The Baghdad Money Machine

While it may not be the main reason for the occupation of Iraq, profit-taking does seem to be the main sport for contractors and Iraqis alike. Right now, the Pentagon is investigating dozens of cases totaling more than $5 billion dollars in contracts. We know that the intracacies of the contracting and the chaos of the war zone make Iraq ripe for abuse. But in addition to making money for American contractors, apparently Iraqi insurgents are financing their guerrilla operation through this rampant corruption as well.

Iraq's deadly insurgent groups have financed their war against U.S. troops in part with hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. rebuilding funds that they've extorted from Iraqi contractors in Anbar province.

The payments, in return for the insurgents' allowing supplies to move and construction work to begin, have taken place since the earliest projects in 2003, Iraqi contractors, politicians and interpreters involved with reconstruction efforts said.

A fresh round of rebuilding spurred by the U.S. military's recent alliance with some Anbar tribes — 200 new projects are scheduled — provides another opportunity for militant groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq to siphon off more U.S. money, contractors and politicians warn.

"Now we're back to the same old story in Anbar. The Americans are handing out contracts and jobs to terrorists, bandits and gangsters," said Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman, the deputy leader of the Dulaim, the largest and most powerful tribe in Anbar. He was involved in several U.S. rebuilding contracts in the early days of the war, but is now a harsh critic of the U.S. presence.

So to get anything made in Iraq, American companies have to pay an insurgent tax. And if American companies start providing too much in reconstruction aid, presumably the insurgents would break their pledge and start to disrupt the services. Not to mention the fact that they are buying munitions and supplies to kill American troops and Iraqi civilians indirectly from our taxpayer dollars.

And if anyone speaks out about this or any contracting problem, they are punished with harsh interrogation, 97 days in detention without being charged, and worse abuses. Somehow just talking about contracting issues in Iraq is worthy of being thrown in the military brig. There is a culture of fear that has grown up, forcing everyone to look the other way. Meanwhile our taxpayer dollars are fleeced, and BOTH SIDES of the Iraqi civil war are paid handsomely. It's almost as if the military WANTS it to continue, to justify keeping the troops there.