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Pentagon cannot account for almost $15 billion

washingtonpost.com — The inspector general for the Defense Department said yesterday that the Pentagon cannot account for almost $15 billion worth of goods and services ranging from trucks, bottled water and mattresses to rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns that were bought from contractors in the Iraq reconstruction effort.

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  • cubajournal, on 05/24/2008, -12/+124It would not surprise me if some of this money, which they can not account for, went into the pockets of Bush and Cheney cronies. War is a very lucrative business for that corrupt crowd. 242 days to go until they leave office.

    • redcolumbine, on 05/24/2008, -4/+29No, that's the money that they CAN account for. This stuff probably ended up getting sold to insurgents.
    • Rabbit63, on 05/24/2008, -3/+9It would surprise me if by one means or another it didn't all go into the pockets of Bush and Cheney cronies. Even if some of that is indirectly by supplying the Mujahideen and thus further fermenting strife in Iraq, justifying the Bush-wacking of Iraq to continue. Which has as its central purpose the enrichment of these two bastards' cronies.
    • Rabbit63, on 05/24/2008, -12/+28How about 242 days to go, before John McKook takes office and makes Bush look like only the second worst president in history wthin the first two years?

      Or 242 days to go before the Bush Puppet is removed and the Clinton or Obama puppet is installed?

      I just don't know why anybody would be enthusiastic about the future of US politics since there is NOTHING at all which is changing except maybe the rate of descent into hell, may be accelerated on the next watch. You are STILL going to hell in a handbasket.
      • plimpton777, on 05/24/2008, -4/+28Don't blame me--I voted for Ron Paul.
      • Kadail, on 05/24/2008, -3/+7It is funny though --- the fact that people are EXTREMELY enthusiastic about these "manchurian" like candidates as if they are somehow going to be different then any other presiden't we've had over the past 100 years. Rinse and repeat as it has been since the bankers of the Federal Reserve took over our nation.
        • quesi, on 05/24/2008, -0/+4now, who would digg ya down with no reply? it's almost as if they can't argue the point... just hope you're wrong - but unfortunately, you are not.
      • Pssdoff, on 05/24/2008, -0/+10$15 billion is nothing. The Pentagon lost 2.3 trillion on 9/10/2001, and no one gave a ***** then, why would anything be done about losing $15 billion now?

        Its pathetic that this is so common place, and nothing is ever done about it.
    • EatChex89, on 05/24/2008, -1/+4I have the day-by-day countdown calendar too!
    • MadEnvoy, on 05/24/2008, -2/+11"242 days to go until they leave office." - Maybe.
      • mystcnurse, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1yeah, unless there is another "terrist" attack and Bush has to declare marshall law which would stop the elections.
    • mcquitty, on 05/24/2008, -9/+8I am glad facts have no basis here. It is fashionable to blame Mr. Bush and Company on everything. However, this is just government at work. Should I pull up articles on unaccounted money under Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush (Sr.), Mr. Reagan, Mr. Carter, Mr. Lyndon, Mr. Nixon, and Mr. Kennedy?

      Prove to me that Mr. Bush took it.

      Government wastes and loses money. It's not a specific administration, it is all of them.
      • JDove6, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5Its also known that the government doesn't have to be exactly truthful with the public in accounting, when they report the purchase of a $1,000 toilet seat, its usually a way to hide other more secretive costs, not really a toilet seat that costs that much.
        • Terasiel, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1Remember Independence Day? It's all being funneled into secret bases. (Which may, or may not, actually turn out to be in the Bahamas and filled with "retired" politicians.)
      • buckrogers1965, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2The money was stolen unless it can be accounted for.

        Where does the buck stop? On the presidents desk.

        He is responsible for everything that the entire executive branch and military does or fails to do.

        Don't want that responsibility? Then don't seek to be elected president.

        I am so sick of there being no responsibility in America anymore.
        • mcquitty, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1I agree with you. However, amongst all the administrations, there is one constant. The middle level management. That's the vast amount of waste. My mother worked as a contracting specialist for 15 years. She talked about the waste, the contracts that were illegally awarded because some mid level manager decided "it was in the government's best interest".

          When she reported the waste, the manager was usually reassigned to another department to wreak the same destructive behavior. Does that remind you of Catholic Priests?

          When there is waste in Obama's administration, will it be his fault?
      • mystcnurse, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Yeah, but if you lost $5000.00 you would be audited to hell.
    • opiniastrous, on 05/24/2008, -0/+4Haha. I guarantee you that is not what happened. Bush and Cheney have enough of their own money.

      Militaries simply have a hell of a lot of equipment to manage, and a hell of a lot of soldiers who are willing to sneak an item here and there. The military isn't like an accounting firm - it has a 'can do' attitude with a mission-focus, and keeping the books is considered to be of minimal importance.

