Council told the BBC that officials in the CPA were demanding bribes of up to $300,000 in return for contracts.

Reports of flat out-fraud remained steady throughout Bremer's reign in Iraq. One audit showed that the CPA Ministry of Finance could not provide documentation for about $17 million spent on employee salaries in February 2004, and a CPA Advisor to the Ministry of the Interior said the Ministry was paid for 8,602 guards but only 602 could be verified.

A CPA advisor to the Ministry of Finance was so concerned about payroll corruption that he submitted a formal complaint that stated in part: "Of the 1.6 million government employees currently on payroll, credible estimates put the number of ghost workers at somewhere between 250,000-300,000 employees."

An October 2004, audit performed for the International Advisory and Monitoring Board, created by the UN to monitor the spending of Iraqi money, found one case where a payment of $2.6 million was authorized by a CPA senior adviser to the Ministry of Oil, and auditors were unable to obtain an underlying contract or any evidence that the services had been rendered.

The auditors in this group found 37 cases where files could not be located for contracts worth $185 million all total. In another 52 cases, there was no record that goods had been received for a total of $87.9 million.

People on the ground in Iraq said that doing business with the CPA was reminiscent of the Wild West. Former CPA employees told a congressional committee that sackfuls of cash were tossed around like footballs. Franklin Willis, showed pictures of himself and others holding up bundles of $100 notes totaling $2 million, which he said was used to pay the contractor Custer Battles. "We told them to come in and bring a bag," Willis said.

He also testified that millions of dollars in $100 bills were stored in the basement of the CPA offices and distributed to favored contractors with little accounting discipline. For instance, in the year that the CPA ruled, Custer was awarded contracts worth more than $100 million.

Two former Custer employees ended up filing a lawsuit under the Federal False Claims Act, saying Custer had swindled $50 million from the CPA with scams like double-billing for salaries and repainting the forklifts found at the Baghdad airport and then leasing them back to the US government.

The employees said the CPA paid the Custer $15 million to provide security for Iraq's civilian airline, when no services were needed because the airline was grounded during the time covered by the contract.

These employees said they kept informing the CPA about Custer's fraudulent conduct for more than a year and when they asked why the firm continued to get contracts, they were told: "Battles is very active in the Republican party, and speaks to individuals he knows in the Whitehouse almost daily."

In June 2004, the Government Accounting Office estimated that more than $1 billion in had been wasted due to illegal overcharges by contractors since the war began. A later audit by the Iraqi government found that as much as $1.27 billion was lost to accounting irregularities between June 2004 and February 2005.

Inspector Bowen cited two examples of poor oversight in a November 3, 2005 interview on National Public Radio where $28 million was paid to build 5 power plants and $1.8 million was paid to rebuild a library, but the work was never performed and the money
"simply disappeared," he said.

A recent report by Bowen says DynCorp was paid $43.8 million for a residential camp for police training personnel and has been empty for months and that the company may also have billed $18 million in other unjustified costs.

About $4.2 million, he says, was improperly spent on 20 VIP trailers and an Olympic-size pool and an additional $36.4 million in spending for weapons such as armored vehicles, body armor and communications equipment that cannot be accounted for.

Not surprisingly, Cheney's Halliburton remained the top profiteer under Bremer's rule. A July 23, 2004, audit conducted by Bowen, showed the company had received 60% of all contracts paid for with Iraq money, including 5 no-bid contracts worth $222 million, $325 million, $180 million, and the last 2 together totaled $194 million for the last two. In comparison, the audit showed that the CPA awarded only 2% of the reconstruction contracts to Iraqi companies.

In one example of blatant fraud, an audit found that Halliburton was charging for more than 41,000 meals a day for soldiers when only about 14,000 were served.

By the fall of 2003, the country was realizing that the rational for war was based on lies and that the only ones drawing any benefits were the profiteers. So when Bush asked Congress for another $20 billion for the CPA, Bremer was summoned to Washington to explain where all the money was going and of course he testified in full stonewall mode.

Before the Appropriations Committee on September 22, 2003, Bremer said the CPA had detailed records of all its receipts and outlays that could be audited by Congress. But when he testified before the Armed Services Committee 3 days later he said the Office of Management and Budget was responsible for maintaining the CPA records and that Congress would have to go to the White House to access the records.

That arrogant assertion went over like a lead balloon with many members of Congress. Senator Robert Byrd said he was outraged over the inability to monitor CPA spending. "There is no reason why any arm of the executive branch charged with making such significant spending decisions," he said, "should not be working directly with Congress."

"When we're talking about handing over another $20 billion to the CPA," he said, "there is a real need for Congress to confirm that the CPA has its finances in order and that it is managing the taxpayer's money responsibly."

"We don't even know how much of the $20 billion," Byrd said, "will flow to government contractors in Iraq."

