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February 05, 2009 10:30 AM UTC

Time for an Independent IG for Iraq

1 Comments
by: Barron X

.

In 2004, when Americans were clamoring for some accountability in Iraq,

President Bush acquiesced and appointed a Special IG for Iraqi Reconstruction to look into the various aspects of the occupation that were susceptible to abuse or corruption.

He didn’t have to look too far to find someone who he thought would be the best fit for the task.

For an independent Inspector General who would follow the facts wherever they led,

and root our corruption, regardless of whose ox was gored,

he selected an attorney who was already working for him in the White House, Stuart Bowen. A political appointee and GOP partisan hack.

………

In 5 years the SIGIR has really broken a lot of new ground:

***** This IG determined that Halliburton was doing a great job. When payments were delayed because work wasn’t done correctly, or done at all, Mr. Bowen interceded to get them paid.

***** The SIGIR did a special report in February 2006 on lessons learned in human capital management. Remember how the Coalition Provisional Authority was staffed with a bunch of college Republicans who had sent resumes to the Heritage Foundation, or something like that ?

Mr. Bowen determined that having a bunch of 23-year-olds, many of them ultra-Zionists with zero experience, zero knowledge and zero interest in Arabs generally, but who were committed GOP partisans, was the best way to staff the organization that ran the hostile foreign occupation of a defeated enemy. He decided that it was the smartest course of action, rather than, say, filling these civil service jobs through competitive procedures. Lucky for them, these jobs paid about five times as much as these children and siblings of GOP leaders could have made in the private sector, or in competitive civil service. And there were no consequences for failure.

If you’re looking for the #1 reason why it took over 4 years to get a competent staff in Iraq, here it is.

***** The SIGIR did a special report in July 2006 on contract management. Mr. Bowen and his staff failed to notice that, for the first 18 months, the Joint Contracting Command – Iraq didn’t keep any files for several multi-million dollar contracts, had no documentation of what the contracts were for, or whether the work was performed, or how much the contractors were paid.

Mr. Bowen didn’t notice that the contracting office was run by a contractor, CACI, who was the main contractor involved in abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib.

It gets worse.

.

.

Earlier this week, SIGIR issued another Special Report: Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience.

Mr. Bowen found that problems with the reconstruction effort, and the pacification of Iraqis who didn’t want to be governed by Americans, were the fault of the Iraqis.

He found that the “Surge” was a success. I don’t see how that is for him to say, but say it he did.

He also reported that only 95,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war.

(hat tip to David Schuster, sitting in for Keith Olberman on Countdown with Keith Olberman.)

Guess where that number comes from ?

The web site www.iraqbodycount.org

That web site does not claim that the number represents the total number of Iraqis who died as a result of our invasion.

That is just the number that can be confirmed with two or more Western news organizations.

If AFP didn’t report a death, does that mean it didn’t happen ? It does to Mr. Bowen.

……….

If I believed that Mr. Bowen was doing the best he could, I wouldn’t be so harsh. But he is using the IG job to whitewash the abortion that the Bush/ Cheney/ Rumsfeld team has made of Iraq.

President Obama,

if you’re reading this,

this charade needs to end.

You could pick a random tourist waiting in line to visit the Washington Monument and get a more independent person for that crucial position.

………..

While you’re at it,

in November 2006, Secretary of State Rice’s top advisor on Iraq, Ambassador David M. Satterfield, quashed the initiative to create a US Commission on Civilian Losses in Iraq.

Something like this is needed to show that the USA does not hate Iraqis, and regrets the losses they have suffered. It would be like the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.

This Commission would not conduct investigations, nor admit culpability, nor pay reparations. Mostly it would just allow people to tell of their losses, and have a US representative listen.

Its about showing respect for lost family members, and lost homes, and shattered lives.

Unless we do something like this, the Iraqis will come to hate us. In their culture, hate and revenge are passed on to succeeding generations.

I’m not worried so much about religious fanatics; the al-Qaeda “threat” is mostly (90% ?) just a tool of fear-mongers.

But the idea that 5 million or more Iraqis will be required by their culture and values to seek vengeance against the US is pretty scary.

Ambassador Satterfield has proven to be a bonehead on just about every aspect of the Iraq adventure.

Mr. President,

could you replace him with someone who has a better understanding of Iraq – and of the USA, and of who we are as a country ?

I think its un-American to refuse to give respect or dignity to Iraqis killed or maimed by our military actions, just to try to protect the reputation of one retired politician.

I’m not suggesting that we apologize for killing Resistance Fighters who attacked our troops, or the few terrorists who also attacked us.

I’m talking about recognition for the hundreds of thousands who sustained “collateral damage” and other fallout.

.

One thought on “Time for an Independent IG for Iraq”

Sir Robin says:

February 6, 2009 at 3:13 am

Incompetence has spread like a virus through nearly every department under Bush. The consequences have been real, deadly, and the backlash will not quell violence or make terrorism less dangerous, quite the opposite. How dumb can people be? Here we have a sad answer.

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Time for an Independent IG for Iraq

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