      Soldiers will take an extra magazine if they need one, an extra ball brush for their cleaning kit, fail to record the fact that they broke a small item in the field, etc. Over time, it all adds up.

      There would be corruption as well, but it would be more along the lines of items being stolen and sold to criminal elements.
    • Rekzai, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1lol america.
    • brokencrystal, on 05/24/2008, -1/+3"242 days to go until they leave office."
      Yea, but it looks like we are screwed anyway... if Ron Paul does not get elected.
    • LeeSoong, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Try looking under the Sofa cushions,
      it's bound to be around here somewhere...
  • imacommi, on 05/24/2008, -4/+91The pentagon and all government agencies need to have an independent auditor appointed to review their purchases, and when funds come missing they need to throw the people responsible in jail. If this were a corporation there would be hell to pay for this, why should it be any different in government?! Where is the accountability?!
    • kemp34, on 05/24/2008, -0/+13There should be LARGER punishments for government malfeasance. These people take their money by FORCE!
    • mcquitty, on 05/24/2008, -0/+9You know, they do run audits. A couple years ago there was an article detailing all the purchases by government credit card. The credit cards were meant to streamline government purchases. Instead, people took vacations, bought personal items and the like, all on the government's dime.
      The punishment for most of them. Nothing.
      • thedogfatherx, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3Can you provide me more information on this please? Links or something.

        Thanks.
        • mcquitty, on 05/24/2008, -0/+4Just do a search on google: government credit card abuse

          Here's the first hit, from May 8, 2008 from the Houston Chronicle:
          http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/5752141. ...

          "NASA employees have used government credit cards to ring up iPods, video games and even clothes from the agency's own gift shop, while at other times using the cards in ways that sidestep competitive bidding rules, federal documents and a Chronicle review of agency records show."

          Would you like more examples?
          http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/archive/2008 ...

          "A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report posted on the GAO website this morning offered a highly critical look at the government purchase card program. A sampling of over 12 agencies revealed that nearly 41 percent of roughly $14 billion in credit-card purchases, whether legitimate or questionable, were not properly authorized or had not been signed for by an independent third party, as mandated by federal rules to deter fraud."

          http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/m02-05.htm ...

          "Recent reports by the General Accounting Office and Inspectors General, as well as congressional hearings and press reports, have raised serious concerns regarding the adequacy of internal control systems that monitor the use of the more than 2.5 million government credit cards now in circulation. To date, millions of dollars of fraudulent and unauthorized expenditures have been made using these cards. Such abuse is unacceptable and requires prompt and effective remedial action by the departments and agencies.


          In some ways, the purchase and travel card programs have increased efficiency in the federal acquisition process, but they have also created large, new opportunities for fraud and abuse. "


          http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/09/gao.spe ...

          "Federal employees charged millions of dollars to government credit or debit cards, according to a Government Accountability Office study released Wednesday.

          Those charges include Internet dating services, iPods, expensive clothing, a $13,500 dinner and lingerie to be worn during jungle training in Ecuador, the study said.

          The audit also found that government agencies could not account for nearly $2 million worth of items, which included computer servers, laptop computers, iPods and digital cameras.

          Nearly half of transactions made in the 2006 fiscal year with government credit or debit cards -- referred to as "purchase cards" -- were improper, the study found, and the audit condemned the government-wide "rate of failure" as "unacceptably high.""

          I hope that helps.
      • imacommi, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1They might do audits but there is still no accountability which is the problem. If they are miss-appropriating funds then they should go to jail it is as simple as that. Government incompetence is no excuse for being crooked
      • boydestruction, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1"Government credit cards" are paid by the cardholder. They are mostly used to pay for TDY charges associated with official travel. They submit an expense report, which is reviewed, and then are reimbursed for what they charged. That reimbursement can be applied to the card or the individual. People charging items like vacations and personal items have to pay for those items, but they were misusing the card they were issued by ignoring the card policy. There aren't government purchase cards that issued to individuals with "free money" on them unless they're issued to a person representing a specific organization. Those types of cards are heavily monitored by the organization who issued them, and most of the time they are very limited in where they can be used.
    • ElAssoWipo, on 05/24/2008, -0/+8"Where is the accountability?!"

      It's commenting on Digg.

      THEY WORK FOR YOU.

      This is your money. You gave it to them. You're the ones who are supposed to get pissed at them and do something about it.
      • imacommi, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1They might work for me but the people who are supposed to be in charge of this totally dropped the ball. Congress needs to hold these peoples feet to the fire, the problem is that congress is just as bad.

        "This is your money. You gave it to them. You're the ones who are supposed to get pissed at them and do something about it."

