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Audit Shows Billions Unaccounted for in Iraq

Posted May 23, 08 11:20 AM CDT in US 

(Newser) – A Pentagon audit of $8.2 billion in taxpayer money spent in Iraq found that nearly all of the handouts skirted federal rules, and millions of dollars in contracts were awarded with little or no record of what they were for, reports the New York Times. Take the $320.8 million that was issued to 1,000 Iraqis for "Iraqi Salary Payment"—$320,800 a head—with no explanation of what they were compensated for.

Another voucher cited an $11.1 million payment to IAP, an American contractor, with no specification of services. “We were giving or providing a payment without any basis for the payment," said the Pentagon’s deputy inspector general for auditing. The audit, released yesterday as part of a congressional hearing, is the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged the misuse of funds on a large scale, the Times reports.

Source New York Times

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Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell speaks during a news conference, Friday, May 9, 2008, at the Pentagon in Washington.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell speaks during a news conference, Friday, May 9, 2008, at the Pentagon in Washington.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
US soldiers of 4th Infantry Division, 42nd Field Artillery, search a house as they patrol at Sheik Marouf neighborhood, Karkh district , Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday, May 23, 2008.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A US soldier of 4th Infantry Division, 42nd Field Artillery, patrols at Sheik Marouf neighborhood, Karkh district , Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday, May 23, 2008.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
An Iraqi soldier stands guard in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
An Iraqi woman walks on a street as U.S. soldiers of 4th Infantry Division, 42nd Field Artillery secure the area in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday, May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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Iraq war  • US military  • Pentagon  • Iraq war spending  • contractors  • Iraq contractors  • audit


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