From James Glanz and Riyadh Mohammed of the New York Times: Premier of Iraq Is Quietly Firing Fraud Monitors.
The dismissals, which were confirmed by senior Iraqi and American government officials on Sunday and Monday, have come as estimates of official Iraqi corruption have soared. One Iraqi former chief investigator recently testified before Congress that $13 billion in reconstruction funds from the United States had been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi government officials.
Iraq, in its earliest days of existence, looks like it headed toward being a kleptocracy and will be another example of the resource course.