        I didn't give them anything, they stole it out of my paycheck. And I AM PISSED, but there needs to be new legislation enacted so that these people can finally be held accountable. At the very least they need to create an oversight board that is part of the justice department. I've written my state representatives and asked for this type of thing but everybody else needs to follow through as well...
        • ElAssoWipo, on 05/25/2008, -1/+1"And I AM PISSED, but there needs to be new legislation enacted "

          You're not pissed enough. You're mildly annoyed.

          They stopped listening to you about 100 years ago and you still expect them to listen to you.

          Shoot the *****. Burn their houses down. That's what you do to people who stole from absolutely every citizen in the country.
    • philodygmn, on 05/24/2008, -2/+3Jesus, what'll it take to wake you up to the fact that _the spending_ is the problem, not whether or not it's properly accounted for. So, whatever the military wants is _fine_ so long as an independent auditor tells you everything's accounted for? Don't you get it, yet, that such an agency in the first place, let alone anything like its current mission, are problems, themselves?! So you'd rather distract yourself about the money involved. There's real courage, instead of standing against what's being _done_. You're evidently content to whine about the money involved.
      • kemp34, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5Personally, I have a problem with both.
      • buckrogers1965, on 05/24/2008, -0/+4Why do we have to choose?

        Can't it be wrong the way we are spending _and_ wrong that the incorrect spending isn't being accounted for?
  • Rabbit63, on 05/24/2008, -4/+51At least we know how the Iraqi resistance is getting re-supplied and it isn't by Iran.
  • JKap, on 05/24/2008, -7/+166Reminds me of the $2.3 trillion in transactions that could not be accounted for by the Department of Defense on September 10, 2001 (the day before 9/11).

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningn ...
    • lazerus9, on 05/24/2008, -2/+31I don't know why some one would digg you down for stating the facts?
    • quesi, on 05/24/2008, -4/+34...and was 0 diggs when I got here too... It was actually $2.3 Trillion, on 9/10/01, and then another $1 Trillion later. Thank you Dov Zakheim, Israeli-American (sic) dual-citizen traitor - who, btw, also worked for a defense contractor that made the FTS (Flight Termination System) that can "re-hijack" (as in remote control) and even safely land (or crash) 757s. Funny, that system had a "pod-like" unit under the plane and the same company had access to at least 2 (two) 757s as a part of their mid-flight refueling project, just prior to 9/11. Funnier, he's walking around a free man.
      • lazerus9, on 05/24/2008, -2/+9Right on "Q"
      • mcquitty, on 05/24/2008, -1/+3Why would they let someone run around if he could blow the entire cover story?
      • DestroyFascism, on 05/24/2008, -1/+1Actually remote control was first invented by Aerospace industries in Port Melbourne Australia. (back in 1978 IIRC)
      • theright, on 05/24/2008, -0/+31. What on Earth are you talking about when you refer to "another $1 trillion later"?

        2. Where does Dov Zakheim come into your paranoid delusional fantasies? He was the person drafted in to track down the $2.3 trillion of unaccounted for expenditures. In February 2002 Zakheim announced that the sum of "lost" funds had been trimmed down from $2.3 trillion to $700 billion, and that the amount "continues to drop."
        • quesi, on 05/24/2008, -3/+11. In 2003, another $1 Trillion was announced as unaccounted for, and was in the major news. Why on Earth would you dispute here what you can easily Google?

          2. To believe that Dov Zakheim was "drafted in to track down the $2.3 Trillion of 'unaccounted expenditures'" is in and of itself a delusional fantasy. He can announce what he wants, without a full accounting of the expenditures - which they have continued to say can't and won't happen, we won't get at the truth.

          Take your false "left/right paradigm" and your insults elsewhere. Your about as Conservative as those currently in office, which isn't very.
    • DestroyFascism, on 05/24/2008, -0/+16The information was lost in the fire. (It just happened to be stored in that part of the wing) The people accounting for it also died.
      • quesi, on 05/24/2008, -1/+8yep - coincidentally.... : |
      • theright, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2No, it was not. Financial management personnel were lost in the attack on the Pentagon, but there is no evidence of any documents relating to the $2.3 trillion auditing scandal being lost.

        Substantiate this claim or stop making baseless accusations, please.
        • quesi, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2Baseless? Use your head, if accounting was there already the day after the announcement (even if it was days earlier or weeks after), where do you think they stored these documents? Your loyalties are quite obvious at this point... you are a) unaware of the difference between Nationalism and Patriotism, or b) pursuing a disinformation agenda in your posting (This is most likely the case - why aren't you displaying your Israeli flag icon today?), or c) a complete fool for not putting two and two together.

          Warning: Israeli disinformation agent in the hzowse!
        • theright, on 05/24/2008, -2/+1As I stated, there is no evidence to suggest any documents relating to this auditing scandal were lost. If you are going to make accusations that they were, then be prepared to back them up, because in the absence of such evidence I will describe them as they are: baseless accusations.

          On the other hand, there is evidence that documents relating to the scandal were not lost. In February 2002, as mentioned elsewhere, it was announced that more than two-thirds of the previously unaccounted for $2.3 trillion had been reconciled, as different accountancy systems were consolidated and integrated. How could this be the case if all the documents relating to the scandal were lost in the Pentagon?

          Common sense dictates the DoD keep multiple copies, off-site back-ups and archives of financial reports and the contents of accountancy systems.
        • quesi, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2You are biased and quoting a biased source. Defenselink is as valid as military analysts or the pre-Iraq and pre-Iran rhetoric.

          the $2.3T was announced before 9/10/01?
          Give me a source that predates 9/10/01, or its not valid.
        • theright, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1I'm quoting a biased source? How can Defenselink be biased in quoting Zakheim himself? How can Defenselink be biased in reporting that the amount of "lost" expenditures had been reduced by more than two-thirds? Defenselink was reporting facts. If you'd like to address those facts, and perhaps put forward some evidence to refute them, that would be much appreciated. Otherwise, I'm not catering for your paranoid delusional "OMG anyone vaguely related to the gubiment must be a disinfo agent in on the hayooge conspiwacy! they cannot be twusted!" mindset.

          Yes, as I've stated elsewhere in this thread, the $2.3 trillion issue was raised during a 1999 audit. It was reported by the AP in March 2000 ( http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.t ... ), was mentioned by John Isaacs on PBS in February 2001 ( http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june01 ... ). Rumsfeld himself mentioned the figure in an interview with Lou Dobbs on CNN's Moneyline in June 2001 ( http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/28/mll ... ). Those are just a few instances. It was also brought before the House a few times, and was mentioned during the Capitol Hill hearing on the appointment of Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense, held in January 2001.

          Will you now concede the 9/11 denial movement's accusation that September 10th, 2001 was the first time word of this scandal was made are at best mistaken, at worst yet another instance of outright lies and fabrication from the intellectually corrupt crowd? And to think you call me a "disinformation agent"
    • digTruthiness, on 05/24/2008, -2/+5Means that the next false flag operation is not far away anymore.
      And let me guess ... Iran will be blamed and they will have to start a new war.
    • theright, on 05/24/2008, -2/+7lazerus9, since you like facts so much, here are some more for you:

      1. The money was not lost. It was, as JKap correctly refers to it, "unaccounted for". The Pentagon has literally hundreds of different accounting systems, with the majority not being able to share information, making it difficult to track down records across different systems. In Rumsfeld's announcement on 9/10/2001 he stated the DoD "cannot track" the funds. This was further clarified in a news release in April 2002:

      "In fiscal 1999, a defense audit found that about $2.3 trillion of balances, transactions and adjustments were inadequately documented. These "unsupported" transactions do not mean the department ultimately cannot account for them, she advised, but that tracking down needed documents would take a long time. Auditors, she said, might have to go to different computer systems, to different locations or access different databases to get information."

      2. $2.3 trillion was almost eight times the DoD's annual budget in 2001. If it was a case of money being diverted to unscrupulous sources, the issue would not just one that affected the Bush administration, it would have existed for at least a decade beforehand.

      3. The announcement on 9/10 was not the first time the $2.3 trillion figure was announced. The figure came up, as previously stated, in a 1999 audit. It was reported by AP in March 2000, was mentioned in a Capitol Hill hearing in January 2001, was announced by the inspector general of the Pentagon and reported on by PBS in February 2001. Rumsfeld stated the figure himself on Lou Dobbs Moneyline in June 2001, and it was raised during the House Budget Committee in July 2001. No new information was presented by Rumsfeld about the $2.3 trillion figure in the 9/10 announcement. It was common knowledge and had been reported on extensively by the media for months/years beforehand.

      4. There is no evidence to suggest the wreckage at the Pentagon resulted in loss of files relating to this scandal. The Pentagon announced financial management personnel were lost in the attacks, but the only tangible outcome was that the Army could not release a stand-alone financial statement for FY2001 (therefore it could not be audited) and the information had to be released in the DoD FY2001 agency-wide financial statements alone.

      5. The issue was not swept under the rug after the attacks, and much of the money has since been accounted for. According to a February 2002 report, the amount of "lost" expenditures had been trimmed down from $2.3 trillion to $700 billion, and that the amount "continues to drop."

