People, how is it that if we just threw out the government and rewrote the consitution that there is a "law on the books' from the 1970's?

Corruption is rampant throughout the Middle East and probably will never end. This is another sign that the Iraqi government is ignoring American advise and doing what they want. Maliki is pretty much worthless as a prime minister as he presents an obstacle to the country moving forward. The American govt will have to realize this and not provide any extra money that will end up being misused. Time to get out before we end up losing billions more dollars!

This drives me nuts. Our money is being thrown away.

Let's stop this game and bring our people home from Iraq. We will not succeed with a corrupt government and an Iraqi security force with diverse allegiances.

It's interesting that for so many of these Iraq corruption/political malfeasance stories you can simply substitute the United States or some political entity in the U.S. and the story is a match. The primary difference is, in the United States our political and business "leaders" have mastered and refined the art of corruption at a very high level, shrouding it in obfuscation.

Allowing so many of our people to live and die in Iraq for this sort of nonsense is what some consider to be supporting our troops???
Good reporting ABC/Blotter!

Finding corrupt government in any country surprises anyone? In Europe, as in Asia, it's accepted and understood that there is always going to be a certain amount of corruption in your governmental system. I am dismayed that even in this country people are shocked to find pocket stuffers elected to office. Look in your own back yard America. It's just people doing as people do. Only this time it's ever there and they're doing it with your/our money.

This is Iraqs democracy at work. A west friendly dictatorship would have been a better option both for the people of Iraq and for the US. Introducing democracy in Iraq is to invite people with no loyalty to the west in. People who know they have a limited time to secure financial assets and power. It's in their self interest to cause as much corruption as is humanly possible. If they can get the US out they have succeeded and they will end the democracy experiment pretty soon after.

The corruption in the Iraqi Government is mearly an extension of the kind of Governments that have existed in that region of the world for thousands of years. Democracy is an abarition to those people and always will be. I supported the war in the beginning, but now that they have had every chance to better themselves and still refuse to be civil, I believe we need to just get out and let them destroy themselves. The rest of the world may have to go in there and really defeat them some day, but this kind of piece-meal approach is not helping. It's mearly throwing away blood and money for nothing.

Looks like the Iraqi have taken a page out of the Republican playbook...

Democracy cannot be imposed - it has to be chosen. The US has tried to impose the type of government that it wants, in so many spots around the world, for decades and look at the mess it has now created.

If they cant bother to track, prosecute, and name the criminals, then we cant bother to pay for it.

Welcome to the current form of American democracy. You got to choose who is going to steal from you, sorta.

Where is the oversite and accountability? Or did someone already imbezzle those?

I can't believet hat we are sending our children over there to die so that the Iraqi govermnent can line their pockets. When are we going to face the facts that Iraqi people are not ready for democracy, but they are ready for every man for himself at our expense!

With all that wasted money we could have built a giant protective bubble over the US....

hmm..I guess a govt that is formed out of corruption will always be corrupt.

Silly question at the end..."Should the US intervene in corruption in Iraq?".

Intervene, you say!!! WHAT?!?! The American people are still trying to find out what happened to $12 Billion in cash that was 'supposedly' sent to Iraq for 'reconstruction'. We could contract this oversight function out to Halliburton or Blackstone so they can tell us how much they stole and how much went to Iraqi pols. GET IT???

Considering it was us that created the regime change and have spoon fed the Iraqis the current government they've "selected", this under handedness isn't all that surprising.
After all, "the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree".

Okay, so due to Iraq corruption AND Halliburton & Company corruption totalling billions and billions... exactly how much money has been stolen out of EACH and EVERY patriotic American in support of the George & Dick disaster?

They seem to be taking lessons directly from the Bush administration. I wonder if they are also losing important documents and refusing to comply with subpoenas, like most Bush appointees seems to be doing right now.

The Iraqi officials have had good teachers for the past several years. If we knew half of what was going on here in our government, we would stop worrying about Iraq, bring our kids home, and let that bunch of crooks in Iraq fend for themselves. Making crooked money on kickbacks is probably why they want the war to continue also.

Ron N.

Why did the US military load $12 BILLION in freshly printed CASH and fly it to Iraq to be distributed without any oversight? You don't believe that really happened do you?