Bozell Ignores Iraq War, Falsely Claims Clinton ‘Devastated’ The ‘Military Infrastructure’
Bozell Ignores Iraq War, Falsely Claims Clinton ‘Devastated’ The ‘Military Infrastructure’
In the Washington Post today, Brent Bozell, the president of the conservative Media Research Center, argues that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “may have the Beltway crowd in his corner, but grass-roots conservatives aren’t sold.” Claiming that McCain “is the one who arguably least qualifies as a Reagan conservative,” Bozell suggests ways that the Arizona senator can motivate the conservative movement.
But in making his argument, Bozell falsely claims that it was the Clinton administration, not the Bush administration, that created the current strains on the “military infrastructure“:
This is what conservatives call on him to do:
McCain must present a strategy to defeat the threat of radical Islam. He needs to call on the United States to rebuild its military infrastructure, so devastated by the Clinton administration.
Bozell’s attack on the Clinton administration is a common trope from conservatives. In January, when Rudy Giuliani made the claim during a New Hampshire debate, FactCheck.org noted that “most of the cutting to which” conservatives often refer “occurred during the administration of George H.W. Bush.”
Additionally, while Bozell is busy trying to blame Clinton, military leaders are saying that it is Bush and McCain’s war in Iraq that has stretched the Âmilitary “dangerously thin.” In a survey last month of “more than 3,400 current and retired officers, including more than 200 generals and admirals,” 60 percent said that “the military was weaker today than five years ago.”
In fact, Bush’s misguided policies have been so devastating to the military that Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey argues that it’s going to take “three to four years” and a “substantial amount of resources” for the Army to recover from the Iraq war.
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Keep trying to pass the buck. It only comes back a hundred fold on Bush’s back and legacy! ~Hussein Osiris~
March 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pmClaiming that McCain “is the one who arguably least qualifies as a Reagan conservative,â€
And that’s “bad” because ………………………….???????????
Ronnie Retard sucked ass ; I’m so tired of these Cancervatives , as well as the rest of the imbeciles that dot the GOP landscape , that continue to try and deify that pure piece of garbage……
March 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pmI think it’s safe to say at this point in time and after 7 years of Bush’s chicanery in Iraq:
“What military?”.
~Hussein Osiris~
March 9th, 2008 at 4:05 pmMcMetal: Are they speaking about Alzie Ronnie? Everyone was petrified that he’d answer the red phone late one night and get the buttons mixed up. I guess in comparison to this moron whom they rarely align themselves with, Alzie Ronnie may look pretty good right now.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:06 pmTime re-animate the rotting corpse of Ronnie Raygun, so these Neo-cons can get some relief from their chronic wet dreams.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:07 pmOh yeah,
~Hussein Zooey
March 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pmTypical right wing loser. He;s getting ready to spend the next 8 years sitting on the sideline whining and sniping.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:10 pmMcMetal: Are they speaking about Alzie Ronnie? Everyone was petrified that he’d answer the red phone late one night and get the buttons mixed up. I guess in comparison to this moron whom they rarely align themselves with, Alzie Ronnie may look pretty good right now.
Comment by osiris — March 9, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
Ronnie Retard was the start of the dumbing down of America . He was the forefather of an imbecile like Chimpy becoming president ; and a mindless little simp like McInsane even being a viable candidate……….
March 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pmBrent “Bimbo” Bozell is another Christianista, fascist, racist, Jesusmongering enemy of our democratic state.
He promotes the replacment of democracy with theocracy!!! His is an enemy of this government!!!! Arrest this bastard!!!!
March 9th, 2008 at 4:12 pmBrent Bozo(zell) is a typical Republican idiot. They dont’ have anything to run on so attack the opposition right. That’s it guys, the do nothing, stand for nothing party it attacking everyone but the idiot (Rumsfeld) who said, ‘we need a smaller, lighter, more mobil force’. Has Bozo forgotten that? Remember the statement: “We have enough troops in Iraq, if our commanders say they need for troops, we’ll send more”. But at the same time the Generals on the ground in Iraq (LTG Sanchez) was being told “Not to ask for more troops”. It was Rumsfeld under the direct supervision of Bush who made those statements and now they want to blame Bill Clinton for their mistakes.
