According to an audit released today by the DoD's IG, there has been virtually no oversight of over $8 billion paid by the Defense Department to contractors in Iraq. The report confirms a similar finding back in 2005 that over $9 billion in Iraq war funds were unaccounted for. As a factual and non-polemical matter, this spectacular waste of taxpayer money has undoubtedly lined the pockets of more than a few war profiteers. To say the Iraq war has been plagued with rampant corruption, fraud and fiscal mismanagement is not an editorial position or overstatement: even lawmakers have begun to acknowledge this.
posted by ornate insect on May 23, 2008 - 67 comments

The Great Iraq Swindle: How Bush Allowed an Army of For-Profit Contractors to Invade the U.S. Treasury
posted by mr_crash_davis on Aug 26, 2007 - 78 comments

"On May 10th, 2007, this video was banned in Congress" - Filmmaker, Robert Greenwald, wanted to show a four minute clip of his film when testifying to Congress, but Republicans disallowed it. This is the clip from his excellent movie now available on Google Video, Iraq for Sale.
posted by nickyskye on May 13, 2007 - 52 comments

Executive Excess 2006: Defense and Oil Executives Cash in on Conflict (PDF). A new study from United for a Fair Economy and the Institute for Policy Studies looks at who is making a killing from the war on terror (or whatever they're calling it this week.) Looking ahead, I better review my portfolio. [Via C&L.]
posted by homunculus on Aug 31, 2006 - 23 comments

You Too Can Profit From The War on Terra "You’d think with both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars well under way and with the war on terrorism being more than two years old that the share price of any bullet proof vest manufacturer would be fully valued. Not so! The company that manufactures the amazing life saving bullet proof vests that Sgt. Travis L. McKinney wrote to from the Iraq front line is not only undervalued but is a screaming takeover candidate that is poised to enjoy an up to 450% increase in its stock price." Operators are standing by...
posted by owillis on Jun 16, 2004 - 10 comments

A Private Army Grows Around the U.S. Mission in Iraq and Around the World As Report Shows Iraq Contractors Politically Active
--see also Making A Killing - The Business of War, and on the inside...
posted by y2karl on Oct 30, 2003 - 21 comments

Can it be called war profiteering? The size and scope of the government contracts awarded to Halliburton in connection with the war in Iraq are significantly greater than was previously disclosed and demonstrate the U.S. military's increasing reliance on for-profit corporations to run its logistical operations. Independent experts estimate that as much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is going to independent contractors.
posted by dejah420 on Aug 28, 2003 - 66 comments

Spoils of War This op-ed piece in The New York Times (free reg req'd) follows the path of money into who is getting what now that the reconstruction phase is about to begin. Might have called this piece: More than Oil.
posted by Postroad on Apr 10, 2003 - 20 comments

Before 9/11, Before War on .... there was serious concern that Halliburton would be forced into bankruptcy / The company -- and Cheney's million-dollar paychecks -- were saved. Praise Allah! Never in American history has a group of government leaders profited so directly from war -- never. Like their brothers-in-arms, Saddam's Baathists, the Bushists treat their own country like a sacked town, looting the treasury for their family retainers and turning public policy to private gain. Like Saddam, they feed on fear and glorify aggression. Like Saddam, they have dishonored their nation and betrayed its people. But the money sure is good, eh, Dick?
posted by bureaustyle on Mar 30, 2003 - 26 comments

War, Incorporated. "'War is a racket. It always has been....A racket is best described as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many.' Words of a radical peacenik? Only if a Marine Corps Major General qualifies as such." Of course, this particular Major General was talking about the oooold days when corporations had the political pillow-patter down, and our elected officials were the best money could buy. Not like the way things are today.

And who was this crackpot Ike, anyway?
posted by fold_and_mutilate on Jul 17, 2002 - 18 comments