CORRUPTION PROBE HALTS REBUILDING IRAQI CITY WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS

It is isn't bad enough the Iraq war has cost the U.S. taxpayer over 3 TRILLION dollars, but now there are more and more reports coming out showing all kinds of corruption with the rebuilding of Iraqi cities we destroyed and a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.

Once again, the media in the United States plays CYA for the Bush administration and reports such as the one below get little or no attention in the mainstream media.

This is YOUR MONEY folks and it is being squandered in Iraq while our bridges and highways are in terrible shape, schools need renovation and we have a medical system that has left 47 MILLION Americans without any health care.

And on top of the total mess we have created in Iraq with our invasion and occupation, the Bush administration is rattling the sabre and threatening to come to the defense of Israel if Israel decides to attack Iran.

If you think gas prices are high now, just wait until you see what happens if we end up going to war with IRAN.

COMMENTARY BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Probe halts rebuilding of Iraqi city
Mayor, police chief investigated in scam to sell stored oil on black market
The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25287847/

FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S.-funded reconstruction in a one-time Sunni insurgent stronghold has been suspended because of a corruption probe, including allegations that the mayor and police chief were involved in a multimillion-dollar oil smuggling ring, The Associated Press has learned.
The problems in Hit, a dusty, ramshackle western town along the Euphrates River, provide a glimpse of the challenges in rebuilding a country where years of war and misrule have destroyed the social fabric.

Reconstruction is a key part of the U.S. military strategy against both Sunni and Shiite extremists, but many projects have long been dogged by mismanagement and allegations of corruption.

The U.S. government suspended its efforts in Hit this month after the police chief, Col. Salah Rasheed al-Gaoud, was fired for his alleged role in the scheme, U.S. and Iraqi officials familiar with the investigation told the AP.

Officials also confirmed that the mayor, Hikmat Jubair al-Gaoud, was under investigation. Marine Lt. Col. Chris Hughes, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Anbar province, said the mayor's current whereabouts were unknown and that it was unclear whether he fled the country.

But a man identifying himself as the mayor told the AP when contacted on al-Gaoud's mobile phone that he was still in Hit and "still in my job as the mayor."
"There is a committee that it is investigating the case of stealing oil and its work has not finished yet," he said Thursday.

Among the reconstruction projects that have been suspended are repairs to the town's dilapidated infrastructure, including street repairs, sewerage upgrade and school construction.
U.S. military officials said reconstruction projects in Hit would remain on hold during the investigation, which Iraqis said was being conducted by the Ministry of Interior.

Click on link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25287847/ to read full account.