And our mission is clear there, as well, and that is to train the Iraqis so they can do the fighting; make sure they can stand up to defend their freedoms, which they want to do.

George W. Bush

Two related stories, from Iraq, are getting little attention. The first item is the Iraq Army has a policy that let's enlisted soldiers leave whenever they wish.

"All the soldiers now, they don't care about the country. They care about the money," said Col. Alaa Kata al-Kafage. "After (soldiers) get paid and save a little bit of money, they leave."

That is a striking difference from Donald Rumsfeld's declaration: "The plan is to prevent a civil war, and to the extent one were to occur, to have the . . . Iraqi security forces deal with it to the extent they're able to."

In related news: Special Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen Jr. is investigating if money appropriated for the Iraq security force was used for the Interior or Defense building. Officials in the Petagon are complaining about Bowen overstepping his bounds. Looking over the books isn't such a bad idea. The United States seized $5 billion from Saddam Hussein. Only $1 billion has been accounted for. With so many Iraqi officials to bribe - who can keep track of all those dollars. Math is hard. The good news is American officials have learned the power of Iraqi capitalism.

A contractor in Iraq has pleaded guilty to providing money, sex and designer watches to U.S. officials in exchange for more than $8 million in reconstruction contracts, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Hat tip to Mr. Bill.

Crossposted at Pushing Rope

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