U.S. Bribery In Iraq - Parade

I know... Parade... but...

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In just one year of the Iraq War, Army Maj. John Cockerham made more than $9 million. How? By taking money from contractors in return for steering big-ticket U.S. government deals their way. Cockerham's crimes occurred while he was a contracting officer in Kuwait. In February, he pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy, and money-laundering.

His case is only part of the Iraq War-related corruption that the Department of Justice has uncovered. So far, an investigation has found that Army personnel and American civilians have taken illegal payments ranging from $5000 to $9 million. (Maj. James Momon Jr., Cockerham's successor in Kuwait, recently pleaded guilty to pocketing more than $1 million.) Huge profits are at stake in Iraq: The U.S. government already has paid more than $100 billion to private contractors performing work in the war zone.

Investigators from the FBI and Pentagon are going after the people and firms making the bribes as well. "Both sides are equally culpable—the ones paying the bribes are profiting the most," says Department of Justice attorney Mark Pletcher, a prosecutor on the Cockerham and Momon cases. To solve the larger problem, the U.S. government also is overhauling its war-procurement system.

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Link: http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/us-bribery-in-iraq.html

:shrug:

you can't make no money off it."

- Work For Peace, Gil Scott-Heron