Bribes are just part of doing ‘bidness’ in Iraq..or An officer and a bribery suspect.
August 31st, 2007 | by Dusty | Published in Corruption in Govt, Iraq War, Politics | 2 Comments
Well, this really isn’t a surprise right? What probably IS a surprise is who is taking them. From the NYT article:
Court documents filed in the case say the Army took action because the company was suspected of paying hundreds of thousands in bribes to Army officers to secure contracts to build, operate and maintain warehouses in Iraq that stored weapons, uniforms, vehicles and other matériel for Iraqi forces in 2004 and 2005.
What really pisses me off, more than the bribes is the fact that the military mofo’s are high-ranked folks..like the major that blew her brains out when the shit hit the fan. Again from the NYT writeup:
One of the officers, Maj. Gloria D. Davis, a contracting official in Kuwait, shot and killed herself in Baghdad in December 2006. Government officials say the suicide occurred a day after she admitted to an Army investigator that she had accepted at least $225,000 in bribes from the company. The United States has begun proceedings to seize Major Davis’s assets, a move her heirs are contesting.
Sweet Jesus..her ‘heirs’ are contesting..guess they don’t mind a lil blood money? And she accepted a considerable amount less than a million. A small time Randy Duke Cunningham as it were. One of the bribe-taking bags of batshit worked under AND closely with Petraeus for the love of God. I should mention that there so far isn’t a link to Petraeus personally, just a fuckwit major or two that worked ‘closely’ with him.
So far, the Major(with the mostest) that is leading in the bribery department is this guy: “Last week, Maj. John Cockerham, a former Army contracting officer in Kuwait, and his wife and his sister were indicted on charges that they accepted up to $9.6 million in bribes for defense contracts in Iraq and Kuwait.”
But when you add up how many of these fuckwits are lining their pockets..its quite a pile o’ cash don’t ya know? But I really do not want you, the reader to go away bummed out at the massive fraud taking place..check out THIS part which warmed the cockles of my lil black heart:
The Army has suspended 22 companies and individuals, at least temporarily, from pursuing government work because of contract fraud investigations in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, an Army spokesman said Thursday. A total of 18 companies and individuals are barred for a definite period from government work. Seven more face debarment.
That..is..fucking..awesome. But the problem is..the companies get..ahem..due process. Unlike our terrorists at Gimo, the companies can drag this shit out for years..and brotha’s and sista’s they do it!
Tags:
Corruption, Military corruption, Reconstruction bribery
Sphere: Related Content
August 31st, 2007at 1:13 pm(#)
That Republicard was just too awesome! I’m still laughing! I think the greed goes all the way to the top. They don’t want to see this gravy train end at all. The longer it goes the merrier for the bank accounts. Too much at stake to stop the war now. What’s a few thousand soldier’s deaths compared to the money they can put in a Swiss bank account.
September 1st, 2007at 9:47 am(#)
A North Carolina man who was charged yesterday with accepting kickbacks and bribes as a comptroller and financial officer for the American occupation authority in Iraq was hired despite having served prison time for felony fraud in the 1990’s.
The job gave the man, Robert J. Stein, control over $82 million in cash earmarked for Iraqi rebuilding projects.
Along with a web of other conspirators who have not yet been named, Mr. Stein and his wife received “bribes, kickbacks and gratuities amounting to at least $200,000 per month” to steer lucrative construction contracts to companies run by another American, Philip H. Bloom, an affidavit outlining the criminal complaint says. Mr. Stein’s wife, who was not named, has not been charged with wrongdoing in the case; Mr. Bloom was charged with a range of crimes on Wednesday.