Damn

I totally missed the boat on this one..

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States handed out nearly $20 billion of Iraq's funds, with a rush to spend billions in the final days before transferring power to the Iraqis nearly a year ago, a report said on Tuesday.

One single shipment amounted to $2.4 billion -- the largest movement of cash in the bank's history, said Waxman.

Cash was loaded onto giant pallets for shipment by plane to Iraq, and paid out to contractors who carried it away in duffel bags.

The report, released at a House of Representatives committee hearing, said despite the huge amount of money, there was little U.S. scrutiny in how these assets were managed.

"The disbursement of these funds was characterized by significant waste, fraud and abuse," said Waxman.

Contractors were told to turn up with big duffel bags to pick up their payments and some were paid from the back of pick-up trucks.

One picture shows grinning CPA officials standing in front of a pile of cash said to be worth $2 million to be paid to a security contractor.

Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, a Republican, said the photograph disturbed him. "It looks a little loose to me," he said, of the smiling officials.

"I share your concern," said Bowen.

All told, some 9 Billion, that's BILLION with a B is missing.. They have NO idea where it went.

Who knew they were just giving away palletes of cash?

The whole Iraqi adventure has been the biggest cluster fuck in modern times. The thing that gets me is how brazen the Republicans are in their greed, corruption, and total disregard for anything but their wealth. It just goes to show the power of words. Say "family values" and you can get away with anything.

It also goes to show how fucking stupid I am. Sure, I wouldn't mind being fabulously wealthy, but that isn't going to happen. I've long since realized I'm destined to be relatively poor (that's relative to Republican scum, but relatively rich to say, people living in Somalia).

I was in a car accident in '99, in which my car was totaled. The other insurance company bought me a new car and paid my small medical expenses. I didn't sue for a half million. I figured they compensated me for what I lost, which is what insurance is supposed to do.

I was out of work for a year and I didn't file for unemployment benefits. I figured that's like charity, and I work for the money I make.

But, then I'm just a fag liberal, right? I'm not an evangelical preacher, living in a 10,000 sq ft house, wearing $1500 suits. I'm not a Republican coin dealer who accidentally "loses" 12 million dollars of tax payer money in Ohio. I'm not a Halliburton "contractor" loading up crates of cash into the back of my SUV.

Integrity and honesty count for a lot, but it's hard to remember that sometimes when you read stories like this one.