$23 billion has been lost, stolen, or not properly accounted for in Iraq, according to a BBC News investigation. BBC claims that private contractors have exploited the conflict and reconstruction [1] in a potentially criminal manner. There are 70 pending cases against private US companies for war profiteering, but the details of these cases are being kept mum under a gag order.

The article details that leading up to the war, VP Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton was the only company to bid on a $7 billion contract, which was granted over objections of the most senior Pentagon official on the contracts. The BBC also alleges that Hazem Shalaan, who became Iraq's defense minister, siphoned $1.2 billion out of the ministry by purchasing used Polish weapons but billing them as top class weapons. Shalaan was sentenced to jail but has succeeded in fleeing Iraq.

Estimates suggest that the volume of cash that has been misappropriated could give the Iraq War the worst war profiteering legacy in history. Do you hope that the gag order regarding US companies that may be involved is lifted soon? Does the public deserve some transparency?

Source [2]