"Whatever the amount is," he noted, "we know that the size and scope of the profits being made will be enormous."

"Former Bush Administration officials," he warned fellow Senators, "are even setting up consulting firms to act as middlemen for contractors hoping to take part in the bonanza."

"Are we turning the U.S. Treasury into a grab bag for favorite campaign contributors to be financed at taxpayer expense?" he asked.

The answer was yes, and what a grab bag it was. Media reports revealed that Bush's ex-campaign manager and Feith's former law partner had set up consulting firms to profit off the war by lining up contracts for clients through their partners in crime within the CPA.

Other reports revealed that contracts worth $407 were awarded to a firm called Nour that was formed less than 2 months after the war began. The names linked to the profits from Nour, among many others, included former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, Ahmad Chalabi via a $2 million kickback, his nephew Salam Chalabi as the attorney handling the deal, and the money trail even led to the First Brothers, Marvin and Jeb Bush.

But come to find out, Doug Feith the ringleader on the ground in Washington, had awarded a batch of no-bid contracts to a favored company the month before the war began for the purpose of controlling the media in post-war Iraq.

In October 2003, the Center for Public Integrity obtained copies of 7 contracts awarded to the San Diego-based Science Applications. The total value of the contracts was redacted but the Center was able to determine that they were all awarded in February 2003, and called for the work to be directed by Feith.

However, the Center's most stunning discovery was that when the contracts were awarded, Feith's top deputy at the time, Christopher "Ryan" Henry, had been a senior vice president at SAIC until October 2002.

In addition, one of SAIC's board members was Army General, Wayne Downing, who ran counterterrorism in the Bush administration for almost a year after 9/11, and had even went to the CIA with Cheney to discuss intelligence on Iraq. Downing had also served as an advisor to Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress, and was well-known advocate for a war against Saddam.

Some of the SAIC contracts required that specific persons referred to as "executive management consultants" be hired and the pay range listed went as high as $209 and $273 per hour. The Center said congressional sources estimated the value of the media contract as $38 million for the first year and as high $90 million in 2004.

The SAIC had no special expertise to justify the award of these contracts. One company executive, quoted in the media, said the firm's only credential for setting up an independent media, supposedly modeled after the BBC, was military work in "informational warfare"-signal jamming, "perception management," and the like.

Under these contracts, the Iraq Media Network (IMN) was established and journalist, Mark North, who covered the Iraq invasion for National Public Radio, was hired to train Iraqi journalists to report for the IMN.

In one of the many Congressional hearings, North testified about the control of the IMN by the CPA and said CPA officials regularly directed and censored the activities of the news station and provided "a laundry list of CPA activities" to cover in the news reports instead of stories about security or the lack of electricity and jobs

While testifying, he also described the CPA's shabby treatment of Iraqi employees and its refusal to pay their wages. "For the first two months," North said, "the local staff of about 200 journalists and technicians were not paid their salaries."

When the staffers went on strike in attempt to get paid, he said, the CPA told the Iraqis to get back to work or the US Army would remove them from the studios.

All total, the CPA had control of Iraqi money for one year between June 2003 and June 2004, but unfortunately no auditors arrived to take a look at the agency's spending until April 2004, two months before the CPA's rule was scheduled to end.

And as so often happens when it comes to giving solid advice or warnings, the senior Senator from Virginia was absolutely right. It was far too late for audits, because the CPA and its gang of profiteers had already robbed the Iraqis blind.

The favored companies enjoyed a fraud-free-all. For instance, Halliburton said it had lost over $60 million worth of government property including trucks, office furniture and computers. Inspector Bowen reported that 6,975 items valued at $61.1 million were lost, and in June 2005, the Defense Contract Audit Agency reported that the Halliburton had overcharged or presented questionable bills for close to $1.5 billion.

In the end, Bowen's audit concluded that "the CPA's internal controls for approximately $8.8 billion in DFI funds disbursed to Iraqi ministries through the national budget process failed to provide sufficient accountability for the use of those funds."

As of February 2007, according to Bowen, audits of the CPA have resulted in 300 criminal and civil investigations, 5 arrests and convictions, and another 23 cases are currently under prosecution at the DOJ, and he is working on 76 on-going investigations.

One of the convictions involved Robert Stein, a former CPA comptroller and funding officer, who recently pleaded guilty to 5 felony counts including conspiracy, money laundering, and bribery in stealing more than $2 million of reconstruction funds and taking more than $1 million in kickbacks to rig the bids on contracts that exceeded $8 million.

The whistleblower case against Custer Battle went to trial and a jury found that Custer had committed 37 acts of fraud and filed $3 million in false claims, and rendered a verdict with a $10 million penalty. However, the verdict was overturned by Republican appointed US District Court Judge TS Ellis III, who ruled that the CPA was not a US entity and therefore the false claims act does not apply to it.