Also remember, “We’ll stand down, when they stand up’? How soon the American people forget what happened during this war. Maybe our attention span isn’t that long, but I’ll eat my hat if they didn’t utter those words. And Bozo, I have tapes to prove it.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:13 pmGo back to watching TV, Redbeard!
Lord, I apologize for that ad hominem attack… (not that Larry the Cable Guy would know what ad hominem means)
March 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pmHe needs to call on the United States to rebuild its military infrastructure, so devastated by the Clinton administration.
Yeah, as opposed to the Bush presidency, that has boosted military moral, improved health care for servicemembers & veterans, and has not stretched the military by invading a country that was not a threat. Right? Right…?
/sarc off
Gotta love how reichwingers skip the Bush presidency as if it hadn’t happened. Methinks it’s another sign of their recognition that their Dear (mis)Leader has not been a good president at all…
March 9th, 2008 at 4:24 pmWho is this putrid-looking christofascist with the orange beard anyway?
March 9th, 2008 at 4:30 pm#12 Yeah….wouldn’t you? If you had a total pariah whose last rating was a paltry 19% among his OWN PEOPLE, wouldn’t you try to hide the embarrassing prig?
March 9th, 2008 at 4:31 pmTime for a new Bush poll I think. His number has to be nearing 10-12%. Hell, his own party is dissing him.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:31 pmGood thing for Mr. Bozell that his primary audience is a bunch of credulous, reprehensible dolts. Nowhere else would unadulterated BS such as that get a man a paycheck.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:33 pm/sarcasm
How can you trust a redhead? They are genetic mistakes. A TRUE minority!! They are 2/3rds human! The Constistution makes no room for redheads. That would be activist in nature!! Constitutional Orignal intent allows no rights for Redheads!!!! No right to free speech, etc.
How dare America tolerate the stupidity and laziness and shiftlessness of redheads everywhere. They are not a part of this country…they are Vikings!!
Can this redhead be lynched? Now?
/sarcasm off
March 9th, 2008 at 4:37 pmThe bags under those tired eyes don’t lie. That’s one tired propagandist.
~Hussein the OBGYN~
March 9th, 2008 at 4:43 pmOn the GOP Illinois loss:
One wonders if this is not a sign of the times for the GOP — Obama versus McCain.
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 03/ sign-of-times-for-gop.html#links
March 9th, 2008 at 4:44 pm.
McCain must present a strategy to defeat the threat of radical Islam. He needs to call on the United States to rebuild its military infrastructure, so devastated by the Clinton administration.
And of course the current CIC has done a bang up job at stratigizing against them TERRISTS…
And it seems to me that the current D!CK and his Bush have supported the troops, uplifted the spirits of the military and have continued to reshape the future of America’s future for the better?
WTF is this dude on, anyway.
CLENIS was so 20th Century.
If the current D!CK and BUSH haven’t managed to malign our military in the field, least we forget it wasn’t CLENIS that insisted that we go into war with the military we have, NOT the military we need.
.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:46 pm.
LOL
What’s next?
Will the NEOFASCIST CONSERVATIVES start blaming Washington for crossing the Delaware and the loss of men drowned in the Potomac on that cold winters night?
Does their ideocracy ever end?
.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:50 pmWhat the heck did you expect from Bozell? Expecting him to represent the history of what has happened to our military in anything but the most self-servingly dishonest way is like expecting a fish not to swim. He quite simply does not care what the truth is, or about his own credibility, except as they affect his ability to make claims that are advantageous to his cause.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:58 pmGingers are evil and creepy. They all have gingervitis, which results from the lack of a soul. Bozell is the king of the evil gingers.
**in the voice of Eric Cartman**
March 9th, 2008 at 4:58 pmHe needs to call on the United States to rebuild its military infrastructure, so devastated by the Clinton administration.
Hmm… one would have thought that eight years of Republican rule, ot to mention an historic escalation in mlitary spending, would have been sufficient to “rebuild (the) military infrastructure) after being “devastated” by the Clinton Did Itâ„¢ administration.
Apparentally all of these awesome right-wing ideas, like tax cuts helping the economy, take a rrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaallllllyyyyyyy long time to actually begin working.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:01 pmAnd it seems to me that the current D!CK and his Bush have supported the troops, uplifted the spirits of the military and have continued to reshape the future of America’s future for the better?
