Norm Coleman lies about his role in oversight of Iraq

After 5 years of ignoring a multitude of controversies, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) lies about his role in the oversight of the occupation of Iraq. The State Department intended to withdraw its inspectors who oversee reconstruction and assistance programs and Norm complained. Now those inspectors are staying and Norm claims he's played a key role in the oversight of Iraq.

As Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Norm failed to investigate no-bid contracts, torture, pallets of greenbacks disappearing, contractor abuses and much, much more. He has utterly failed his responsibilities to oversee the Bush Administration but now wants to claim otherwise.

Senator Coleman has played a key role in extending oversight of Iraq operations during his time in office, most notably by joining with Senator Russ Feingold and Senator Susan Collins to save the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction office from termination at the of 2006. Currently, at least twelve government entities – including USAID-OIG - are overseeing (to varying degrees) U.S. government operations and expenditures related to Iraq, ranging from military contracting to Iraqi reconstruction, under the umbrella of the Iraq Inspectors General Council. They have completed thousands of audits and reports, uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars in abuse, and identified the perpetrators. The universally-respected Government Accountability Office alone has released more than 125 reports about the Iraq war and reconstruction effort that can be read on-line.
(COLEMAN APPLAUDS STATE DEPARTMENT REVERSAL ON IRAQ OVERSIGHT DECISION

This paragraph was the last in the press release. Norm saved the biggest lie for last. I'll analyze the Norm-speak^TM in light of what Norm actually done in terms of oversight.

What is most ironic is the complete lack of oversight by Norm Coleman until now -- this year is his reelection year and Norm cares. Norm cares deeply. He wants you as a Minnesota voter to know that he cares deeply.

Before we go any further, let's review the three circumstances in which Norm believes in oversight:

• When it is someone or some institution that conservatives hate. Norm relentlessly pursued corruption in the United Nations Iraq Oil for Food program.
• The second circumstance is when conservatives have thrown one of their own under the bus to avoid answering bigger questions. Heckuva Job Brownie is the perfect example.
• The third circumstance is oversight where conservatives will not be targeted or in any way harmed. For example, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction’s (SIGIR) oversight of U.S. efforts in Iraq.

Let's quickly review what Norm ignored as Chair of the PSI:

• Intel reports on WMD's
• Dispersal of the Iraqi Army
• NSA's secret wiretapping program
• Cronyism in appointments in Provisional Govt
• Torture at Abu Ghraib
• No bid contracts
• Billions of dollars of State Department cash disappearing in Iraq
• Corruption among contracting companies in Iraq
• Poorly constructed facilities built by contractors
• Contaminated water drunk and used by troops
• Abuses committed by contracting companies in Iraq
• Production problems for MRAP vehicles
• Wrong or not enough armor for troops and their vehicles
• Death of Pat Tillman
• Lies surrounding abduction and rescue of Jessica Lynch
• Overcharges among contracting companies in Iraq
• Guantanamo

Now that we're clear on what Norm has ignored, let's continue with Norm's presser:

Responding to concerns raised by Senator Norm Coleman over upcoming changes that could leave billions of dollars in U.S. spending in Iraq more vulnerable to abuse, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker has reversed the State Department’s decision to reduce the number of USAID investigators and auditors in Iraq. Senator Coleman, ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on February 29, 2008, voicing concern over the previous decision to remove nine full-time personnel in the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID-OIG), and to replace them with two temporary staff members. According to USAID officials, Ambassador Crocker announced his decision during a meeting yesterday with USAID Inspector General Don Gambatesa.
(COLEMAN APPLAUDS STATE DEPARTMENT REVERSAL ON IRAQ OVERSIGHT DECISION

Remember when Norm said that the advantage of having him as your Senator that when he called, the White House would answer? Well they must have. Might it also have been the whining and begging to help him out in his reelection bid that did the trick?

“Without a strong oversight presence on the ground in Iraq, American tax dollars are vulnerable to waste or abuse, which is why I am pleased Ambassador Crocker today has indicated that he will allow USAID investigators to remain on the ground in Iraq,” Senator Coleman said. “USAID’s work in Iraq supports numerous noble projects critical to the success of the country’s reconstruction and is integral to America’s success.”
(COLEMAN APPLAUDS STATE DEPARTMENT REVERSAL ON IRAQ OVERSIGHT DECISION

Norm is coming to the oversight party a bit late. We needed oversight when the Bush Administration was going into Iraq with no plan. Norm was too busy cheerleading. Where was Norm when a plan to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis would have made a difference? When "noble projects" could have made a difference. Iraq is a disaster, the Maliki government is a sham and the Iraqi government has little concern about powersharing.

And another thing, the reconstruction is going so well that Iraqis still have sporadic power (an hour or two per day), few functioning hospitals, fewer and fewer bridges (they keep getting bombed) and the schools are heavily guarded yet still get attacked.

In the letter sent late last week, Coleman stated that this change could violate the Inspector General’s Act of 1978, which requires the State Department to provide adequate on-site workspace and facilities for oversight personnel. He stressed that this could compromise USAID’s ability to ensure that the estimated $6.7 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars is being used as intended—to reconstruct war-torn areas of Iraq. Representatives of the USAID-OIG have stated that the lack of a full-time physical presence in Iraq could hinder the Office’s ability to conduct adequate oversight over USAID efforts in the country, thus leaving a significant component of the reconstruction effort more vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.
(COLEMAN APPLAUDS STATE DEPARTMENT REVERSAL ON IRAQ OVERSIGHT DECISION

We are spending $2.2 billion per week in Iraq. Norm has never been interested in the overcharging by Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater or any other contractor with their no-bid contracts. I already mentioned the pallets of greenbacks that have gone missing. And don't forget the 180,000 rifles and pistols that have gone missing, either.

So Norm is concerned that nearly $7 billion might not be spent efficiently. We blow that in a month easily. $7B is pocket change to the estimate of a trillion dollars that we will spend. I bet Halliburton gets $7 billion a month from the government to provide shoddy living quarters and contaminated water to our troops.

But remember, Norm is doing this to remind Minnesotans that he is a fiscally responsible Republican. Sorry. Cutting taxes for the richest 1% of Americans who didn't ask for it and don't need it while we are engaged in two wars is not fiscal responsibility.

The nine USAID-OIG investigators who are currently overseeing operations in Iraq are the personnel who would have been removed because of the State Department’s announced change. They have reviewed 47 cases where they have saved almost $5 million of taxpayer funds as of December 31, 2007. USAID-OIG has made five criminal referrals and 19 fraud awareness actions. Projects generally carried out by USAID include “capacity building,” such as training local and provincial governments in budgetary, administrative and human services, economic growth planning with private and public industries, and promoting reconciliation efforts – almost all of which is done at the local and provincial levels.
(COLEMAN APPLAUDS STATE DEPARTMENT REVERSAL ON IRAQ OVERSIGHT DECISION

Wow. 5 criminals cases and 19 fraud alerts that saved $5 million. I'm whelmed. We squander that in a couple of hours on the occupation of Iraq. That's the kind of change you leave at the convenience store counter because you don't want to have all those pennies jangling around in your pockets.

This is the kind of oversight you get with Norm Coleman.