      I can provide sources for any and every statement in this comment if you'd like. Most of this can be found with a simple Google search, if you're actually interested in learning about things rather than spreading lies and misinformation to further your ill-conceived opinions.
    • kevman459, on 05/25/2008, -3/+2I hope you're not trying to imply the U.S. government orchestrated the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil in one day to hide some lost money...
  • MarkEarhart, on 05/24/2008, -3/+16Surprise surprise. And this from a paper whose credibility practially makes it a print edition of Fox News. If you want to find out how much money is being wasted watch "Iraq for Sale" on Google video.
    • insomniac010, on 05/24/2008, -1/+1You might be thinking of the Washington Times when you think of a D.C. Paper with no credibility. The Washington Post has some old-school big-time cred. Ever hear of 2 guys named Woodward and Bernstein?
    • poihead, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2Just by coincidence I just watched the doc this morning. It makes me never want to pay taxes again!

      The most incredible part is when they interview Halliburton employees that describe how they just blow up any vehicle that breaks down on the road (even flat tires!) so they can charge us for new ones...
    • mrjhmm, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1"Iraq for Sale":

      http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-662148672 ...
  • kelt65, on 05/24/2008, -2/+27did'nt they "lose" 2 trillion back in 2004? this is small change. Plus, they lost 360 thousand tons of CTX explosives, which translates into about 720 million IED bombs, at 1 pound per bomb.
    • Ruger11mcrdpi, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3They use more than 1 pound, they pack a 155mm artillery shell full of the stuff. then set two or three of those full shells into a hole together.
  • lazerus9, on 05/24/2008, -0/+9Remember this story from a while back:http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/1 ...
  • EffYoo, on 05/24/2008, -0/+31The military routinely overcharges itself and diverts funds away from public, approved and legitimate projects to pay for secret and classified projects. The black budget that is officially devoted towards them is only part of the amount actually spent on them and the kinds of things that this money is going to pay for are unavailable to the public that is paying for them. It makes me wonder just how many ridiculous 'gay bomb' type projects that we are throwing money at, hoping that it isn't a load of ***** just because it would be super cool to have some weird kind of weapon.
    • crapmatic, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5Maybe so, but lately I've been concerned about the country using it on its own people. Not something I would have thought 20 years ago.
    • colincornaby, on 05/24/2008, -1/+1I doubt they'd be doing much with 17 billion though. It's only barely twice as much as the revenue of Apple. One F-22 alone costs 137.5 million.
      • buckrogers1965, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2It's 17 billion a year. If you blew $46,575,343 a day you could just barely spend it all in a year. That is just under 2 million dollars an hour, every hour of the day, every day the entire year.
  • quesi, on 05/24/2008, -2/+25we need a bunch of tar, even more feathers, and some rope - stat!
  • kemp34, on 05/24/2008, -3/+43Taxpayers being raped and pillaged.
    • PolishLogic, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5The biggest part of the government loses $15 billion, and some people would like to see the government continue to grow and run more programs?

      Amazing isn't it?
  • openj, on 05/24/2008, -1/+16Look, nobody questioned Pope Urban II or Sigurd I over how much it cost to sack Antioch. Crusades cost money. God and Bush have this one under control. You should focus your attention on spreading God's Word and let the money work itself out.
    • dleesgeetar, on 05/24/2008, -1/+4ya we should just start thinking of "God" and "Bush" as the same person, cuz Bush always knows what God wants anyways
    • nowhereelse, on 05/24/2008, -2/+2and God knows what Bush wants.
  • plimpton777, on 05/24/2008, -2/+31How long are we locking up Wesley Snipes again?! For what, a couple lousy mil?
  • AlwaysAwake, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5OOOOOOOOps that' a big hole in the barrel.
  • observin, on 05/24/2008, -2/+11I'm surprised its only $15 billion.
    • chromerium, on 05/24/2008, -1/+2Yeah, I was gonna say, 15 billion? And the rest? There's a lot more than 15 billion dollars missing.
    • buckrogers1965, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1Oh, it's a lot more than that.
  • J3553, on 05/24/2008, -1/+13"dude, it was RIGHT THERE"
  • Rsardinia, on 05/24/2008, -2/+29So what about that 2.3 trillion dollars missing from the pentagon which was talked about on september 10th, 2001? http://benfrank.net/patriots/news/national/pentago ...
  • hansk, on 05/24/2008, -3/+7I know who took it, it was that damned Saskwatch.
  • baylorbear, on 05/24/2008, -1/+19That's a whole lot of $4300 prostitutes.
    • redxninja, on 05/24/2008, -1/+2$4300..that must be a week worth of constant hardcore *****.
  • Bagos1, on 05/24/2008, -1/+7Unfortunately nothing will be done about it. There is a very long list of abuse, but the Judiciary has been compromised by invoking national security.
    • sodade, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3When will we learn that it is never worth having secrets - even when "national security" is supposedly at stake.
    • Izult, on 05/24/2008, -1/+3nothing will be done because the people won't get off their ass and write their reps, or protest to demand accountability. You've got to participate in this government, you can't just sit on your ass and expect them to run things for you. Real change will happen when more people realize that their voice counts and join their voice with everyone else. The founding fathers had it right when they said that the government derives its power from the consent of the governed.
  • dleesgeetar, on 05/24/2008, -2/+3they should've given it to me ): i coulda done some tight ***** with $15 bill
  • dleesgeetar, on 05/24/2008, -2/+8to think this all could've been put into the education system . . .
    • johndi, on 05/24/2008, -1/+4So they could lose it instead? The student loan scandal, the textbook scandal, insider trading, and the President's bother Neil raking in the dough from NCLB. Not to mention their own lost billions. Give me more government like that. The Department of Education is nearly as corrupt as the Pentagon.

