**$20 BILLION** in Afghanistan, Iraq Contract Cash Goes to Unidentified Companies

[babylonsister]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004752.php

20 Billion in Afghanistan, Iraq Contract Cash Goes to Unidentified Companies
By Spencer Ackerman - November 20, 2007, 12:59PM

Ah, Iraq. The land of milk and honey for a defense contractor. Not that all those contractors have such high profiles. In fact, due to a clever bit of disclosure chicanery, some of them are completely unknown, even to budget watchdogs.

The Center for Public Integrity's brand-new report on Iraq contracting, Windfalls of War II, identifies at least $20 billion in contract money that has gone to non-U.S. companies that it cannot identify:

When the 2003 study was published, federal agencies did not comprehensively distinguish war contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan from other government contracts; therefore, Center researchers had to flush out these contracts one by one. Since then, however, most such contracts list Iraq or Afghanistan as their "place of performance," making the contracting process more transparent and the search for data—available from the General Service Administration's Federal Procurement Data System—more methodical.

But not all contracts for Iraq and Afghanistan are reported in this federal data system, including awards originating at one contracting agency in Baghdad, which reports only some aggregate totals for inclusion in the central database. Because the agency has so far refused to furnish these missing contracts, the Center is now seeking copies via Freedom of Information Act requests.

What would happen to you, do you think, if you couldn't account for, oh, $2,000 of your boss's money? And then pleaded that there was a glitch in the database you maintain to keep track of the cash?

[izzie]

1. Just think of the money he, Bush, has handed out to 'faith based' places

We never will find this money this group have spent. Just the money spent on his party travel in air force one would keep Maine going for a year I bet. He has been like the head of a third rate So. Am. country. Shame on him and us for every having put this group in office. Greed seems to have been their family values that will be what we are left with. Our grandchild can pay it off.

[babylonsister]

2. Shame on us for not demanding an accounting. I'm sick of hearing

how 'classified' everything is. We know they're incompetent; why would or should 'classified' ever be a valid reason?

[izzie]

3. More fun to do it in the dark I guess. I am even more shocked

at the people who think not telling all is good. It makes me think of this. I was married to a service man and really made my self one hated wife once. We were all sitting around talking and all these women did not know how much money they husbands made and I said well look it up it has to be public as they are govt. workers. All pay is listed and has to be public. You can buy a book on facts for 5 bucks. (well you could then buy it for 5 bucks. It seemed not one of those women knew that and it all got back to my husband that I let the cat out of the bag. I frankly did not know until then how little people knew about their govt. I guess I figured every one had had my govt. class in high school. Hours on how the govt. worked and I still wish I could recall it all.

[DeeDeeNY]

4. This doesn't include the 9 billion that disappeared?

Well, no wonder they need to ask for signing bonuses back from disabled soldiers!

:sarcasm: