Bleed 'Em Dry

Juan Cole links to a report by the Open Society Institute's Iraq Revenue Watch that discloses that the U.S.-controlled Program Review Board is planning a $2 billion fire sale of Iraq reconstruction projects between now and the June 30th transition to Iraqi "sovereignty."

Wouldn't one expect that the awarding of reconstruction contracts would be delayed until the new Iraqi government can approve them? Isn't is rather unseemly that a reconstruction contract gold-rush should take place in the weeks preceding the transition to an interim Iraqi government?

This country is already red-lining on the shame meter thanks to the administration's affiliation with Torture International, Inc., and now we're dumping a huge "sweetheart contract" fait accompli into the laps of Allawi and his cabinet, a government that comes into office already suspected by the Iraqi people of being U.S. stooges.

Isn't there anyone in the Bush administration with a shred of dignity or decency?