February 28, 2007
by Dave Lindorff

It was always clear that the $21 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds, most of which disappeared into Iraq (much of it was in the form of bales of $100 bills), didn't just vanish.

Given the number of veterans of the Iran-Contra scandal operating in the Bush White House and Pentagon--many of them convicted felons or unindicted co-conspirators in that baroque criminal scandal from the Reagan presidency--it seemed obvious that such easy cash would end up being funnelled into secret wars and secret military projects, as well as other nefarious activities.

Now we learn from ace investigative reporter Sy Hersh, speaking on CNN that Bush and his criminal crew have been using this illicit, stolen cash to fund covert attacks on Iranian targets, and that much of the money has been going--get this--to Sunni jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda--the very people we're fighting in Iraq!

This is surely taking that old saw, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," to the extreme! First we let Osama Bin Laden escape from Tora Bora, and now we're funding him and his allies, supposedly to attack our new enemy, Iran. It's enough to make you queasy. Osama must be laughing all the way to the bank. First we set him up, when we wanted him to attack the Soviets in Afghanistan. Then he turned on us and attacked us. And now we're back to supporting him again.

(Article Continues Below)

No wonder when Congress passed a bill creating an office of inspector general to check on all that vanishing Iraq cash, Bush furtively issued one of his "signing statements" saying that the new inspector would be barred from examining any funds that involved the Pentagon--effectively nullifying the law!

Now, it should be pointed out that under anti-terrorism legislation submitted by the administration and passed into law by the Congress, providing aid to Al-Qaeda or to organizations in any way linked to terrorism is a federal crime and classifies the perpetrator as an abettor of terrorism and even as an "unlawful combatant," subject to loss of citizenship rights, and suitable for rendition to Guantanamo or some other secret torture hell-hole.

I suppose the proper thing at this point would be for some patriotic prosecutor or some general to march into the White House and haul the president off to be waterboarded until he lays out all the details of his treasonous actions. (Sure he is the president and is immune from prosecution, but if he's an "unlawful combatant," none of that applies. The president has declared this to be so.)

For make no mistake: secretly providing money to terrorist organizations that are daily attacking Americans in Iraq, in order to ignite a new war against Iran, especially at a time that the US military is stretched beyond the limit in Iraq, is nothing short of treason. Even viewed in a more minimalist way, absconding with public funds and diverting them to illegal purposes is criminal fraud.

If Congress does not jump on this immediately, its members will have betrayed their oaths and the nation.

These are dangerous times. We are being led by bloodthirsty men drunk with power and the people who are supposed to be standing up to them are afraid to lift a finger.

The time is fast approaching when the only way America's beleagured and abused troops will be able to defend themselves will be by laying down their arms--or perhaps turning them on their demented leaders.

If you enjoyed this post Subscribe to the Free Populist Party Newsletter

     click here

Dave Lindorff [send him email], is an award-winning investigative reporter who has been working as a journalist for over 33 years. He writes frequently for Salon.com, BusinessWeek, The Nation, and many other publications.  Dave's most recent book, The Case for Impeachment, is now available.  Find all of Dave Lindorff's works on his website, www.thiscantbehappening.net.