Comment by Max-1 — March 9, 2008 @ 4:46 pm
You know what they say, Max… when you’ve got a Dick and a Bush, we’re gonna get fu(ked.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:03 pmAccording to NPR…Stock in Lockheed Martin worth $3000 on Sept 10. 2001 is now worth almost $10,000. Lockheed Martin makes the f-22 fighter. NONE of these jets have seen action in either Afghanistan or Iraq.
Perhaps if the Pentagon would have spent more on armored vehicles, taking good care of veterans, and putting enough troops in Iraq….and Not on jets to fight the cold war….the military wouldn’t be running out of troops.
Even better, if the President had known what he was doing…we wouldn’t be in this Iraqi Quagmire.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:07 pmLOL
What’s next?
Will the NEOFASCIST CONSERVATIVES start blaming Washington for crossing the Delaware and the loss of men drowned in the Potomac on that cold winters night?
Does their ideocracy ever end?
.
Comment by Max-1
March 9th, 2008 at 5:11 pmThey have to figure out how to blame Clinton first.
Bozell is a pathological liar.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:31 pmtroll Bozell imitation : “Clinton did it and her, too”
March 9th, 2008 at 5:41 pmHe’s just some more sleeze in the giant Republican bucket. Why anyone is listening to them anymore is beyond me. But they are, so thanks Thinkprogress for holding them to their dishonesty.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:41 pmA few ways Bushco has affected our military:
1. Reduced/canceled orders for new equipment from rifles (our fighting men are being issued remanufactured M4’s in lieu of new rifles) to F-22’s.
2. A “training gap” resulting from the disruption of military training compounded by attrition. Our forces are top heavy consisting of too many senior ranks (more valuable targets) without enough grunts.
3. Wearing out equipment which was not designed for an occupation.
4. The human cost of repeated long deployments including Reserve and Guard units.
5. Walter Reed.
6. MRAP snafu.
7. Body armor snafu.
8. Complete exhaustion of rapid response forces.
9. Providing our troops with a reputation for prisoner abuse.
10. Exposing our troops to revenge attacks through our pursuit of offensive tactics amongst civilian populations.
That short list took about two minutes and didn’t require any research. I’m sure most of us TPers, and many Americans at large, can come up with a similar list. I don’t think even the arch liars will get many converts with their “Clinton wrecked the military” meme. Only the hardcore 19%, and subhuman trolls, are buying it.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:47 pmIt seems like I could reduce Bozell’s comment into three words (plus change)…
I guess he’s made out of strange bozons….he’d have to be to be so stupid that he’s damn near about to collapse into a singularity of absurdity…
March 9th, 2008 at 5:49 pmLet his hair grow out, give him a red rubber ball for a nose, and voila!
March 9th, 2008 at 5:53 pmBozo Bozell.
OT
Phillip Shenon, author of “The Commission” The Uncensored history of the 911 Commission…is on c-span 2 now…6pm eastern…to discuss his book.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:54 pmLying about easily-provable facts is nothing new for Bozell, and in the past has cost him and the PTC plenty
Even better when Bozell has to admit he flat out lied
Bozell’s $3.5M apology: Parents TV Council admits it lied about Smackdown! copycats, ad boycott
Why is it that those who scream about “morality” the loudest are usually the most immoral themselves?
March 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pmhttp://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb-0510-26.pdf
Also note in the link that Nixon, Ford and Bush Sr are responsible for a massive decimation of our military. Far greater than Clinton (who cons love to demonize for military cuts). In fact, Bush Sr and his defense secretary Dick Cheney were responsible for 66% of the 90s military cuts, yet cons attack CLinton for it.
March 9th, 2008 at 6:03 pmIsn’t this the dude that is usually complaining about what is on tv?
March 9th, 2008 at 6:07 pmYes…he’s got a small group of loudmouth assh0les that helped bombard the FCC with useless complaints just so he could use this useless filings as reasons to give him more money. The perfect circle jerk…screwing his supporters with a great big nothingness!!!!
March 9th, 2008 at 6:20 pmOT
Phillip Shenon, author of “The Commission†The Uncensored history of the 911 Commission…is on c-span 2 now…6pm eastern…to discuss his book.
