Ex-State officials allege corruption coverup

By ANNE FLAHERTY Associated Press Writer

May 12th, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State Department employees.

Arthur Brennan, who briefly served in Baghdad as head of the department's Office of Accountability and Transparency last year, and James Mattil, who worked as the chief of staff, told Senate Democrats on Monday that their office was understaffed and its warnings and recommendations ignored.

Brennan also alleges the State Department prevented a congressional aide visiting Baghdad from talking with staffers by insisting they were too busy. In reality, Brennan said, office members were watching movies at the embassy and on their computers. The staffers' workload had been cut dramatically because of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "evisceration" of Iraq's top anti-corruption office, he said.

The State Department's policies "not only contradicted the anti-corruption mission but indirectly contributed to and has allowed corruption to fester at the highest levels of the Iraqi government," Brennan told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

The U.S. embassy "effort against corruption — including its new centerpiece, the now-defunct Office of Accountability and Transparency — was little more than 'window dressing,'" he added.

(More at sig)

other bandits like Wolfowitz (The Jerusalem Post's 'Man Of The Year'!!)

He's come a long way from getting booed off the stage for suggesting that "Palestinians are suffering and dying too", eh?

Meant to say upthread, thanks very much for the kind words!

No, actually that is not the case. In fact, it's never been the case.

I was at a conference a couple years ago, which was attended not only by Jazeera reporters, but al-Arabiya, al-Sharq al-Awsati, and other outlets you'd never heard of ... Iraqi journalists, Jordanian journalists, Lebanese journalists. One of the breakout sessions had to do with word choice, and one of the hottest topics of debate was just this; martyr vs freedom fighter vs. terrorist (I can look up my notes if you need to see the Arabic, a lot of the Arabic words were new to me, even though I watch/read these outlets).

Turns out there is no top-down policy at any of the outlets, and significant disagreements ... none of which are political, all of which have to do with ideas about journalistic ethics ... over which is the right term to use for each circumstance. As I understood it, these same arguments break out every day, in editorial meetings.

Just like they used to do, back in the old days, in American newsrooms.

I know for a fact that anyone who works for Al Jazeera Arabic or Internation or Al Hurra are black listed from working with other news stations. Not just here but worldwide

Nope. Bullshit. Not even close. Whoever told you this is just lying out their ass. I've got about three dozen friends who would laugh their ass off at this suggestion, once they recovered from the shock that I had suggested it ... since they have worked for one or both (in one case all three), and gone on to other jobs afterwards.

This might come as a shock to you, but out in the rest of the world they look at things a leetle bit differently. They're interested in what's going on in the race here and why not, but they don't necessarily look at it the same way we do. Imagine. And all the bullshit about Hillary-bias or Obama-bias or you're-a-racist-bigot-if-you-don't-agree-with-me means jack shit to them.

I know that's a big idea to swallow. Feel free to sit down, drink some water, etc.

Don't feel bad, you aren't the first (by far) to just asssume that we live at Ground Zero for all reality and that all the rubes in the world are trying to catch up. Believe me, once you get over the shock it gets easier.

In the litany of attempts to lay something criminal at Bush's doorstep, this is one of the lamest. It reeks of desperation.

I'm guessing that if Bush or any member of the administration were to sodomize, strangle and then devour an infant (after crushing its testicles, per John Yoo's memo), in front of the press corps on live TV, this would pretty much still be your response.

Good god. Sorry (ahem) that I missed that ...

Maybe he was a 'critic by example'? Like sarcastic clapping ...

now it's the pig farmers we have to watch out for, as well ...

We must invade ourselves next... First, kill all the journalists.

Next, the pig farmers! Sing it, brother!

So long as no one invades N Georgia, WNC or East Tennessee ...

I learned a thing or two from Charlie, don't you know, you better stay away from Copperhead Road ... Little Stevie E.

Fair enough, but geography is important. Salon is based in San Francisco, not New York ... aside from being on the opposite end of a large country, that's important because the political culture is quite different. Unique, even, so far as the US is concerned .. vastly different even from Silicon Valley, immediately to the south, to say nothing of the Gomorrah that is Los Angeles, down in the desert and almost unrecognizable.

It's true that you'll see people filing stories from New York, the midwest, DC ... Glenn files often from Brazil, for crying out loud ... but think of how it would be, the difference between locals filing from Brighton vs. the Shetland Islands, or even between Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield. In our case, everyone at Salon still labor under that 'left coast' political sensibility which, aside from its largely mythical being, or perhaps because of it, holds a powerful sway ... (and we're better for it, I think)