CBS: Iraqi government corruption funds insurgents who kill Americans
The government of Iraq is facing many challenges to its ability to run the country, both internal and external. According to a new report by 60 Minutes, "one of the biggest problems is corruption, which is robust even by Middle Eastern standards."
"Bribery and outright theft are flourishing in virtually every Iraqi ministry," notes CBS's Steve Kroft, "and some of those ill-gotten gains are being used to kill American troops."
State Department official James Mattil told CBS that the corruption is "across-the-board." Much of the stolen money finds its way to Iraqi insurgents or militias, while "in other cases, it is the militias and insurgents themselves who control some of the ministries who are involved in the corruption."
"It's known and tolerated by the prime minister and other officials within the government," emphasized Mattil, who observed the corruption first-hand while assigned as an advisor to Iraq's former Commissioner of Public Integrity, Judge Radhi al-Radhi.
Judge Radhi himself told CBS during an interview in 2006 that more than half a billion dollars had been stolen from the Iraqi defense ministry. Following that interview, he attempted to widen his investigation to other ministries, but was met with death threats and the murder of thirty-one members of his staff. In July 2007 a missile was fired at his house. He and his family finally left Iraq last September and are now living in the suburbs of Washington, DC.
Shortly before Radhi left Iraq, his commission was coming under increasing pressure from Prime Minister Maliki, who issued a memo saying they could not bring charges against anyone in the president's office or current or former ministers without his permission.
"It basically put a stop to any anti-corruption activities within the Iraqi government," Mattil told CBS, "and it came directly from the prime minister's office."
Mattil shared this memo with his colleagues at the State Department but received no response. A draft report on the corruption was leaked to the press last summer, but the State Department responded only by making the report classified.
After Radhi sought asylum in the United States, he was called to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Chairman Henry Waxman then asked Secretary of State Rice to comment on Rhadi's allegations.
"Mr. Chairman, I will have to get back to you," Rice replied. "I don't know precisely what you are referring to."
"Six months later," CBS concludes, "Waxman's staff was still waiting for an answer."
CBS News has more here.
This video is from CBS's 60 Minutes, broadcast April 13, 2008.
Transcript via closed captions
:: kroft: general david petraeus, the top u.s. commander in iraq, told congress this past week that there has been substantial progress, but not enough to begin withdrawing american troops. there are questions about the readiness of the new iraqi army, and the competence of prime minister nouri al maliki's coalition government, which is fraught with ethnic and religious divisions. electricity is still in short supply, medicines are available mainly through the black market, and there are long lines for fuel in a country that has the third largest oil reserves in the world. one of the biggest problems is corruption, which is robust even by middle eastern standards. and according to u.s. and iraqi officials, bribery and outright theft are flourishing in virtually every iraqi ministry, and some of those ill-gotten gains are being used to kill american troops. our story begins 18 months ago, in the fall of 2006, when we first reported that more than $1 billion from the previous iraqi defense ministry had been wasted, stolen, or misappropriated. the money was supposed to supply the new iraqi army with desperately needed equipment to fight the growing insurgency. but according to audits conducted by the iraqi government, and to judge radhi al radhi, iraq's top anticorruption official, millions were misspent on old and antiquated equipment, and the rest simply disappeared. how much of the $1.3 billion do you think was stolen?
:: radhi ( translated ): more than half.
:: kroft: more than half?
:: radhi: yes.
:: kroft: half a billion dollars-- $600 million, $700 million?
:: radhi: yes.
:: kroft: that's got to be one of the largest thefts in history.
:: radhi ( translated ): as we hear from friends abroad, they have never heard of such corruption and embezzlement to such a degree.
:: kroft: judge radhi, who had been imprisoned and tortured under saddam hussein, obtained arrest warrants for the former minister of defense and his top aides, all of whom fled the country. as iraq's commissioner of public integrity, radhi had one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. he launched investigations against 20 current and former ministers, alienating the political establishment to the point that parliament tried to fire him. he had 30 bodyguards, and received constant death threats. lots of people would like to see you dead.
:: radhi ( translated ): i don't care. that's their problem.
:: kroft: you don't care?
:: radhi: i do not care.
:: kroft: that was in 2006.
:: radhi: hi.
