State Dept. seeks $1.5B for Iraq

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department's request for $1.5 billion to protect U.S. diplomats and a growing number of reconstruction teams on the ground is a pricey reminder that the war-torn country remains a dangerous place.

. . .

Lawmakers who control the flow of money are questioning the department's appetite for more. Over $500 million of the proposed 2008 spending would go to three private security firms, including Blackwater Worldwide, which has been denounced since a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad left 17 Iraqis dead.

. . .

Rep. Nita Lowey said lawmakers won't let U.S. diplomats go unprotected. But before the fiscal year 2008 request can be approved, the State Department must prove "it is capable of overseeing the actions of private security contractors and preventing the misuse of American taxpayers' money in Iraq," she said.

"Right now we have little reason to believe that is the case," said Lowey, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees State Department spending.

. . .

The request is part of a larger $3.2 billion supplemental spending measure separate from the Bush administration's annual budget submission for the State Department. Supplementals have been the vehicle of choice for financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a strategy panned by critics who say it undermines accountability.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-07-state-iraq_N.htm

the US Military.

Paying mercenaries is ridiculous... and illegal

home to their neighborhoods. This is obviously part of an underhanded Democratic misinformation campaign. I mean part of an underhanded Democrat campaign.

Off the official budget? Color me surprised.

"SCHIP is too expensive!"

Well, Herr Decider, giving you unlimited access to the country's credit card has been too expensive.

on the US treasury. They are grabbing everything they can while the getting's good.