In the ruling, the judge said Custer's accusers "failed to prove that the U.S. government was ever defrauded. Any fraud that occurred was perpetrated instead against the Coalition Provisional Authority, formed to run Iraq until a government was established."

Legal experts say this ruling is great news for the CPA and contractors because from now on anyone charged with any act of fraud related to the Iraqi money doled out by the CPA in Bagdad will use it in attempt to avoid civil or criminal prosecution.

EVELYN PRINGLE=Alex Jones in a skirt and high heels.

Have a good one!:s4:

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

EVELYN PRINGLE=Alex Jones in a skirt and high heels.

Have a good one!:s4:

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lol:thumbsup:

P4B so your saying that this article is bullshit?None of what she wrote is lies its all fact but hey its not my money thats been wasted its yours so who is laughing now lol

Find me a news source that isn't Liberals R Us and I'll put more faith in it.:D

Have a good one!:s4:

Yeah but facts are facts no matter what the source,you guys are getting fleeced by Bush and his buddies to bad more Americans cant see that,doesnt it bother you that these guys are making millions of dollars at your expense it would bother me.

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Yeah but facts are facts no matter what the source,you guys are getting fleeced by Bush and his buddies to bad more Americans cant see that,doesnt it bother you that these guys are making millions of dollars at your expense it would bother me.

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ALOT of people have made millions and many more will make millions.....;) Where's eg........LMAO!

Have a good one!:s4:

Yeah but these guys are thieves stealing money from American tax payers,money that could go to schools,roads whatever.

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Yeah but these guys are thieves stealing money from American tax payers,money that could go to schools,roads whatever.

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There will be plenty of tax dollars not to mention hard capitol for all that in the near future.;) Hell, between 3 people I know, we're looking at tax revenue in excess of 2 million.

Have a good one!:s4:

2 million from what?weed?

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

2 million from what?weed?

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Capitol gains tax.............15%. Oh how eg would love this.........:D

Have a good one!:s4:

Well at least someone is benifiting from this war it sure isnt the Iraqi people that you choose to invade.

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Well at least someone is benifiting from this war it sure isnt the Iraqi people that you choose to invade.

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They will be with the new oil law. The average Iraqi household income is now $1,500/yr. The new oil law has a provision like in Alaska where all Iraqi citizens will receive an annual check starting at $3,500. Money talks, bullshit walks..........they won't have much time for insurgency with a pocket full of change. Something that Saddam and sons never did. MOST of the people will be yippy skippy!

Have a good one!:s4:

1932 Currency unit consisting of 1,000 fils or 20 dirhams. When officially introduced at the end of the British mandate (1932), the Iraqi dinar was equal to, and was linked to, the British pound sterling, which at that time was equal to US$4.86.

1932â??1949
1949â??1971 Iraqi dinar (ID) equaled US$4.86 between 1932 and 1949 and after devaluation in 1949, equaled US$2.80 between 1949 and 1971.

1959â??1967 Iraq officially uncoupled the Iraqi Dinar from the pound sterling as a gesture of independence in 1959, but the Iraqi dinar remained at parity with the pound until the British unit of currency was again devalued in 1967.

1971 One Iraqi dinar remained equal to US$2.80 until December 1971, when major realignments of world currencies began.

1973 Upon the devaluation of the United States dollar in 1973, the Iraqi Dinar appreciated to US$3.39.

1980 It remained at this level until the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980.

1982 In 1982 Iraq devalued the dinar by 5 percent, to a value equal to US$3.22, and sustained this official exchange rate without additional devaluation despite mounting debt.

1988 In early 1988, the official dinar-dollar exchange rate was still Iraqi dinar (ID)1 to US$3.22; however, with estimates of the nationâ??s inflation rate ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent per year in 1985 and 1986, the dinarâ??s real transaction value, or black market exchange rate, was far lower-only about half the 1986 official rate.

1986â??2003 1986â??2003 between .33 cents to 1.32 to a dollar.

2001 Oil-production: 2.452 million bbl/day (2001 est.); note â?? production was disrupted as a result of the March-April 2003 war (2001 est.)

2002 GDP: purchasing power parity â?? $58 billion (2002 est.)

2002 Exportsâ??partners:US 40.9%, Canada 8.2%, France 8.2%, Jordan 7.5%, Netherlands 6.4%, Italy 5.4%, Morocco 4.7%, Spain 4.4% (2002)

2003 In october 2003, the official Dinar-dollar exchange rate was ID1 to US$0.00027.

2004â??2005 August 2004 till 2005, the official dinar-dollar exchange rate is ID1 to US$0.00068. Population: 25,374,691 (July 2004 est.)

