A damning report by the US embassy detailing corruption in the Iraqi government was made public yesterday, days ahead of a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and US President George W. Bush.
The draft report, posted on the IraqSlogger.com Web site, paints a grim picture of graft in all government departments, many of which, it says, are controlled by criminal gangs and militia.
Al-Maliki's office, it says, has shown an "open hostility" to allowing independent investigators to probe corruption cases.
Government corruption is expected to be on the agenda when al-Maliki and Bush, who has frequently urged the Iraqi government to do more to effect political reconciliation and rein in graft, meet in New York next week at the UN General Assembly.
Also likely to be discussed is a furious row over the deployment of US private security company Blackwater to protect US embassy staff in Iraq, following its involvement in a shooting incident in Baghdad on Sunday in which 10 people were killed.
Al-Maliki has demanded that the US replace the firm, while Bush on Thursday expressed his sorrow at the loss of life.
The 82-page corruption report is marked "Sensitive but not classified" and labeled a "working draft."
National Public Radio in the US quoted a US official as saying the report is still in draft form and that there are questions about the reliability of some of the sources.
The Commission of Public Integrity, which is tasked with rooting out corruption from Iraqi state institutions, is "a passive rather than a true investigative agency," the report said.
"Though legally empowered to conduct investigations, the combined security situation and the violent character of the criminal elements within the ministries make investigation of corruption too hazardous for all but a tactically robust police force with the support of the Iraqi government," it said.
"This support is lacking," it said, adding that the lack of support allowed "corruption to be the norm in many ministries."
"[Commission investigators] cannot be trusted to truthfully reveal criminal activity against anyone protected by the violent or powerful," the report said.
"The court system in Iraq remains weak, intimidated, subject to political pressure and clogged with minor cases," it said.
The interior ministry is seen by Iraqis as untouchable while corruption investigations in the defense ministry are judged to be ineffectual, it said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS