Bush announces escalation in 'war on kleptocracy' [View All]

[deminks]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060810/pl_afp/uscorruption_060810200710

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush announced an escalation of his government's fight against "kleptocracy" -- high level corruption by senior officials which he said is robbing the people of many poor nations of their future.

"For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance and bred criminality and mistrust around the world," Bush said in a statement launching a "national strategy" for fighting corruption.

"High-level corruption by senior government officials, or kleptocracy, is a grave and corrosive abuse of power and represents the most invidious type of public corruption," he said.

The new initiative centers on the creation of an inter-agency team involving the State Department, Department of Justice and the US Treasury to track and prosecute high level corruption and recover ill-gotten gains, said Josette Sheeran Shiner, an under-secretary of state for economic and business affairs.

Shiner said the aim was to pool together all the resources in the US government "to make sure we're applying a full tool box in the fight against high level corruption."

(end snip) I am speechless at the moment. The irony is stunning, really.