Expressing the Sense of the House Regarding Withholding of Information Relating to Corruption in Iraq

Press Release

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE REGARDING WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION RELATING TO CORRUPTION IN IRAQ -- (House of Representatives - October 16, 2007)

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Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to say it today that the conversation about corruption in Iraq, this isn't theoretical. It is not hypothetical. It is not just about numbers or statistics. Corruption in Iraq is real. It has a face. And, frankly, it is no secret to those Iraqis who are picking up their newspapers and their media outlets every day and finding out the corruption that is rampant there. So I think it is worthwhile just for a second to talk about the face of corruption in Iraq.

This is Salam al-Maliki, the former Iraqi Minister of Transportation. He is also the Prime Minister's cousin. He was accused of abusing his official position to purchase real estate at a fraction of its value. But the Prime Minister issued an order barring, barring, his case from being referred to court.

I want to now introduce you to Aiham Alsammarae. He was the Iraqi Minister of Electricity who was convicted in Iraq of the abuse of national funds; yet he escaped from the Green Zone with the help of U.S. contractors. He is now living, if you can believe it, in Chicago, running his own business and traveling around the world.

Finally, this is Hazem Shaalan. He was the Iraqi Minister of Defense, accused of embezzling almost $1 billion that should have been spent on weapons and vehicles for the Iraqi Army. Iraqi courts reportedly have audiotapes of his deputy discussing payoffs to various officials. After his conviction, he also fled the country, and he is now living in Europe or the Middle East.

Mr. Speaker, this is just the tip of the iceberg. But this administration doesn't think that the American people should be concerned or even know about this. By refusing to answer questions and retroactively classifying corruption reports, this administration has proved once again that they either don't trust the American people, or they know that their case for continuing this war is so weak that they have to obfuscate the facts on the ground.

Now government contractors are getting into the game. Two weeks ago, Erik Prince, the CEO of Blackwater Security, refused to disclose to this committee his salary or the profit margins of his company, despite the fact that Blackwater makes 90 percent of its money off of U.S. taxpayers.

This cannot stand, Mr. Speaker. I, for one, will never support another war funding authorization that doesn't provide for the redeployment of forces out of Iraq.

But for those on this floor who do support this war, I plead with you to at least demand accountability for the billions of wasted dollars that we have thrown at the Iraqis. Do not stand here on the House floor telling us that we cannot afford to heal children throughout the United States of America if we aren't even asking questions and getting the appropriate documentation that we require on the billions of wasted dollars in Iraq.

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