The article below is apparently from a military press release, but indicates the US State Dept. anti-corruption coordinator, Ambassador Joseph Stafford, is still at work in Iraq (unusual - several have quit early). It is important to note that Stafford is not THE Ambassador in Iraq, but one of many former Ambassadors who attained that rank from prior assignments. It is common to have several "former" Ambassadors at the Iraq (and Afghanistan) Embassies. Some may have been retired, but they are diplomats first, not criminal prosecutors, criminal investigators or internal auditors.
Stafford indicates some progress in converting corruption cases into prosecutions, but we don't know if they were low hanging "fruit" or street people. However, his point that Iraq has "progressed" from the second worst corrupt country to fourth is not much progress, when the ranking list is from Transparency International and it ranks 173 countries. It could be Iraq didn't improve, but that other countries got worse. (I am rather jaded about anything State says, because in my opinion they and USAID employ more publicity people than auditors ).
If there was real progress, he would be talking about specific senior people who had been arrested, prosecuted, sentenced and jailed for corruption. I don't see any of that here.
vj
Ambassador Discusses Anti-Corruption in Salah Ad Din
By Capt. Rebecca Walsh
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, 1st Infantry Division
TIKRIT, Iraq - U.S. Department of State anti-corruption coordinator, Ambassador Joseph Stafford toured Salah ad Din province to assess anti-corruption efforts at the provincial and local level.For three days, the ambassador met with local government leaders, non-governmental organizations, judicial officials and business leaders to discuss how to stop the abuse and misuse of power and eliminate corruption through transparency.
According to Stafford, the purpose of his visit was to show the citizens of Salah ad Din that the United States is working with the Government of Iraq to raise awareness of corruption and find solutions to build integrity within Iraqi organizations, both private and governmental. This included informing leaders of the new Iraqi National Strategy for fighting corruption, which was issued earlier this month.
"We are dedicated to helping the Iraqi government and people with their efforts in building an Iraq, and I'm honored for the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas," said Stafford.
Stafford's visit culminated with a visit to the Tikrit Provincial Council building where he was able to meet and discuss several issues with Provincial Council members. During this meeting, several problems were identified, potential solutions were discussed, and progress was noted.
According to Stafford, in 2008, Iraq was the second most corrupt nation, moving down to the 4th most corrupt internationally.
 TIKRIT, Iraq - U.S. Department of State anti-corruption coordinator, Ambassador Joseph Stafford visited the Salah ad Din province to assess the anti-corruption efforts taken place in the province. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Rebecca Walsh, 4IBCT PAO) |
"This might not be at a good level yet, but it definitely shows improvement," he said. He added that the majority of court cases regarding corruption resulting in sentencing improved from 97 for 350 cases to 300 for 900 cases, showing movement in a positive direction.
"It will be impossible to get rid of it (corruption) one hundred percent but we can eliminate certain areas of it. In the end, it's a temporary situation. We need to work on empowering the (Iraqi) law because there are weak points in (it)," he said. "In the end, it's a financial issue. It is important for officials to be dedicated in fighting corruption and those who are corrupt. Step by step the government and the people will cooperate in fighting corruption."
Provincial Council member Fatin Abdul Qader, who also runs an orphanage and day care in Tikrit, acknowledges that anti-corruption efforts will take time.
"Even if we can't solve corruption for our generation, hopefully we can solve it for generations to come," she said.
Comments