Protecting Iraqi assets -- Republican style
 

Note: Changed my original title because I thought this article referred to taxpayer dollars, but it actually referred to Iraqi money (as pointed out by patsfan13)

Now, let's remember this was done when we had a Republican President, a Republican Senate, and a Republican House. The righties can believe what they want about conservatives, but there's no evidence to support their view that conservatives are fiscally responsible or prudent.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/06/iraq.cash.reut/

The Federal Reserve sent record payouts of more than $4 billion in cash to Baghdad on giant pallets aboard military planes shortly before the United States gave control back to Iraqis, lawmakers said Tuesday.

The money, which had been held by the United States, came from Iraqi oil exports, surplus dollars from the U.N.-run oil-for-food program and frozen assets belonging to the ousted Saddam Hussein regime.

Bills weighing a total of 363 tons were loaded onto military aircraft in the largest cash shipments ever made by the Federal Reserve, said Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"Who in their right mind would send 363 tons of cash into a war zone? But that's exactly what our government did," the California Democrat said during a hearing reviewing possible waste, fraud and abuse of funds in Iraq.

Re: Wasting our tax dollars -- Republican style
 

Darn I thought you were gonna complain about one of the many programs the goverment funds that it shouldn't be involved with. Instead you complain abou the US goverment giving the Iraqi's back their money.

Hey Patters when we freeze assets of another country that doesn't make it US taxpayers money. Perhaps the new Iraqi goverment requested the money in the form of cash for their Central Bank?


Try to come up with some real waste so I can commend your fiscal viligance.

Re: Wasting our tax dollars -- Republican style
 

Oh, come on, patsfan13. You're really defending pallets of money to Iraq? Surely, we could have come up with a better way. And, yes, you're right, it wasn't our money, my mistake.

Re: Wasting our tax dollars -- Republican style
 

I domn't know enough to comment intellengently about the matter. Was it a request of the new Iraqi gov? I don't know apparently you in your partisan frenzy don't either.

Re: Protecting Iraqi assets -- Republican style
 

Sorry fellas, but the vast majority, if not almost all, of the business being done in Iraq, is done with cash. I saw a rehab contractor getting paid $85k in cash after completing a school project. He left the office with it in a cardboard box. Writing a check in Iraq is probably not very feasible.

Re: Protecting Iraqi assets -- Republican style
 

It IS their money... and I don't know if Iraq has any Western Unions with $4 billion laying around.