Crackdown on corrupt Iraq contracts yields record caseload

Where were the Tea Party folks when all of this was happening to the troops and our tax dollars were being ripped off? Where were the Republicans in office screaming about supporting the troops and the President as the Commander-in-Chief because we were at war? Where were the Democrats during all of this? Trying to hold hearings and get to the bottom of all of this while the GOP refused to allow them to hold hearings other than in basement rooms.

Crackdown on corrupt Iraq contracts yields record caseload

By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A federal crackdown on corruption involving U.S. contracts in Iraq produced a record number of criminal and administrative cases last month — including the largest bribery case.

The flurry of activity resulted from investigations overseen by a Justice Department task force set up last fall to target corruption in the $44.5 billion Iraq reconstruction program.

Corruption in Iraq — dubbed the "second insurgency" by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) — has been the target of numerous congressional hearings critical of the slow pace of prosecutions. Pentagon auditors have questioned $4 billion in contractors' bills for work in Iraq. So far, 29 people have been charged or convicted, seven in July.

"We're going to see some real results this year in many of the cases SIGIR has over at the Justice Department, as well as the work of this task force," said Stuart Bowen, the inspector general, in a phone interview from Baghdad.

Investigators accounted for four arrests in the last week of July alone, including those of Army Maj. John Cockerham, his wife and sister for allegedly taking $9.6 million in bribes. They have pleaded not guilty.
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Crackdown on corrupt Iraq contracts yields record caseload

All sides need to demand a full accounting of all the money and how they treated the troops.