From Counter Punch:"I paid $800 to get my job,” says Ahmed Abdul, a technician working for Karada municipality in Baghdad. “People know this is wrong, but there is no way round it.” In Iraq corruption is pervasive at every level.
“Corruption exists all over the world but is at its worst here,” laments Ateej Saleh Midhat, a 26-year-old employee of the state-owned Rafidain Bank. “In 2008 and 2009 it was difficult for any graduate to have a job without paying $500 to $1,500 according to what kind of job it was. But what about the people who cannot afford to pay?”
Iraq is the world’s premier kleptomaniac state. According to Transparency International the only countries deemed more crooked than Iraq are Somalia and Myanmar, while Haiti and Afghanistan rank just behind. In contrast to Iraq, which enjoys significant oil revenues, none of these countries have much money to steal.
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My Comment: Forget about Iraq .... when one looks at the bailout money, TARP, Stimulus packages, earmarks, and all other disbursements made from the U.S. Congress and the White House this past year .... it dwarfs in size and magnitude all of the other corrupt nations that Patrick Cockburn has listed combined.
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