Tuesday, August 28, 2007
This will get ugly before it gets uglier.
The New York Times is reporting that multiple investigations of false invoicing, bid rigging, double billing, fraud and bribery are under way in Iraq. That pretty much covers the Republican pantheon of acceptable wartime behavior and, so far, the majority of those indicted are contractors.
Several federal agencies are investigating a widening network of criminal cases involving the purchase and delivery of billions of dollars of weapons, supplies and other matériel to Iraqi and American forces, according to American officials. The officials said it amounted to the largest ring of fraud and kickbacks uncovered in the conflict here.No telling how far this can go, but something like this has to go as far as it can. Anything less would be a dishonor to all those who serve honorably and to those who give their full measure of devotion to their country.
The inquiry has already led to several indictments of Americans, with more expected, the officials said. One of the investigations involves a senior American officer who worked closely with Gen. David H. Petraeus in setting up the logistics operation to supply the Iraqi forces when General Petraeus was in charge of training and equipping those forces in 2004 and 2005, American officials said Monday.
There is no indication that investigators have uncovered any wrongdoing by General Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, who through a spokesman declined comment on any legal proceedings.
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