Iraqi exile group may have violated rules barring it from lobbying

[Robbien]

BY WARREN P. STROBEL AND JONATHAN S. LANDAY

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - An Iraqi exile group may have violated restrictions against using taxpayer funds to lobby when it campaigned for U.S. action to oust Saddam Hussein, according to documents and U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

If the charge - which is the subject of an upcoming probe by Congress' General Accounting Office - is borne out, it means that U.S. taxpayers paid to have themselves persuaded that it was necessary to invade Iraq.

Officials of the Iraqi National Congress, which played a central role in building support for last year's invasion of Iraq, deny that the group crossed the line prohibiting lobbying, or that it broke any other rules. But officials at the State Department, which managed the INC's U.S. government grant, said they believe it did, despite what a senior official said were repeated warnings to the group to avoid lobbying "or even the appearance of same."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the government's dealings with the INC, a favorite of some Pentagon officials and advisers, remain highly controversial. State Department officials, along with many intelligence officers, have been longtime critics of the group and want to minimize the group's role in post-Saddam Iraq.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/8497281.htm

[htuttle]

1. "it means that US taxpayers paid to have themselves persuaded..."

"... that it was necessary to invade Iraq."

Ain't that the truth.

Isn't there an old Subgenius saying that goes, "People will pay to find out what they really think!"

[Lindsay]

2. How many investigations does this make?

Sheesh...you'd think something would stick sooner or later.

Bushonomics...stealing from the people, any way they can.