# Pentagon can't account for $8.7 BILLION of Iraqi aid money. Where's the outrage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272 "2010-07-28T05:24:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/21 "2010-07-28T18:48:05Z")
Do you have a name of that welfare mom in Detroit? ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/22 "2010-07-28T22:27:03Z")
Who’s kicking back somewhere relaxing with all the money? Presumably a lot found it’s way to the insurgency, but not all . . . ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/23 "2010-07-28T23:55:22Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > This story will just blow away. Yet, if some welfare mom in Detroit gets an extra $10 in food stamps the press is all over it. > > Considering that the oversight happened starting in 2003 and that this was news in 2007, I’d say that it hasn’t blown away yet. As to your other assertion here, I haven’t seen anything in the news about welfare moms getting $10 extra…do you have a cite? 😛 > > > [@](#): > > > > We can’t afford health care reform but we can plow unaccounted for money into Iraq corruption as though it is just “business as usual”. > > Well, two things…first, it was Iraqi money, not US money. Unless you are talking about health care reform in Iraq, your statement here makes no sense. Then there is the scale issue… > > > [@](#): > > > > Folks, $8.7 BILLION is a lot of money by anyone’s standards. > > …namely, this. $8.7 billion (even when you capitalize it, so to speak) really ISN’T a lot of money, not by US government standards. Health care is going to cost over an order of magnitude more than this…$8.7 wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket. Hell, NASA’s budget is bigger than this, and they aren’t exactly well funded. > > > [@](#): > > > > I’m willing to make a heavy bet that no one gets convicted or spends serious time in jail over this. > > Probably not. For one thing, it was Iraqi money. For another, it seems that the lack of oversight and management of the funds was systematically lacking. In that environment, it’s pretty common and natural for government (or private) organizations to look on the money as a windfall and use it to pay for the parts of their budgets that are discretionary. I don’t know what you think happened to the money, but my guess is that the majority was spent by the organizations getting it for their own budgets on things they wouldn’t normally have gotten or would have had to go back and justify in order to get the money to pay for them. > > > [@](#): > > > > This story will just disappear because the general populous can’t relate to the “real” crimes. > > That seems to be your over riding theme here, but then your entire OP seems to be full of misinformation and maundering laments about how things you think are news worthy don’t make it in the news (the key point being that YOU don’t think they are), while vital stuff like this that’s been hanging around for years and is STILL in the news, you seem to think should, well, be news worthy. > > -XT Just as I thought. $8.7 BILLION unaccounted for is no big deal. It’s business as usual. While the money may have originated from Iraqi oil sales it went through the Pentagon which made them responsible. Now they can’t account for it. La de dee, la de dah. (Remember: the Republicans billed themselves as the party of personal responsibility.) Remember, the Republican congress impeached Clinton for losing $35,000 on a real estate deal that went sour. They used that to look into his personal life. Yea, he lied. That’s a lot worse than $8.7 BILLION that goes unaccounted. We all know that. If he had stolen $8.7 billion and kept his dick in his pants the dittoheads would want him on Mt. Rushmore because he actually brought some fiscal conservatism to this country. I don’t watch Fox News, or listen to Limbaugh or the rest of the haters. Tell me if any of these yapping mouths have devoted a program (or more than 5 minutes) to the missing $8.7 billion. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/24 "2010-07-29T10:07:44Z")
::crickets chirp merrily:: ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/25 "2010-07-29T14:55:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Apathy exists when peoples’ values are not reflected, their desires are unfulfilled within society and they feel a sense of alienation from what is happening around them. It is difficult to feel involved and included if we do not feel a part of our social milieu, if we believe there is nothing in it for us and if we feel excluded from the outcomes. In such situations there is no feeling of attachment or association and so there is likely to be detachment in the form of an apathetic response to prevent further hurt or disappointment and to dampen expectations. It’s a thought. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/26 "2010-07-29T15:46:42Z")