2006 As of Jan 1st 2006, the official Iraqi dinar-US dollar exchange rate is ID1 to US$$0.00067.

Have a good one!:s4:

The new oil law gives their oil to American oil corporations and what they get .01 percent of royalties boy how nice of u guys.You steal their oil and give them a small percentage back just to shut them up.Well at least that 3500 dollars can buy a ticket out of Iraq.

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

The new oil law gives their oil to American oil corporations and what they get .01 percent of royalties boy how nice of u guys.You steal their oil and give them a small percentage back just to shut them up.Well at least that 3500 dollars can buy a ticket out of Iraq.

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1%??? LOL....they start off with 25% until the investment is paid off then they receive 80% of ALL revenue after that. This ONLY pertains to new investment.......current rigs, etc. is already under contract where they receive somewhere between 80%-90% of gross profit.

Have a good one!:s4:

Where did u get this info from?Smells like bullshit to me.

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Where did u get this info from?Smells like bullshit to me.

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Do a google search or look through the forum here.....I know it's been posted and also has a thread dedicated to it. No smell dude, just the facts:thumbsup: .......fair and balanced!:D

Have a good one!:s4:

Yeah just like FOX LOL

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Yeah just like FOX LOL

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Sounds like a clusterfuck with the Iraqis on the bottom. Maybe I should buy some Iraqi dinars, I could probably afford a couple a thousand.

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Originally Posted by medicinal

Sounds like a clusterfuck with the Iraqis on the bottom. Maybe I should buy some Iraqi dinars, I could probably afford a couple a thousand.

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Political first : Zubaidi reveals plans for the operation of tens of thousands of unemployed
29.04.07

Last part of article......

The three zeroes of the Iraqi dinar

In morning that the question of Iraq's debt write-off will contribute to the strengthening of the value of the Iraqi dinar?

The statement said Mr. Zubaidi. The value of the Iraqi dinar is related to the monetary policy and the political responsibility of the Iraqi Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance responsible for fiscal policy.

He added, but I proposed to Mr. Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Sinan Shabibi need to raise the value of the Iraqi dinar and return to normal through the raising of three zeroes him!

Voadeni governor well in the expanded meeting would be held next month to study the proposal by experts in this area of the Iraqi Central Bank, Ministry of Finance and the Commercial Bank to the effect that the proponents get equal value of the Iraqi dinar to the American dollar and this goal we will strive to achieve that, God willing, during the four years of the new government the Iraqi dinar was so weak, towering among other currencies.
Translated version of http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=25731

This is all part of the "economic plan" that is discussed on the news not to mention it's also linked to debt forgiveness from the Arab block countries. I currently have 5 million stashed in a safety deposit box.:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:s4:

5 mill shit you might be able to fill up your car with gas in Iraq if the pumps arnt empty that is

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

5 mill shit you might be able to fill up your car with gas in Iraq if the pumps arnt empty that is

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Even in Iraqi standards at the present that would be living pretty fat.....

For $2.1 million, the palatial estate on Abbassi Real Estate's website seems to offer everything a buyer could want.

Included in the price are eight bedrooms, marbled baths with gold-plated taps, an indoor swimming pool and a spacious lot in a swanky neighborhood of a bustling metropolis.
Selling the High Life in Iraq -

Have a good one!:s4:

A bustling metropolis lol ok im sold where do i sign.Does your own personnel army come with the house?

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

A bustling metropolis lol ok im sold where do i sign.Does your own personnel army come with the house?

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LMAO!!! You don't need security, your from Canada...........everybody in the world loves Canada.

Have a good one!:s4:

Yeah im sure the guys who kidnapp me will just be charmed by my canuck accent and let me go.

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Originally Posted by fishman3811

Yeah im sure the guys who kidnapp me will just be charmed by my canuck accent and let me go.

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Hey, like what has been stated in here: Just tell them your from Canada, you feel that the entire war was wrong.......hell, I'm SURE that the peaceful Muslims will embrace ya with open arms.:D

Have a good one!:s4:

lol what the hell have u been smoking some afghanistan hash?Not many Canadians in Iraq anyway.There was one who belonged to a peace organization a couple years ago and got kidnapped.He was released one or two months later after some negotiations.Nobody is safe in Iraq unless your John McCain of course.Anyway for 2.1 mill i could buy a nice estate in Darfur and be alot safer.

Darfur??? LOL....I don't think so.

How about a nice place in the Kurdish area?

Kurdistan's Minister of Housing and Reconstruction, Imad Ahmed, said his ministry will adopt a new policy to encourage investment in the housing sector which includes higher loans for housing projects, financial grants for government employees seeking to build their own homes and providing government subsidies for reconstruction materials.
New policy aims to encourage housing sector investment in Kurdistan

Have a good one!:s4:

Kurdish area yeah but i dont like goat cheese and the Kurdish women dont shave their kinda like the french in that aspect.