Posted on 01/22/2005 3:53:01 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Defense minister threatens to arrest opponent in secret cash purchase.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ – Earlier this month, $300 million in dollar bills was taken from Iraq's central bank, put into boxes and put on a charter jet bound for Lebanon, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
The money was to be used to buy tanks and weapons from arms dealers, the officials said – part of an accelerated effort to assemble an armored division for the Iraqi army. But where the money went, to whom and for what, remains a mystery.
The deal appears to have been arranged outside the financial controls designed by the United States to help Iraq, which defaulted on its external debt in the 1990s, legally import goods. By most accounts, there was no public bidding for the arms contracts and the 33-member Iraqi Cabinet did not approve the deal.
On Friday, the flight became an issue in Iraq's U.S.-backed election when Defense Minister Hazim Al-Shaalan threatened to arrest a political rival.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
bttt!
Why on earth would they be buying from arms dealers when we would gladly sell them whatever they need. Something is fishy with this story. Since I'm not registered, I haven't read the whole article.
Sounds like the perfect place to buy arms -- for the terrorist opposition.
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