Comment by Badger — March 9, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Thanks for the heads up…Why is this guy not facing a bookstore of citizens as usual for CSPAN2?. He’s dealing with on questioner. Why? Is this an attempt to control his message?
March 9th, 2008 at 6:24 pmThey’ve got his name spelled wrong… it’s “Bozo”… Brent Bozo.
Unlike his better known namesake, this clown isn’t the least bit funny.
After 7, going on 8 years of the Bush Admin, this freak, and other righties, are STILL trying to play the “Clinton did it” card. Gawd, they must really believe the rest of us are as clueless and and stupid as they are.
Just… FREAKIN’… amazin’…
March 9th, 2008 at 7:05 pmIt is time to lock these wackos up and throw away the key.
Under policy and practice of the current administration all of these people (Bozell, Kristol, Rove, Wolfowitz, Feith, Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney and Bush) could be locked up and interrogated as subversives after the Dems steamroll the GOP in the 2008 GE.
Looking forward to it!
March 9th, 2008 at 7:07 pmLooking forward to it!
Comment by nofltwlt — March 9, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
Well, water boarding will be legal, nofltwlt… Herr Botch has insisted!
March 9th, 2008 at 7:11 pmAnother chickenhawk republican with no military experience babbling like a moronic brook about things they know nothing about.
March 9th, 2008 at 7:13 pmWithout question (as everyone knows) Clinton totally devasted the military which he personally LOATHED!! How anyone can argue otherwise is absurd!! Because of him your pal OBL was able to kill 3000 people! This man is a disgrace!
March 9th, 2008 at 7:31 pmLet his hair grow out, give him a red rubber ball for a nose, and voila!
Bozo Bozell.
Comment by Nevar — March 9, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Ummm , clowns are supposed to be intentionally funny …………….Not unintentionally stupid with a dash of zaniness thrown in like this clod.
March 9th, 2008 at 8:33 pmThe military did not suffer under Clinton. It was H.W. who left that little road mine in Somalia and despite all the republiscum bickering (funny how it wasn’t treason to criticize the president in a time of conflict when the president was a Democrat) Bosnia and Kosovo went smoothly and by the numbers. Clinton (and I’m really not a huge fan) listened to his generals, had enough ego integrity not to backstab and railroad them when they raised objections. But more importantly, having the respect and goodwill of the world meant we didn’t need to behave the way we apparently need to today, abject slaves to the MIC. Brent, pick up a rifle and stand the post, you bastard.
March 9th, 2008 at 9:07 pmBozo is (was) William F. Buckely’s nephew. He is a clown who can’t string a sentence together without blaming the democrats. He is also a pal of Joe Scarborough.
Need I say anymore?
March 9th, 2008 at 9:09 pmWhy is it that those who scream about “morality†the loudest are usually the most immoral themselves? — King Cranky
**************************************************
The words “denial” and “distraction” would seem to provide an answer to your question. “Pay no attention to what I’m doing…look over there!“
March 9th, 2008 at 9:25 pmLook at the bags under Bozo’s eyes?
March 9th, 2008 at 9:26 pmWhat’s keeping him up all night?
Another wide stance Republican?
Trolling the internet for young boys?
I know he’s a good neocon family man like Larry Craig, Denny Hastert and Karl Rove.
Bozo is (was) William F. Buckely’s nephew. He is a clown who can’t string a sentence together without blaming the democrats. He is also a pal of Joe Scarborough.
Need I say anymore?
Comment by tanglewood — March 9, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
I read an interesting thing about Buckley. His father had oil holdings in 7 different countries. I never heard that mentioned before he died.
Do you think that had any bearing in how his priorities differed from the average person living off their paychecks.
Most of these right wing “pundits” and “think tank employees” have an agenda that is at odds with working Americans.
March 9th, 2008 at 9:31 pmIt’s amazing how their family, political and business connections are not common knowledge to most Americans.
Tucker Carlson is also a good example.
The ravages of the Clinton Administration?
Assuming for a moment that they existed, wasn’t it then W’s JOB to get the armed forces up to fighting trim?
The invasion of Iraq occurred in the THIRD YEAR of his Presidency.
Just like the argument that Clinton let Bin Laden go (thrown at me at a science fiction convention 3 weeks ago)–that seems to exonerate W of not doing Jack for the first 8 months of his term.
It’s as if Bozell doesn’t realize that people have memories, or the address of Google.
