Introduction
“Billions over Baghdad” is an investigation report, prepared by Vanity Fair contributing editors Donald Barlett and James Steele, published in the October 2007 edition of the magazine. The report exposes how those billions of dollars that flew from Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the War Land of Iraq in the name of financial assistance and human aid, get disappeared as if these haven’t even exist. The incompetence of US officials overseeing the entire matter, the mismanaged transfer to the local bodies and the corrupt and greedy contractors and ghost employees made the entire game possible. It was never known where the entire money that was transferred between April 2003 and June 2004 had literally “gone”. No one amongst the officials is ready to take the responsibility of this shocking fraud; it seems that no one even wants to talk about such a huge financial crisis which includes billions of US money.
Out of a total of $12 billion, only $3 billion were spent upon construction projects and humanitarian aid, while $9 billion gets missing, with no signs of accountability at all. The report puts a huge question mark on the face of US government, who are not interested to provide any reliable answers to the questions which arise from the report. With a well-researched investigation conducted personally, Barlett and Steele have proven themselves as nation’s top investigative journalists. They have investigated thoroughly from a safe in one of Saddam's palaces to a house near San Diego, and finally to a P.O. box in the Bahamas and provided clear conclusions and facts about what happened to the money, except where it actually gone since it was robbed, stolen or distributed in the name of salaries to fake employees of civil government.
On the whole, the report is analytically well done and well researched and the most interesting thing for me in this report was the style in which the investigation is conducted and presented. The authors have provided exact locations, names and designations, the structures and most importantly numbers number of employees, house numbers, P.O.box number etc, and this appealed me the most. I will provide a more analytical insight into the report in the next section.
Analytical Response
Who on earth ever knew about the largest currency vault of the world just before Barlett and Steele exposed it? Yes, it’s not only US largest repository of cash, rather it is world’s largest one. Locating 10 miles west of Manhattan, in East Rutherford, New Jersey; on 100 Orchard Street, the giant fortress shaped steel grey structure is the East Rutherford Operations Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with the acronym EROC. Although thousands of people pass by this road every day, they remain unaware of the presence and the operating structure of this branch of Federal Reserve Bank, no more now when Barlett and Steele have found it. This is one of the most impressive points of the report; realities that are easy to find for common man as the exact locations have been provided. The report reads like a story, which takes a comprehensive start, i.e., from where the money was actually situated, to how it get transferred to the Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, flown to Baghdad and then what happened with it there. Movement of trucks and air flights, along with the movement of cash is described in a novel and steadily manner, with no signs of improper investigation.
As described in exact amounts, “Forty pallets of cash, weighing 30 tons, were loaded that day”, and the date of “that day” is also provided, i.e., “June 22, 2004”. The amount was said to be $2.4 billion which was “largest one-day shipment of currency to Iraq in the history of New York Fed”. This is a one single example and the entire report is full of such details which are necessary to produce such an investigation report which could even shake those federal stakeholders who have been involved thoroughly, but are not willing to provide any information. “Federal Reserve Bank made 21 shipments of currency to Iraq totaling $11,981,531,000. All told, the Fed would ship 281 million individual banknotes, in bricks weighing a total of 363 tons.” Details like these show authors deep concern in telling the entire nation how much money was spent by US government in the name of re-construction of the spoils of war. Thus in terms of providing exact details about each and every thing that relates to the report, Barlett and Steele have been quite successful in keeping the reader engaged as well as to develop further interest to read the entire report.
Another aspect of the report upon which I want to emphasize and appreciate is its way of identifying where the things gone wrong and what else or what more should be done in order to execute the entire financial plan in an organized way. For example, the authors pointed out that when the money was in US, it was kept confidential and was handled with utmost care, but as soon as it was landed on Iraq, no accountability was put over it. There was no check and balance, and the Coalition Provisional Authority CPA which was made by US officials was least interested in knowing where the money has been distributed. The authors also blamed the pentagon for virtually forming such a coalition that only “provided an unprecedented opportunity for fraud, waste, and corruption”. The authors suggested that if there was an accountability check over CPA, that where the money is going and where or not it must be spend, the situation would be different. Also, the disinterest and recklessness shown by the pentagon officials over those companies which were awarded the construction contracts depicts their lack of sincerity towards the country. An audit contract of 1.4 million was awarded to North Star Consultants, which was registered with some different name; with specialization as remodeling, repairing, or restoration contractor and no certified public accountants to perform audits. These mis-managements were revealed in the report, along with the appropriate ways and solutions to conduct this kind of financial operation.
Conclusion
“Billions over Baghdad” is a well-written piece of research, which proves US government’s incompetency which it first showed while invading Iraq in the name of weapons of mass destruction, then by trying to provide enough money to re-build the traumatized nation from the outcomes of war. Certainly, if US destroyed the land without any appropriate excuse, it is the sole responsibility of US government to make sure that the money provided by it goes into the right hands and is utilized at right places. There is no point in saying that it was Iraqi people’s money, and they can spend it anywhere they want. The report is very well researched and the points carry enough wait that no official stand out to answer the questions which were asked in the report. Barlett and Steele have definitely been successful in producing a good piece which is interesting and informative at the same time.
Works Cited
"Billions Over Baghdad - in April 2003, the Hastily Created, American-Led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq Began Receiving Planeloads of Cash, (usd)12 Billion by June 2004. to Date, (usd)9 Billion Is Unaccounted For. Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele Uncover Evidence of a Feeding Frenzy That Emptied the Safe in Baghdad As the Pentagon Shrugged." Vanity Fair. (2007): 336. Print.
