I know you will be shocked, just shocked as I was, to hear the following.

(No, fer chrissakes, not that there WAS blazingly obvious looting, complete with bribes, in the "reconstruction" efforts in iWaq. But an acknowledgement of this, prominently placed in the New York Times?? That's kinda damn shocking, isn't it? I don't know how they're managing to do such work now that they are bereft of the Intimate Contacts that they used to have access to via Ace Reporter Judy "Kneepads" Miller. Somehow, they seem to be muddling through:)

American Faces Charge of Graft for Work in Iraq:

In what is expected to be the first of a series of criminal charges against officials and contractors overseeing the rebuilding of Iraq, an American has been charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to American occupation authorities and their spouses to obtain construction contracts, according to a complaint unsealed late yesterday.

Go read. Popcorn optional. And oh, yeah, they mention more such charges are expected to be forthcoming. Who woulda guessed?

The indicted party is named Philip H. Bloom. His, er, known collaborator inside the Coalition Provisional Authority (this "known" means "there's more but they haven't been named yet") is described thusly:

held the position of comptroller and financing officer for "C.P.A. South Central Region in Iraq," which included Hillah. This person controlled $82 million "to be used for payment of contract services rendered in Al Hillah, Iraq, including contracts awarded to Bloom," the complaint asserts.

A United States government official said this person was named Robert J. Stein.

The Times has had this story up for all of 20 minutes as I post this, and so we cannot be altogether critical for their note "Little information was immediately available about Mr. Bloom or Mr. Stein."

I have to work in the morning so can't get in on the fun, but ye of other schedules or more insomniac tendencies are welcome to google your little asses off on these names. Check the link for details for search terms, and consider yourselves let slipped, ye dogs of war.