      Sure I'd like to see our schools do better, but money isn't the problem. We spend more on education than all but a few countries, but rank near the bottom of the industrialized World in education. The money isn't being used well and all more money will get us is more waste. The states need to take back responsibility because the Feds sure as hell won't.

      I don't know why we even have a GAO to tell us when our officials are robbing us blind. We never hold the greedy bastards accountable.
    • marx2k, on 05/24/2008, -2/+3education, public transportation, food programs, social security, retirement, medical assistance, health programs, etc..

      "Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer— except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs."
  • iancgi, on 05/24/2008, -3/+20And what about the 2.3 trillion they "lost" back in 2000/2001. Oddly enough this story broke on September 10th 2001.

    Rumsfield admits it here
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLqUIsgkh3Q

    And I know im the fifth person to say this. Which makes me why we arent doing anything about it yet.
    • groovechamp30, on 05/24/2008, -0/+4Get up, organise and do something then...
    • theright, on 05/24/2008, -3/+11. The story did not break on September 10th. The figure was uncovered during a 1999 audit, and had been reported on (including once by Rumsfeld himself during a Lou Dobbs interview) countless times in the months/years before the attacks.

      2. They aren't doing anything about it?

      "DoD financial experts, Zakheim said, are making good progress reconciling the department's "lost" expenditures, trimming them from a prior estimated total of $2.3 trillion to $700 billion. And, he added, the amount continues to drop.

      "We're getting it down and we are redesigning our systems so we'll go down from 600-odd systems to maybe 50," he explained."

      — February 2002, http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2002/n02202002_ ...
      • quesi, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2No. It broke on 9/10/01 unless I find something corroborating an earlier break of the story... the DoD website and in-house reporting doesn't cover that, I'm afraid. You know, after the propaganda with the "Military Analysts" and of course the lies heading into Iraq, I just need another source. Oh, and like I'm going to believe the Iran thing now... hahahaha
        I'm sure you feel the same way...?
  • twistaspliff, on 05/24/2008, -1/+1http://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
  • Canadian0207, on 05/24/2008, -4/+7UFO's!!!
  • BluesFan, on 05/24/2008, -0/+7Jesus if this is all going to black project money then what the ***** are they building/planning for??

    Honestly I think most of the money is being swindled,this government is so ***** corrupt from top to bottom that it's not even fixable anymore.
    • marx2k, on 05/24/2008, -0/+4It's fixable. You begin by downsizing the government and the military. You move money earmarked for the military and put it back into social programs and infrastructure. You take taxpayer money that is earmarked for a back yard swimming pool for some bureaucrat who's only job is to rubber stamp inconsequential documents and put that money into some rural school's lunch program. Keep doing this until you get the government down to a normal size and enough money back into our infrastructure. It's a simple transference from the pockets of fatcats that have spent 8 years or more getting fatter and put it back where it belongs.

      And when I say 'you', I mean an elected group of people (say, the next president and his staff) who YOU elect with the belief that they will do exactly that.
    • darylyounge, on 05/24/2008, -1/+2This government ? All governments are corrupt.
  • dsmx, on 05/24/2008, -0/+9Thats the equivalent of losing around 115 F22 raptors.
  • fuckingusername, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5oh Im sure it ended up in a few political pockets
    • xonahuia, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1I'm sure some of this money was given to our *cough* "enemies" to fund their attacks against U.S. troops so that this so-called war on terror doesn't end
  • sodade, on 05/24/2008, -0/+7I wonder how much money the military has cost the American people since 1945? Considering that our military has done not ONE positive thing for the American people, I'd say that we have been taken to the cleaners. Pride was our downfall...
    • Ruger11mcrdpi, on 05/24/2008, -6/+1Yeah... getting rid of Hitler and his mass murder of minorites, that was no big deal. Yup the military hasn't done one positive thing. It's not like they contained the spread of communism, or anything. Hell let me think if ANY military technology has helped anyone, you know besides the obvious disaster relief in indonesia, philipines, Louisiana, etc
      I know that laser eye Surgery was only possible using the system designed for laser tracking in the military. The wheel you drive on in your car was a direct result of military transfer of technology. Prior to 1450bc the first recorded use of "spoked" wheels was in military chariots in Egypt, so they could be mass produced and be lighter. The jet engine was a direct result of military tech development during war. As was the entire space program stemming from WWII. During the middle ages, production of cannons when they first started being created forced amazing advancements in metalurgy, new techniques in foundaries, and precision in forging that actually paved the way for the future of industrial development.

