IRAQI AUDITORS FIRED

After conducting a series of investigations and uncovering cases of fraud, bribery, and conspiracy in Iraq, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has been scheduled to be closed down. The office will cease all operations by October 1, 2007, according to the New York Times.

The office, run by Stuart Bowen Jr., has been highly controversial because it is so critical of the war and corruption in Iraq. Congress included provisions to shut down the federal oversight office in a long military spending bill that has already been signed by President Bush. The provision was written and inserted by a group of Republicans, and some Democrats are claiming that they weren’t aware it was in the military spending bill until after it was passed.

Some lawmakers have said that the office is no longer needed because it was only created to monitor reconstruction efforts in Iraq. However, critics argue that legislators are shutting down the federal government oversight agency in order to prevent the public disclosure of any more embarrassing scandals.
FMNN