From the DAILY BEAST:
As U.S. troops finally leave Iraq, billions more in tax dollars are about to flow in as American diplomats, security contractors, and police trainers carry out the next missions. But the government’s chief watchdog for Iraq is warning that the State Department’s plan for training Iraqi police is so badly planned it risks becoming a “‘bottomless pit’ for U.S. dollars.”
In documents released Monday, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, quoted Iraqi officials as openly questioning the need for the police training program, which would ultimately dispatch 190 American police advisers with a requested budget of $887 million for 2012. The investigative report also accused State Department officials of trying to shield the program’s flaws from scrutiny by creating “obstructions” and “unreasonably” refusing to cooperate.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Bowen said it was important to investigate the project in spite of early resistance from the State Department because of the immense size and cost of the enterprise. “This is the single largest program affecting security that the State Department will manage in the coming year,” he said…
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