      The concept of interchangable parts in ANYthing was a product of war. in 1798 Eli Whitney (the cotton gin guy) created the idea of interchangeable parts for the army's muskets. this was the first successful mass production in modern times.

      Let's see... what else has the military done. Oh, yeah, they ended the whole slavery thing, freeing about 4,000,000 africans in America from bondage... those people were probably pretty happy.

      Hmm, early commercial aviation was made possible through wartime surplus airplanes. Almost every civilian helicopter flying today is a direct result of a military helicopter technology.

      yeah, idiot, you're right, I can't name one positive thing the military has done for the american people. Oh, actually I can. But only one. YOUR RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

      ***** you very much.
      • sodade, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3Reading comprehension please. I specifically said "after 1945." The example of technology bleeding into civilian purposes is totally illogical considering that my whole ***** point is that the trillions of dollars taxpayers have dumped into the military could have been dumped into purely civilian R&D with dramatically better results for the american people. The only other thing you note post 1945 is "stopping the spread of communism" - how in the ***** does Vietnam (just to pull one example of our 60 years of idiotic foreign policy) being communist affect the american people? The whole commie thing was just a big boogieman that the MIC used to rape the american taxpayer - and now we call that boogieman "terrorism."

        There once was a time when war could solve problems effectively - the revolutionary war is a good example, but our blatant failure to control a small desert country despite the insane amount of money we have dumped into the Iraq war is a clear indicator that war is useless in the modern world unless you are willing to make glass parking lots.

        Don't get me wrong - I love playing war games as much as you obviously do and I bet I could kick your ass at ASL, but gaming is about all it is good for these days.

        Again, I challenge you (or anyone else) to name ONE way in which an american military action post 1945 benefited the american people. Oh gee - you can't. Now, think of that on a cost/benefit scale and it becomes really clear that we have been ***** over by war profiteering.
  • theadvinci, on 05/24/2008, -1/+3This is peanuts considering how much they already spent on the war in Iraq.
  • RedAmerican, on 05/24/2008, -1/+2umm is this a surprise to anyone? I also would not be surprised if the FED did an inventory of the gold on hand and found out they were missing about half of it... hmmm gold price fixing anyone?
    • urgeigh, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1The Fed doesn't have any gold hahahaha. And even if they do that doesn't back our money or effect the value of it.
  • mrogi, on 05/24/2008, -1/+6$15 billion is a drop of water in the ocean of Pentagon spending. According to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2001, the Pentagon misplaced $2.3 trillion dollars and still cannot find it. You would have to lose $15 billion/yr for 153 consecutive years to lose $ 2.3 trillion. 90% of US taxpayer money is squandered on govt waste, corruption and outright theft.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpWqdPMjmo
  • DestroyFascism, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5lost to Wankers of Mass Destruction
  • Borgcube636, on 05/24/2008, -0/+7No *****, it's all going to top-secret Black-Ops programs
  • RSMiller, on 05/24/2008, -2/+1Wow about time this showed up I heard about this months ago. Just glad to see that someone finally picked up on it. Digg it up
  • monsterette, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3....hmmmm..... $32 million for a non-constructed military facility in itself is quite an oversight as well as the grenades, firearms, etc....
  • darylyounge, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2Defense Department officials are embarrassed ? They just bilked taxpayers another 15 billion.
    Way to go Defense Department!
  • jtscira, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3Iran/Contra Part II anyone ?
  • ihazstatus, on 05/24/2008, -0/+8If I couldn't account for $1,000 at my job I would either be let go or severely disciplined. I need to find me a job with the federal government or Countrywide Financial where ineptitude PAYS!
  • craiginct, on 05/24/2008, -1/+3ONLY 15 Billion?
    • aelias, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I thought they were missing a zero or two on the end there myself.
  • KhanneaNL, on 05/24/2008, -2/+1http://scottthong.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/tape ...
  • almightyzam, on 05/24/2008, -4/+3***** THING SUCKS!
  • thewump, on 05/24/2008, -0/+5This on top of the mammoth amount reported "missing" by Rumsfeld on September 8th 2001 - a discussion that was quickly forgotten by other events.
  • s32843, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1no surprising. It's strictly business. they need wars to feed themselves. don't raise your blood pressure when you read outrageous stories in FOREIGN countries.
  • skinnyskittles, on 05/24/2008, -1/+2don't expect anything less from a governmental institution
  • Farkeologist, on 05/24/2008, -0/+6They have to pay for the Stargate program with SOMETHING...
  • Ruger11mcrdpi, on 05/24/2008, -0/+22Hey guys, there is a HUGE irony here, that you'd only understand if you were in the military. For lower ranking guys like me (I'm a sergeant) actually even as high up as a battalion commander (lieutenant colonel) they are actually REALLY strict on accountability. I mean officers get relieved pretty much straight up if one of their guys loses night vision goggles, a radio or a weapon. For the enlisted guys, you have to pull out all your gear, everything down to canteens that cost $1.47, about once a month to check for it all. If you lose anything you can be written up, and have to buy the replacement with your own $$. An entire Battalion (1,000+) of Marines cannot go on liberty (leave the base) after a training mission until every single piece of gear in the armory, from guns, to spare barrels, optics, radios, compasses, bayonets etc is accounted for. If something's missing they'll search everyones gear/rooms/povs etc.

