How to Lose 95% of $9.1 Billion (i.e. that's $8.7 Billion with a B)

Leave it to the Department of Defense (DoD)! That's right. A new audit was released today shows that "the Pentagon cannot account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraq reconstruction money, spotlighting Iraqi complaints that there is little to show for the massive funds pumped into their cash-strapped, war-ravaged nation" according to this article. The report states that the "breakdown in controls left the funds vulnerable to inappropriate uses and undetected loss."

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the DoD has been shown to be fertile ground for fraud and abuse. In fact, the DoD has never received a clean audit opinion. Never!!! Basically, the DoD has so many holes in their internal controls that you could fly a fleet of B-1 bombers through their financial safety nets.