:: kroft: how are you, judge radhi. nice to see you.
:: radhi: how do you do?
:: kroft: today he's living with his extended family in a small apartment with donated furniture in the suburbs of washington, d.c. the most public figure in iraq's battle against corruption had finally been driven out of his job and his country, and is now a refugee seeking asylum in the united states.
:: radhi ( translated ): he was killed because he fought corruption.
:: kroft: judge radhi showed us pictures of some of the 31 members of his staff who were murdered. this one was killed with his pregnant wife. the father of his security chief was found hanging on a meat hook.
:: kroft: when we first interviewed you, i said, "look, there are all sorts of people that want you dead." and you answered, "i don't care."
:: radhi ( translated ): but this threat is now against my family, too.
:: kroft: what made you believe that your family was in danger?
:: radhi ( translated ): at the end of july, a missile was fired at my home. it fell about five meters away from my home. it hit another house next to mine, and of course my family was terrified.
:: james mattil: and it got to the point where his adversaries were left with few other options but to possibly remove him, period.
:: kroft: james mattil was the chief of staff of the state department's office of accountability and transparency in iraq, and it was his job to assist judge radhi in cleaning up corruption. and mattil believes radhi did a good job, given the resources at his disposal and the scope of the problem, which was outlined in a draft report prepared by the state department. according to the report, these are some of the ministries where corruption seemed to be rampant: the ministry of interior; the ministry of defense; ministry of trade; ministry of health; ministry of oil; ministry of education; ministry of water resources; finance; electricity; labor and social affairs; displacement and migration; science and technology. i mean, what... what's left?
:: mattil: i was going to ask you that. okay? it's pretty much across the board in every ministry.
:: kroft: mattil says shortly after the unclassified report was leaked to the press last summer, the state department decided to make it classified. based on what, for what reason?
:: mattil: the embarrassment factor, i would think.
:: kroft: is there a security classification called "embarrassment"?
:: mattil: not to my knowledge.
:: kroft: but the state department's decision to try and bury the report didn't change the facts in iraq. in some cases, mattil says, the corruption involves outright theft of government funds, or bribery, with some of the money finding its way into the hands of insurgents or iraqi militias.
:: mattil: in other cases, it is the militias and insurgents themselves who control some of the ministries, who are involved in the corruption and funding their activities, through these actions. you said-- and maybe you misspoke, i don't know-- that the militias and the insurgency were actually controlling some of the ministries.
:: mattil: that's correct.
:: kroft: this is known and condoned by the prime minister, maliki?
:: mattil: it's known and tolerated by the prime minister and other officials within the government.
:: kroft: and they're aware of the level of corruption?
:: mattil: yes, they would have to be.
:: radhi: the point that must be clear is that that the american and the iraqi funds are now going to the militias. and both iraqis and the americans are being killed with that, and this is the big problem.
:: kroft: the situation got so bad, radhi says his investigators couldn't even enter certain government buildings. were your investigators allowed to go into the ministry of health?
:: radhi ( translated ): they entered the ministry and they conducted their investigations. but they were threatened to be kidnapped.
:: kroft: so they stopped?
:: radhi ( translated ): yes. the same with the ministry of oil.
:: kroft: these are ministries of the iraqi government.
:: radhi ( translated ): this is the reality.
:: kroft: another reality is that there are few deterrents to corruption at the highest levels. former defense minister hazem shaalan and his deputy ziad cattan were both convicted in absentia for their role in the ministry of defense scandal. and both are now living comfortably abroad. we interviewed cattan in paris nearly two years ago, and played him recordings in which he discussed what sounded like a payoff to someone described as a representative of the president and prime minister of the interim government.
:: cattan ( translated ): he wants to know.
:: associate ( translated ): he wants to know how much they are going to place in his account?
:: cattan ( translated ): yes, of course.
:: associate ( translated ): how much?
:: cattan ( translated ): $45 million.
:: kroft: he wants to know how much money is going to be placed in his account, and you say $45 million?
:: cattan: yes. but not dollar. i don't say dollar.
:: kroft: and what was it? $45 million what?
:: cattan: i don't remember.
:: kroft: well, you're going to give him 45 million of something.
:: cattan: yes. but i don't remember what the matter was.
