Don't Like the Audit? Fire the Auditors

It's been well documented on this blog and throughout the news world the sheer amount of our taxpayer dollars that have been wasted through fraud and abuse in Iraq. If you add up all of the waste, fraud and abuse in all of the audits done it's in the billions of dollars. Now, the Bush Administration seems to have found a solution: end auditing.

According to the Associated Press, it seems the Administration is going to virtually end the auditing of USAID programs in Iraq. This from their story:

The U.S. plans to reduce the number of auditors and investigators at its development agency in Baghdad, The Associated Press has learned.

A spokesman for Sen. Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican who opposes the plan, said Friday the nine investigators and auditors would be permitted to finish their tours — but would not be replaced.

[snip]

The USAID inspector general's office has had people on the ground in Iraq since August 2004, Dinkler said, and conducted 38 performance audits, as well as 105 financial audits that questioned $64 million in costs. Investigations have come up with $4.6 million in savings, she said.

[snip]

USAID's mission in Iraq has included helping the country with elections, government services, financial management, infrastructure projects, health care and education, according to the agency's Web site.

I really hope Representative Scott Garrett, and the whole New Jersey delegation for that matter, can find a way to join Senator Norm Coleman in vocal opposition of this proposal. Either the inspectors are reinstated or the funds going to Iraq should be frozen.

Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, no one who pays taxes should be happy about this Enron-esque move. It's bad enough our national treasure has been vanishing in the sands of Iraq when people are paying attention, the idea of unchecked graft is obscene.