Where is Iraqi’s money — 17 billion dollars?
On June 19, 2011 a piece of news reported by Wvandamme disclosed that “17 billion dollars stolen under US occupation and Iraq can’t sue the US.” Iraq’s parliament therefore sent a fifty pages letter to the U.N. office in Baghdad asked for help. They consider the disappearance of the money a “financial crime”. and worry that “U.N. Security Council resolutions prevent Iraq from making a claim against the United States”. Such big news was not in the top headline of news networks in the United States.
The 17 billion dollars fund was supposed to pay for the salaries and pensions of Iraqi workers and for reconstruction projects. It comes from the sale of Iraqi oil, surplus funds from the UN “oil for food program” and seized Iraqi assets. It was handled by the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI). DFI was established in 2003 at the requests of CPA, the U.S body headed by Paul Bremer that governed Iraq after the invasion. No one on the Iraqi side was controlling the work of Paul Bremer at that time. That is why Iraq’s parliament believed that “the administration of the United States needs to give the answers for where and how this money was being used.” In July of 2010, an audit report from the U.S Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) confirmed that U.S Department of Defense was unable to account properly for 8.7 million dollars of Iraqi oil and gas money after the 2003 invasion.
It is obvious that for having chances to be corrupt with money some parties were launching wars in spite of sending thousands of people (Americans and Iraqis) to die. In this case it was not a simple corruption. It is involved with killing. We have to make a serious investigation about that and start it from questioning Paul Bremer. We have to chase it step by step: Who kept the money in the beginning, who received the money later and how did they spend it? To those refuse to cooperate we will put them into jails and freez their assets. The harm they did to the Americans are not less than what the terrorists done for they detroy Americans’ reputation.
Please don’t tell me that we are going to ignore Iraq’s requesting the money (from the way that our news networks handle the news it looks like we will). Please don’t tell us that our government is unable to track down the money. After Bin Laden was killed Obama said “Americans can do whatever we set our mind to.” The Parliament of Iraq announces their request in front of the whole world and people are waiting for our answer. We have to prove to the world that we are not robbers and we only fight for justice and freedom (at least that is our motivation but nothing else). Ignoring their letter means we are crooks and robbers. All these years we tell the entire world why and how America fights for democracy, freedom, justice and peace…… When we make that kind of robbery we make people laugh at our face. Oh! How great America is!