    Just thought you guys would get a kick out hearing the other side of this. It's pretty ironic to us lower ranking guys.
    • groovechamp30, on 05/24/2008, -0/+8I can believe it...Its not as if rank and file marines are stuffing their pockets with millions of dollars.

      Its the private contractors, politicians and other hangers on that are siphoning this money off.
    • buckrogers1965, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3I knew a sergeant that got busted for bringing his truck engine in to be washed off in the big vat of industrial cleaner that we had in the shop over the weekend. Enlisted people can't get away with anything.
    • atticus8, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2For all the soldiers that have ever been screwed because of policies like the one described above, for all those applicable soldiers who further realize that no one will be punished for this "whoops, where'd it go?" loss of $15B, I apologize on behalf of America for yet another indignity poured on you, despite your courageous service.
  • neozeed, on 05/24/2008, -3/+12Ignore the two trillion they couldnt account for on 9/10/2001..

    But hey, Halitburton et al need moneis to kill too!!!
    • theright, on 05/24/2008, -3/+3http://www.911myths.com/html/rumsfeld__9_11_and__2 ...
      • quesi, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2When you are covering for Dov Zakheim, you should really display the other icon, with the Israeli flag. Oh, and you haven't called out the Megaphonies yet? Give me a break.
        • theright, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2Did you ever stop to consider I have the Israeli flag in my photo gallery for a reason?

          It's great how you think you've uncovered a huge conspiracy because I display the Israeli flag in my user profile, though. Quite hilarious, in fact...
        • quesi, on 05/25/2008, -2/+1yeah - huge conspiracy... hilarious (smirk)
        • theright, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2Well, you seem to think it's a huge conspiracy. You've mentioned it at least a few times in this comment thread, made snide comments that I should use the Israeli flag as my user icon on at least two occasions, and at one point referred to me as an "Israeli disinformation agent". The fact that you even checked my user profile in the first place is a little telling.

          Yes, it is quite hilarious. It never ceases to amaze me how the Israeli flag brings the anti-semites (or anti-Zionists, if you want to veil your irrational hatred of Jews in a political term) out of the woodwork.
        • quesi, on 05/25/2008, -1/+1Predictable. Call it what you want, I mentioned neither religion nor race.
          And I thought that most of todays Israelis are not actually semitic? I thought they were mostly from Russia and thereabouts? Aren't Palestinians semitic...? Don't you have to be from that region? Sorry, they didn't really cover semites in much detail in school, and I don't do church...

          You sir, or madam as the case may be, are either not really an American - and/or place your loyalties elsewhere. This you had made clear before I looked at your profile. Note: At 1600x1200, I can't really see much of anyone's avatar in the threads. Check my profile if you want, or not - I don't care.... I think thats what profiles are there for...

          You have done nothing to convince me that the $2.3T was announced missing prior to 9/10/01. If you had a non-biased source, you would provide it. I did check a couple pages deep into some google searches, but can't find anything that is dated prior to 9/10 announcing the loss.

          I have grown tired of your "irrational hatred" of the United States, and think we can just about wrap it up here. But, I might check back one more time to see if you provide something (anything) of worth supporting your argument. Otherwise, you are here with an agenda. If that agenda matches a certain stereotype - and you knowingly perpetuate that stereotype - then you damage that which you claim to support. Luckily, I see through all that - and don't hold it against all Jews, just those (Jewish or otherwise) that behave that way.
  • ncsumetalhead, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1it's probably all gone to bailing out these giant corporations. fuel the rich, let everyone else suffer with the monetary problems facing the country.
  • evilcaptain, on 05/24/2008, -0/+3$15 000 000 000
    What a lot of zeros.
  • Troy64, on 05/24/2008, -0/+2Don't blame I only took $2 billion, and that was just because I saw it laying around in a warehouse. They really should lock those doors.
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