Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:41:18 GMT
US companies have earned more than 85 billion dollars just from direct Washington funds in Iraq, a latest report by CBO finds.
The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has circulated its report showing that the Bush administration paid out tens of billions of dollars to oil and reconstruction companies, security firms, and other service-providers in a period of four years from 2003 to 2007 only, AFP reported.
According to the CBO report, the US invasion of Iraq has brought prosperity to more than 190,000 American contractors, and instead leaving Iraqis trails of devastations and a terror-riddled country.
The report shows that private security firms alone have, at least, earned a controversial 10 billion dollars while oil companies and energy firms have earned even heftier sums.
Energy firms like Halliburton, formerly led by US Vice President Dick Cheney, and KBR, a Halliburton affiliate and the biggest US arms contractor, have won numerous contracts which have caused controversies in the Congress.
American lawmakers have also been critical of employing incompetent security firms like Blackwater USA that have mistakenly killed Iraqi civilians on many occasions.
The US CBO report reflects the "Iraq Theater" as a major source of both direct and "hidden" revenues for an ailing American economy.
ARQN/PA