:: kroft: warrants for the arrest of cattan and former defense minister shaalan have been sent to police agencies around the world, but there is not much chance of them being picked up and sent back to iraq. and the same goes for former electricity minister aiham alsammarae, an american businessman who got himself tangled up in the hot wires of iraqi politics, and now faces prison time for mismanaging public funds. al sammarae somehow managed to escape from custody, and made his way back to his home near chicago. the only problem we had finding him a few months ago was getting past the snowdrifts. i'm sitting here looking at a wanted poster from interpol for aiham alsammarae, born 1951, baghdad. height: 1.9 meter, 75 inches. weight: 200 pounds. this looks very much like you.
:: alsammarae: well, it is me, but it is wrong because it is issued by iraqi government based on false information.
:: kroft: you're not expecting the u.s. marshals to come in here and arrest you some day and send you off to iraq to stand trial?
:: alsammarae: well, i will be so surprised if that happens in the states. did i do anything wrong in united states? no. did i pay my taxes, every penny, every year? yes.
:: kroft: well, you're an international fugitive.
:: alsammarae: the world is full of innocent victims. i am innocent and i will prove it.
:: kroft: but there are indications that alsammarae may have some problems here in the u.s. his name has surfaced in connection with the corruption trial of his old friend, chicago real estate developer tony rezko. in a closed-door session, federal prosecutors reportedly accused rezko of bribing alsammarae in order to obtain an iraqi electricity contract. alsammarae denies the charges, and says he's doing everything possible to clear his name, short of going back to baghdad, where he says he will be killed, perhaps by iraqis who are only getting a few hours of electricity every day despite billions of dollars of investment from the u.s. and iraqi governments.
:: radhi: hello?
:: kroft: in the months before he left iraq, judge radhi and his commission on public integrity began getting more and more interference from prime minster maliki.
:: radhi ( translated ): he wrote a memo saying we could not recommend pressing charges against anyone from the president's office or from previous or current ministers. who is corrupt in the ministries if it's not the ministers themselves? if we don't recommend they be tried, then corruption will stay as it is.
:: kroft: according to james mattil, judge radhi's former advisor at the state department, the memo prohibited investigatons of current or former high level iraqi officials without the permission of the prime minister himself.
:: mattil: it basically put a stop to any anticorruption activities within the iraqi government. and it came directly from the prime minister's office.
:: kroft: so the only way the prime minister could be investigated for corruption would be if he signed off on his own investigation?
:: mattil: correct.
:: kroft: so he'd have to be corrupt and stupid?
:: mattil: yes. you so you saw this memo?
:: mattil: yes.
:: kroft: did you share it with your colleagues at the state department?
:: mattil: yes, immediately.
:: kroft: what was the reaction of your superiors when you showed it to them?
:: mattil: none, that i am aware of.
:: radhi: no one is above the law.
:: kroft: but it did get some reaction in the u.s. congress when radhi, seeking asylum in the united states, was called to testify before the house oversight committee. chairman henry waxman grilled secretary of state condoleezza rice about radhi's allegations.
:: waxman: well, this is a big deal. this is the prime minister of the country.
:: rice: i agree with you. it's a big deal.
:: waxman: it's his country, his government, that we are propping up with the lives of our soldiers and the billions of dollars of our taxpayers' money. prime minister maliki has issued an order saying that he may not be investigated, nor may his minister be investigated, for corruption, which means they are immunized from the investigation. are you aware of that order? and does it trouble you that such an order has been issued?
:: rice: well, mr. chairman, i will have to get back to you. i don't know precisely what you are referring to.
:: kroft: six months later, waxman's staff was still waiting for an answer. but a state department official and a representative of the iraqi government told us corruption is not condoned, and fighting it remains a top priority. after radhi left iraq, the prime minister went on tv and accused him of corruption. did you bring a lot of money with you when you came from iraq?
:: radhi ( translated ): nothing but my last salary.
:: kroft: how are you getting by here?
:: radhi ( translated ): actually, with the help of american friends.
:: kroft: until radhi's asylum application is approved, he's unable to work. these days he is getting most of his news on iraq from television. the maliki government said 2008 would be the year of fighting corruption. you don't think this is going to be the year of fighting corruption?
:: radhi ( translated ): i think that this year will be more corrupt.
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