Iraq provides fertile ground for getting rich quick

The Commanders of the US military are unable to account for 96 per  cent of  9 billion dollars allocated for the restoration of the war ravaged Iraq. 8.7 billion dollars are still unaccounted for. It bears recalling that it is not the first time that such a huge amount of money cannot be found.

Meantime, the commanders say that it is not necessarily that the unaccounted for money has been lost or  stolen but that the Account Department has  forgotten the relevant papers on thebooks, but that it will take time and effort to retrieve the missing documents, perhaps more effort than is required to rebuilt Iraq, a country needing a reconstruction in almost everything, especially the infrastructure. Abbas Kunfud from the international Center of strategic studies has this to say on the state of Iraq.

Electricity is  available for one hour everyday  at a time when  the   temperature is between plus 51 and 52 degree Celsius; water mains have been completely destroyed and the touted American help to restore Iraq is a myth- at least the people for whom such assistance is meant- do not get it. There are more problems in the healthcare sector; there are many towns needing modern methods of treatment. Money is allocated for all these, but the people read about large amounts of money only in the papers, Kunfud says.

The bad situation extends beyond the healthcare sector and the infrastructure. The amount of money missing-8.7 billion dollars is mind bogging. Where is the money? Victor Litovkin, deputy Editor of  the Independent Military Review Journal had this to say about the missing money.

There have been several cases of corruption in Iraq. Firms working for the Pentagon have been implicated in corrupt practices and misuse of money. It is strange though that money meant for the military is misappropriated. Fighting is not confined to bombing and rocket strikes; it provides a fertile ground for personal enrichment by the top echelon of the army, said Litovkin.

Corruption in one form or another can be found in any country in the world, but it has been carried to the extreme in Iraq. The money voted for the rebuilding of Iraq by the  US Congress is not from the Federal budget, but from money realized  from the sale of Iraqi oil and gas. It is  an irony. Internal corruption can be curtailed or fought to a standstill-given the will, but, it becomes an uphill task when a strong state steals from a weak one.