Then again, hearing those discredited arguments coming out of SF fans’ mouths in 2008 makes me realize it’s working for those who log into WorldNetDaily and TownHall first thing every morning…
March 9th, 2008 at 9:59 pmFlavorino: you are absolutely right. Buckley’s wife was also a very rich woman–she was from Canada and I think she went to Vassar for a while. There is a lot of money on both sides.
Chris Buckley is a real nice guy–(he’s Bozo’s cousin) was the only child of Bill and Pat Buckley.
I knew him from my New Haven days back in the early 70’s when I was there. He worked on The Yale Daily News–he has a great sense of humor and is very normal. He’s a good writer too.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:09 pmBrent Bozo and the MRC have about as much credibility as Michael Jackson giving self-exculpatory evidence at one of his child molestation trials.
Just saying . . .
March 9th, 2008 at 11:02 pmBozell is free to dislike the Democrats if he wants to, because he has a perfect right to his opinion. However, what he does not have a right to are his own facts!
March 10th, 2008 at 12:50 amTypical REICH WING move to blame the previous tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. I can hardly wait till the head chimp and the rest of his REICH WING Christian , fear mongering chimps hit the road.DEMs in November is going to happen more and more when these morons open their mouths and spew their hate filled rhetoric
March 10th, 2008 at 1:32 amBrent Bozo is either a liar or completely ignorant. Probably the former. From Cheney’s biography.
“When introducing this budget, Cheney complained that Congress had directed Defense to buy weapons it did not want, including the V-22, M-1 tanks, and F-14 and F-16 aircraft, and required it to maintain some unneeded reserve forces. His plan outlined about $50 billion less in budget authority over the next 5 years than the Bush administration had proposed in 1991. Sen. Sam Nunn of the Senate Armed Services Committee said that the 5-year cuts ought to be $85 billion, and Rep. Les Aspin of the House Armed Services Committee put the figure at $91 billion.
Over Cheney’s four years as secretary of defense, encompassing budgets for fiscal years 1990-93, DoD’s total obligational authority in current dollars declined from $291.3 billion to $269.9 billion. Except for FY 1991, when the TOA budget increased by 1.7 percent, the Cheney budgets showed negative real growth: -2.9 percent in 1990, -9.8 percent in 1992, and -8.1 percent in 1993. During this same period total military personnel declined by 19.4 percent, from 2.202 million in FY 1989 to 1.776 million in FY 1993. The Army took the largest cut, from 770,000 to 572,000-25.8 percent of its strength. The Air Force declined by 22.3 percent, the Navy by 14 percent, and the Marines by 9.7 percent. ”
http://www.defenselink.mil/ specials/ secdef_histories/ bios/ cheney.htm
March 10th, 2008 at 7:34 amEven if what Bozzell said were true — and it isn’t — it’s seven years and counting since Clinton was last in office. I think it’s safe to say that once a sitting president is nearing the end of his second term in office, blaming the previous president for everything no longer holds water. If anything, it indirectly suggests that the sitting president a) is incompetent, b) is too weak and ineffectual to have the power to effect change, c) doesn’t care, or d) most or all of the above — and the right-wing would vehemently deny that any of these are the case with George W. Bush.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:55 amYou just can’t have an honest conversation with these people anymore. That won’t admit to global warming, they won’t admit Valarie Plame was a NOC, they won’t admit that this administration lied about the causus belli….and on and on and on.
When all facts become subject for political debate, you know this country is headed for banana republic status.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:20 am………so devastated that The President and the Rumsfeld went to war with Clinton’s military.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:33 amI would like to know what exactly a devastated military did in less than two years to “de-devastate” itself to attack Afganistan and Iraq.
This collection of hate-filled, sophomoric childish blabber is proof positive: Liberalism is a sickness
March 10th, 2008 at 10:09 pmBozell is a despicable swine. Even a simpleton knows bushco has devastated the military. The overwhelming majority of officers say that the military was better off during the Clinton administration.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:34 amBozell is either stupid or a liar. Probably both.
I was thinking of leaving a comment.
Then as I read the comments of righties/lefties, I realized that the left will claim I am stupid, ignorant, confused by the neo-cons of the right, and follow the “party” line.
