They’re worried about $8000 while a U.S. Army officer and his wife collected $9 million in bribes and Halliburton and KBR steal billions of Iraqi funds.

It is a politician’s dream: Handing out cold, hard cash to people on the street as they plead for help. Iraq’s prime minister has been doing just that in recent weeks, doling out Iraqi dinars as an aide trails behind, keeping a tally. The handouts by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and a handful of other top officials are authorized — as long as each goes no higher than about $8,000, and the same people don’t get them twice. Aides say they are meant merely to ease the pain a bit, and are motivated by a belief that better conditions will lead to more security. More

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Posted by markw, filed under News. Date: July 13, 2008, 7:14 am |

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