National Post-U.S. Defense Dept. Missing $8 Billion in Iraq Funds

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(story reported 28.July.2010, by Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and news services)

The U.S. Department of Defense has been unable to account properly for US$8.7-billion of Iraqi oil and gas money, funds earmarked for humanitarian needs and reconstruction after the 2003 invasion, according to an audit released yesterday.

The figure is nearly 96% of the US$9.1-billion the Pentagon received from the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), said the report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).

It described lax management of some of the billions of dollars designated for rebuilding war-shattered Iraq, where residents routinely complain about lack of electricity and other basic services more than seven years after the invasion.

(click here to read the entire story in the National Post)