Billions Squandered+Outright Fraud

[PatrickHenry]

Truthout.org is not exactly unbiased. Is there a source that is a little more objective?

Truthout reprints stories from the mainstream press, if you would bother to read the link, shield. I guess that's asking too much for a Republican, reading. Your forte is hyperbole and covering for the thieves in government that you elected.

[PatrickHenry]

Amen to the foresight of Mr Smedley Butler.

That's GENERAL Butler to you, boy... :)

[Zeebadee]

In April 2003, Andrew Natsios, the administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID), told Ted Koppel on ABC's Nightline that the cost to the American taxpayer for rebuilding Iraq would be "$1.7 billion".

"TED KOPPEL
(Off Camera) All right, this is the first. I mean, when you talk about 1.7, you're not suggesting that the rebuilding of Iraq is gonna be done for $1.7 billion?

ANDREW NATSIOS
Well, in terms of the American taxpayers contribution, I do, this is it for the US. The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other countries who have already made pledges, Britain, Germany, Norway, Japan, Canada, and Iraqi oil revenues, eventually in several years, when it's up and running and there's a new government that's been democratically elected, will finish the job with their own revenues. They're going to get in $20 billion a year in oil revenues. But the American part of this will be 1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on funding for this. " (http://www.fas.org/sgp/temp/natsios042303.html)

The transcript of that interview was posted on the AID web site until later in the year, when it suddenly disappeared.

The actual cost, according to the Congressional Research Service is more like $16 billion for 2005 alone, and that doesn't even cover any of the military costs of Bush's war.

"Of the $31 billion provided for foreign aid and diplomatic operations through
FY2005, some $24.4 billion or about 80% is for Iraq and $5.7 billion or 20% for
Afghanistan (see Table 4). Funding for reconstruction makes up one-half of the
funds for Afghanistan and two-thirds of the funds for Afghanistan"

"Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, CRS estimates that the Administration has
allocated a total of about $357 billion for military operations, reconstruction,
embassy costs, and various foreign aid programs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for
enhanced security at defense bases." (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf)

The lies and deceit of the Bush administration are exceeded only by it's ineptness and incompetence.

[Clarence]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/...q.halliburton/

Bush: If Halliburton overcharged the government, it will have to repay

"I appreciate the Pentagon looking out after the taxpayers money. They felt like there was an overcharge issue, they put the issue right out there on the table for everybody to see, and they're doing good work," Bush said.

"We're going to make sure that as we spend the money in Iraq, it's spent well and spent wisely. Their investigation will lay the facts out for everybody to see, and if there's an overcharge, like we think there is, we expect that money to be repaid," he said.

when will the money be put back? where will the money go?

[pubmanager]

The US government isn't really good with money, after all they did manage to 'misplace' $8.8 billion in the first 14 months of being in charge in Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5763483/
http://www.atsnn.com/story/80901.html

For a running total of the financial cost of the war go to:

http://nationalpriorities.org/index....per&Itemid=182