Posts Tagged by Talib Bayesh
Taxpayer-Funded Computers for Iraqi Kids Are Auctioned Off
| August 28, 2010 | Filled under Uncategorized |
By Rebecca Santana/ The Associated Press BAGHDAD — The U.S. military is demanding to know what happened to $1.9 million worth of computers purchased by American taxpayers and intended for Iraqi schoolchildren that instead were auctioned by Iraqi officials for less than $50,000, the military said Friday. The U.S. news release was a rare public admission by the military of the…
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military is demanding to know what happened to $1.9 million worth of computers purchased by American taxpayers and intended for Iraqi schoolchildren that instead were auctioned by Iraqi officials for less than $50,000, the military said Friday.
The U.S. news release was a rare public admission by the military of the loss of American taxpayer money in Iraq and an equally rare criticism of Iraqi officials with whom the Americans are trying to partner as the military withdraws troops.
A shipment of computers intended for schoolchildren in the central Babil province was found to have been auctioned Aug. 16 for $45,700 — before the computers could be sent to the province, the U.S. military said.
The computer shipment was auctioned off by a senior Iraqi official at the southern port of Umm Qasr, the U.S. military statement said.
“United States Division-South Commander Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks called for an immediate investigation into the actions of the Umm Qasr official to determine why computers destined for children to facilitate their education were approved for auction,” it read.
The port director, Talib Bayesh, said the equipment had been sitting in the port for more than 90 days and that, according to the law, items left for more than three months can be sold at public auction.
“Thus we sold the shipment by auction for only $45,000,” he said.
The loss of the computers highlights two flashpoints of controversy: the accountability of American money and the widespread corruption that many say is one of the biggest challenges to Iraq’s future.
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