US Iraqi reconstruction auditor to close
Government agency critical of current administration
The Office of the Special Inspector General
for Iraq Reconstruction – the auditor of rebuilding work in the embattled
country – will close next year because of an obscure clause in a military
spending bill.
The watchdog has exposed corrupt practices within the Bush administration and
critics say its closure is due the tough stance it took.
It employs 55 auditors and inspectors and mostly recently said the £11.5bn
reconstruction effort was being hampered by inefficiency as well as attacks by
insurgents.
The audit office began operations in March 2004 and has referred 25 criminal
cases to the US Department of Justice, of
which four have resulted in convictions.
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