[QUOTE=R. P. McMurphy] While the money may have originated from Iraqi oil sales it went through the Pentagon which made them responsible. [/QUOTE] Really? Are you just assuming that, or do you have a basis for this assertion? From what I can tell there was little or no oversight being done on these funds, so, that would mean that the problem was that NO ONE was responsible. And this is pretty much what happens in these situations. > [@](#): > > (Remember: the Republicans billed themselves as the party of personal responsibility.) Well, they obviously aren’t, but this really has nothing to do with Republicans (or Democrats). The Department of Defense is certainly run by an appointed civilian, but the Pentagon isn’t either Republican or Democrat. > [@](#): > > Remember, the Republican congress impeached Clinton for losing $35,000 on a real estate deal that went sour. Apples to oranges. Clinton’s real estate deal was private, something he and Hillary did personally. This oversight was in a government department. > [@](#): > > They used that to look into his personal life. Well, yeah…it was an indications of possible misconduct in his PERSONAL LIFE. This is an indication of possible fraud, waste or abuse IN A FREAKING DEPARTMENT. Do you see the difference? Or, to put it another way, since it’s obviously what this is all about is a hard on for Bush et al, do you have any evidence that Bush was directly involved in this oversight? I mean besides the wild ass speculation and innuendo that you’ve presented thus far? > [@](#): > > If he had stolen $8.7 billion and kept his dick in his pants the dittoheads would want him on Mt. Rushmore because he actually brought some fiscal conservatism to this country. You are seriously hyped on this ridiculous analogy, aren’t you? Had Clinton directly stolen $8.7 billion (or $8.6 million, or even $870,000…hell, even $10,000) and been caught, they wouldn’t NEED to have tried to impeach him about a blow job…he would have been toast. Again, do you have any evidence that isn’t speculation or bullshit that directly or indirectly links Bush to this oversight? Or Chaney? Or, well, anyone? We’ll just drop the part about what may have actually happened to that money, and stick with the basics here. > [@](#): > > I don’t watch Fox News, or listen to Limbaugh or the rest of the haters. Tell me if any of these yapping mouths have devoted a program (or more than 5 minutes) to the missing $8.7 billion. Do your own research. It’s your assertions. As a hint, most folks around here don’t watch Fox or listen to Limbaugh either…and that includes me. You obviously are making some assumptions here. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/27 "2010-07-29T15:59:37Z")
•It’s just a few bad apples, again. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/28 "2010-07-29T16:10:49Z")
You forgot to paraphrase from The Replacements: Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Straw…Straw is forever… -XT ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/29 "2010-07-29T17:32:56Z")
It’s such a hoot listening to lefties fulminate about wasting government money. It’s like listening to a hooker talking about what sluts all the other whores are. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/30 "2010-07-29T17:34:39Z")
Who are you calling a Lefty, Righty? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/31 "2010-07-29T17:37:07Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > It’s such a hoot listening to lefties fulminate about wasting government money. It’s like listening to a hooker talking about what sluts all the other whores are. It’s such a hoot listening to right-wingers claim with straight faces that they’re fiscally responsible. It’s like listening to a preacher’s wife declaim about declining sexual morals while getting a rim job from the pool boy. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/32 "2010-07-30T06:23:56Z")
From outside the USA, this just looks like another example of a system without proper accountability - ditto the banking crisis, BP, the Iraq invasion . . . who is _accountable_? Who is culpable? It’s not a party political issue, it’s an issue of governance. An issue of the political class as a whole being bought by corporations and vested interests so oversight and accountability are minimal and don’t interfere with profit taking. The entire political system if corrupt, surely? And while you argue whether red is worse than blue or blue worse than red, the political class want to ascend the moral high ground on al-megrahi and BP. LOL. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/33 "2010-08-02T09:55:48Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Unaccounted for money does not mean stolen or wasted, it just means that the paperwork and recording keeping was not done properly. Exactly, this is why no outrage. We don’t know it wasn’t stolen. It could’ve been used properly, we don’t know. But we DO KNOW that the welfare mum in Detroit was getting more money than she should’ve, heck she shoudn’t be getting any at all…Well or so the thinking goes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/34 "2010-08-02T10:25:34Z")
LOL You believe this shit! ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272/35 "2010-08-02T12:58:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > > It’s such a hoot listening to lefties fulminate about wasting government money. It’s like listening to a hooker talking about what sluts all the other whores are. > > It’s such a hoot listening to right-wingers claim with straight faces that they’re fiscally responsible. It’s like listening to a preacher’s wife declaim about declining sexual morals while getting a rim job from the pool boy. . . . or the Palins preaching abstinence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentagon-cant-account-for-8-7-billion-of-iraqi-aid-money-wheres-the-outrage/548272.md?page=1)