The right will believe me. And in believing me they will be “labeled” and belittled by the left.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I, ALONG WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MY FELLOW MILITARY PATRIOTS, WAS ONE OF THOSE CUT BY THE CLINTON DESTRUCTION OF THE MILITARY IN THE MID-90’s!
Say what you will about me. I lived it, therefore I know it happened!
Trying to disproof my life experience will be proof positive that Liberalism is truly a mental disorder.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:28 pmMCCAIN DON’T KNOW A THING ABOUT LEADING THIS COUNTRY!-
By JAMES GLANZ
Published: March 9, 2008
Two senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have requested a full accounting of how Iraq is spending its soaring oil revenue, amid starkly conflicting estimates of how much the country has invested in rebuilding its broken infrastructure and providing basic services to its citizens.
The request, sent Friday to David M. Walker, the top official at the United States Government Accountability Office, estimates that Iraqi oil revenue could skyrocket above $56 billion in 2008, largely because of the rising price of oil.
That enormous influx of cash comes as the United States has been reducing spending on the reconstruction effort. Since the invasion in 2003, the United States has invested close to $50 billion in reconstruction, but the effort has achieved at best mixed results when measured by improvements in the lives of Iraqi citizens.
Still, the American military and State Department continue to finance a wide range of relatively small reconstruction projects as well as training and equipment for Iraqi military forces.
Despite the dire need for better health care, more electricity and clean water, a functioning sewage system and other services, the accountability office has previously estimated that Iraq spent only 22 percent of the oil money set aside for reconstruction in 2006. And in January, the office, which is charged with overseeing the Iraqi government’s finances, reported that Iraq had spent a meager 4.4 percent of its 2007 reconstruction budget by August of that year, the most recent figures available at the time.
As a result, the letter from the Armed Services Committee says, “we believe that it has been overwhelmingly U.S. taxpayer money that has funded Iraq reconstruction over the last five years, despite Iraq earning billions of dollars in oil revenue over that time period that have ended up in non-Iraqi banks.â€
The letter was signed by Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is the committee chairman, and Senator John W. Warner, a Virginia Republican who is a former chairman. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the committee and the presumptive Republican nominee for president, did not sign the letter.
Iraqi officials say they face many obstacles in what might seem to be a straightforward task: spending their plentiful money. Workers are attacked, engineers and contracting experts have fled government ministries, construction companies refuse to take jobs in risky areas and building materials are not available.
And if all of those factors were not daunting enough, the various Iraqi and American government entities involved cannot even agree on how much the notoriously opaque Iraqi bureaucracy has in fact spent on reconstruction.
Last fall, as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, reported to Congress on the state of the war, the Bush administration provided figures that contrasted sharply with those of the accountability office. The administration reported that by July 2007, Iraq had spent 24 percent of the $10 billion in oil revenue set aside for reconstruction that year.
The accountability office disputed those figures, saying they were based in part on projections that proved inaccurate. But in a recent phone interview, a senior Iraqi official gave even more bullish estimates of the expenditures. Citing official Iraqi Finance Ministry figures, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to provide information that had not yet been publicly released, said by the end of last year, Iraq had spent 63 percent of its capital budget, a leap over the previous year that would indicate rapid progress in governmental efficiency.
“It’s totally unacceptable that there’s no decent accounting for their money,†Senator Levin said in a telephone interview Saturday. “But the problem is our money. Why are we spending our money five years later when they have a surplus? That’s just extraordinary.â€
In order to resolve some of these discrepancies and track down where the oil money has gone, the letter by Senators Levin and Warner asks the accountability office to answer a series of basic questions.
The senators requested detailed information on the amount of Iraqi oil revenue from 2003 to 2007, how much of that money has gone unspent, and “how much money does the Iraqi government have deposited, in which banks, and in what countries?â€
Finally, Senators Levin and Warner ask the question looming over the entire rebuilding effort: “Why has the Iraqi government not spent more of its oil revenue on reconstruction, economic development and providing essential services for the Iraqi people?â€
Also on Friday, Iraqi security forces discovered a mass grave containing the remains of about 100 people in Diyala Province, said Maj. Winfield Danielson, a spokesman for Multinational Forces-Iraq.
(REMAINDER)
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/ 03/ 09/ world/ middleeast/ 09iraq.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
March 11th, 2008 at 11:01 pm