Where Did the Money Go?

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


In the London Review of Books, Ed Harriman goes through the audits to tell the broader story of the looting-by-contractor scam that surrounded the reconstruction of Iraq. Notice that most of the money squandered—and we’re talking about billions and billions of dollars here—was Iraqi, not American taxpayer, money. All filed under “financial irregularities.”

Conservatives have spent so many years insisting that government bureaucracies are corrupt, inefficient, and wasteful. They finally decided to get off the couch and prove it in Iraq. Nicely done. And we wonder why they hate us!

HERE’S WHERE YOU COME IN

We’ll say it loud and clear: No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

HERE’S WHERE YOU COME IN

We’ll say it loud and clear: No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate