Trust me on this: follow the two point three TRILLION dollars!

[Syrinx]

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.

"We know it's gone. But we don't know what they spent it on," said Jim Minnery, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml

Don't y'all want to know where that money went?

[Kurovski]

1. Mind-boggling.

Maybe welfare queens drove off in a Cadillac with it?

[file83]

77. Cynthia McKinney thought it was mind-boggling too.

McKinney questions Rumsfeld about the missing $2.3 trillion dollars (YouTube)

She was on to this years ago.

[flyarm]

81. she was onto it and 9/11 lies!! that is why they had to get rid of her!! eom

[cutlassmama]

2. Bush/Cheney/Rove/Rumsfeld's pockets??? eom

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. I hope the Republicans are proud of their legacy.

They own this horror.

[Progressive_In_NC]

16. This has been going on since the 50s....

It's an institutional problems. PLUS there are gov't programs that are off the books that a lot of this "lost" money funds. I'll bet there isn't a line item in any pentagon budgets for some of these "unknown" bases like area 51 that exist not just around the country, but around the world.

They have to hide it somehow.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Brewster-Jennings is probably one example.

One wonders why they haven't reported yet how much public money Dick Cheney blew when he outed Valerie Plame.

[defendandprotect]

73. And vice versa: At one time Dept of Education funds were actually passed on to CIA -!

[flyarm]

82. what if ???????

it was to fund terrorists????????

or arms to terrorists?????


or say the boggie man?????????/


we have no idea..none..

remember iran contra...

fly

[Kurovski]

3. If someone told me it was for the

National Republican Diaper, Loofah and Chat Room Fund, I wouldn't bat an eye.

Jeez, you could buy off an entire government with scratch like that.

[radfringe]

4. ummmmm.... Halliburton and it's subsidiaries?

[flyarm]

83. or at the time it dissapeared enron was going under..how about trying to keep a

big company from going under????????

remember kenny boy ..paid for the aircraft from a major Dallas based Airline that flew little lord pissy pants around for his campaign in 2000...but pissy pants didn't know kenny boy...nahhhhhhhhhh

fly

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Saddam spent it on a lavish lifestyle. n/t

[shanti]

52. nah

that's way more money than one person needs. the answer is much more nefarious.

[ixion]

6. why do we tolerate this kind of crap?

I mean, can anyone think of any employer or creditor who would tolerate even ONE DOLLAR missing from somewhere -- be that a cash register, accounting books, petty cash, you name it -- anything missing, and the person who is responsible for said fund is out on the street. If you get audited, the IRS wants to know where every penny went, but somehow it's a-okay for those same people to "misplace" 2.3 trillion dollars. Really, why do we accept that as an answer? Why do these people still have their jobs?

[dickbearton]

42. Same reason we tolerate the Criminal Bush...

The American people are by and large ignorant and stupid
sheeple.

[superkia]

55. And its now my purpose in life

to do my best and educate the ones that will allow me too! Everyday we come to this site, hopefully everyday we also try to educate just one person that may be able educate just one person and so on. Thats the only way we have a chance to help restore our lost freedoms and change the course of this corporation we call our government! Power to the people.

[dickbearton]

63. Quite right...

If there is an answer, it is education.

[wildbilln864]

84. Yep!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Philosoraptor]

7. And we don't get shit.

We know exactly where the big bucks are going, it's the biggest rip off in world history.

[flyarm]

85. don't you ever wonder how we are ever going to pay off all this debt and much of it to commie china?

because it will have to be paid off..somehow...

and it will be on the backs of the middle class..and it will be blamed on the dems when they take office....same old , same old..like 12 years of reagan and pappy..a dem will have to become responsible for the debt ..or we will face some sort of depression type economic disaster..

i believe it was 2 years ago march that pissy pants changed the law and is just printing money now with nothing to back it..

i don't understand it all and the names of what you call it..like something like 3 ..but it is all very frightening!!

to think..at any time china could crush our economy..

fly

[SpiralHawk]

8. "Smirk, smirk, smirk" - Commander AWOL & Corrupt cabal of republicon war profiteers

[checks-n-balances]

30. Hey BTW, whatever happened to MoPaul? Did he just quit one day?

It's been awhile, and I miss his posts. Hope nothing bad happened to him!

[druidity33]

9. when did Rummy anounce that?

Wasn't it on Sept 10th, 2001?

strange coincidence wouldn't you say?


:shrug:

[formercia]

13. The investigation ended the next day.

Someone got the hint.

[bvar22]

24. The results of the Florida recount of the 2001 election

was also due to be released on Sept 11, 2001.
The news that if ALL the votes were counted, GORE would have won Florida was postponed.

[formercia]

25. How did they know?

To announce the release date as 9/11?

or did someone know that everything would change?

Was it ever released?

If not, why not?

[bvar22]

39. After the debacle in Floride where the Supreme Court

stopped a state wide recount, a Consortium composed of several newspapers and other organizations combined to recount ALL the votes in Florida. This effort took several months, and if I remember corrrectly, the proposed date for the release of the report was Sept. 11, 2001.
I know we were anxiously (gleefully) awaiting the results here on DU, and then.....9-11.
The report was eventually released about a month later, but the Media was too busy beating the WAR Drums to give the actual results any coverage. There is alot of stuff on the "Consortium Recount" on the Internet.

http://www.bartcop.com/103cover.htm

[Sam Ervin jret]

44. Remember , Remember, That Fall in November, the Treason, the Ballots

the Plots

I know of no reason
Why that November Treason
Should Ever Be Forgot

[formercia]

50. What a coincidence.

Another distraction.

[pretzel4gore]

61. omg! you guys forgot flight 587?

flight 587 blew up leaving a ny airport, carrying mainly people from Dominican Republic- later that morning, the NORC results were published on back pages...the mediawhores were going 'nyuk nyuk nyuk' and saying the NORC results favoured junyer (they in fact showed Gore won outright, by fair margin, nyuk)
and everybody forgets about it....sheese

[flyarm]

86. understand this Jeb signed an exec order on Sept 7th 2001 to start a process of martial law

4 days before 9/11..and there were no hurricanes coming...

http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo2001-261-09-07-01.html

[TheWraith]

87. That's a complete myth. That EO has nothing to do with martial law.

If you actually saw martial law, you'd know there was no confusing it with an EO clarifying National Guard obligations for emergency training.

[KharmaTrain]

10. Pallets Of Money Vanished...

IRC, we airlifted billions in cash into Iraq following the invasion...I remember reading about pallets of cash being off-loaded transport planes and just lying around...in some cases, people just helping themselves to a C Note here or there.

Kudos to Stuart Bowen who has been following the money and keeps releasing reports about the abuses and waste going on...one of the rare regime officials who won't roll over. Congressman Waxman also has been on this topic since the first no-bid contracts started flying through Congress. The profiteering that is going on is our greatest national shame...and the one that will be the hardest to confront and rectify.

Even now, government is scared of going after contractors thanks to the precarious position this regime has gotten into. The thousands of mercenaries and the huge flow of cash going to them and other contractors is what's keeping the last threads of this invasion going. Kick out Bechtel and there's no on to serve food on the bases, kick out Blackwater and we have to double and triple military personel to pick up that slack...and so it goes. It won't be until this ugly war for profit is terminated that we'll start to really get an accounting and go after whose accountable.

In the meantime, the militia leaders in Iraq thank you for the weapons and money. That sure won a lot of hearts and minds. :sarcasm:

[sabbat hunter]

11. over how many years

is that money missing from. It isnt just one year you know, we are talking years and years if not multiple decades

[PsN2Wind]

69. So if it's only four or five billion a year

it's OK. Just don't want it all stolen at once. Some people consider that as pretty serious money although the Pentagon doesn't.

[formercia]

12. and the next day

a 'plane' flew into the very office that was doing the investigating.

There is a rat, methinks.

[checks-n-balances]

31. These are better arguments for investigating 9/11 than "building7"

etc. Those arguments just cut off, it's the first time I've heard the ones brought up in this thread. The ones here give the REASONS why it could've been rigged, not just how narratives/facts/physical evidence about physics, irregularities in collapses of buildings, etc. The "Why would the government do that anway?" doesn't seem to get brought up, or even if it does, it's after a whole long list of physical descriptions. We know that this *co are masters at concocting distractions whenever public attention is about to turn to their scandalous behavior; the public is slowly beginning to realize this. So if these suspicions about 9/11 are indeed true, then it would be the Ultimate Distraction. With all the scandalous behavior beginning to be recognizable, then it seems there will someday be more public interest in connecting the dots to the Ultimate if they are presented to the public in that fashion.

Does that make sense? Anyone?

[formercia]

33. It does to me.

Covering the greatest theft in History.


Pickpockets do it all the time.

[Pachamama]

14. That's just the money missing they have admitted to or that we know of...

That doesn't include the wads of money being printed endlessley that is flooding the world and is doing wonders for the value of the dollar.... :eyes:

I remember when they announced the Fed was no longer publishing the Money Supply Index that for so long was the greatest indicator of inflation. Red flags went up for me and I immediately thought to myself "well, I guess they are running those printing presses full time and how much is being skimmed off the top?"

Seriously....I believe the number is far higher than 2.3 Trillion dollars "missing"....

We been robbed....

[shanti]

54. yep

and IF they do leave office on 1/09, what the next administration finds is going to be breathtaking. i wouldn't be surprised if the u.s. is found to be totally bankrupt.

[seemslikeadream]

18. Ask Dov Zakheim

He's supposed to know

[EVDebs]

29. And the SMOM DOD inspector general Joseph E. Schmitz

Knight of Malta. Look for those connections and follow the money...

[formercia]

35. The troll at the bridge.

barring passage to none but those deemed worthy.

[formercia]

37. The Russian Gold

When the Soviet Union Collapsed, 2000 Tons of Gold from the Russian treasury vanished into thin air.

The boys up to their old tricks.

[formercia]

89. You are technically correct

The Sovereign Military Order Of Malta are the subgroup that do most of the scheming but the Hospitalliers serve a useful (to them) function as well, that's why I try to avoid hospitals like the Plague. I always seem to come out sicker than when I went in.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

19. And on 9/11, when the Pentagon was hit, guess where it was hit?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=125&topic_id=87788&mesg_id=94124

[HCE SuiGeneris]

38. Another incredibly handy

coinky-dink that is. Hmmm. Just incredible how "unlucky" we were.

[mogster]

60. Mind boggling

Money, power, dominance, coverup - the issues behind it all.

[Greyhound]

20. Easy

http://a52.g.akamaitech.net/f/52/827/1d/www.space.com/images/h_boeing_logo_01,5.jpg

[TheCentepedeShoes]

21. Is this money that was actually

missing up to 09-10-01 or money that was planning to go missing? Sort CYA in advance. That kind of bucks could buy some serious mischief.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. My guess: a combination of

massive corruption on a scale that makes the Mafia look like pikers, and black ops, nasty stuff that would make Abu Ghraib look like a kindergarten pageant.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. McKinney Grills Rumsfeld re missing trillions, plus... video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eootfzAhAoU

[Help me help Earth]

26. I want to be the Pentagons accountant.

I could retire next week...

[in_cog_ni_to]

27. Maybe...spent on..Blackwater militias being secretly armed and trained for the coming Martial Law.

A few million could have gone to building secret prisons in the U.S. to house all the peace activists who refuse to follow the fascists policies.

All I do know is...that money went to something ILLEGAL. If it was for something LEGAL, they would be able to account for it.

How about opium in Afghanistan? Buying and selling? Wouldn't surprise me one bit. Afghanistan does have its largest crop EVER of Opium Poppies.

[donsu]

28. it went into neo con pockets

nt

[Rex]

32. Why do you hate the Pentagon for their freedoms?

This SHOULD be the story of the decade - yet the Pentagon gets to rebuke Senator Clinton for wanting to bring our troops home!

I guess we know WHO wears the pants in this country and it ain't us!

[alfredo]

34. Half went to voting for Sanjaya

[Joe Chi Minh]

36. Imagine if a Democratic adminsitration lost track of 2$.3 million!

Impeach! Impeach! And oceans of crocodile tears about the black hole into which the taxpayers' hard-earned tax dollars disappeared.

They'll never be able to accuse the Democrats of squandering the tax-payers' hard-earned tax dollars again.

[ooglymoogly]

40. There is no doubt whatsoever that Clinton was the cause of the

lost money. Even though it appears to have gone into offshore accounts controlled by the neocons...don't trust your lie'n eyes...sure as shoot'n it was Bill Clinton and his thiev'n wife... Really...you can take this one to the bank...truly....have we ever lied to you. Trust us.

[jgraz]

41. This has always been the true agenda for the neocons

to get their hands on the US Treasury. Mission accomplished.

[Initech]

43. So... $2.3 trillion and they have no clue where it went? What the fuck?

Considering how money-hungry we are in this society, this should be an impeachable offense.

[MetaTrope]

45. That story is six years old

Imagine the sinkhole now that they're flying pallets of CASH straight into Iraq!

[AntiFascist]

46. Is it military SOCIALISM yet? n/t

[whistle]

47. A trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there and pretty soon the

....whole freaking country is bankrupt! :wtf:

That is the neocon/BushCo agenda, to bring America to its financial knees, place everyone in financial bondage like the Wiehmar Republic of pre-Nazi Germany was just prior to Hitler taking power, throw out the constitution and then establish a military backed fascist dictatorship of Amerika run for and by the wealthiest few hundred families who own everything.

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."

-Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776

[salin]

48. interesting how the GOPers stopped pushing the "UN Oil for Food" scandal

that was only in the millions. then we learned the CPA, under Bremer BILLIONS went missing - and here again is the Pentagon with TRILLIONS missing.

[yardwork]

49. This is why I get so angry when people hand-wring about the cost of health insurance.

The fact that any American STILL DARES to whimper about the potential cost of universal health coverage, in the face of trillions of dollars spent on this stupid war - money that can't be accounted for and was used to kill babies and children and innocent civilians anyway - just enrages me.

I get really really mad about it.

[shanti]

51. it was pocketed by the *ush junta

kind of a no-brainer, imo. they need this money to maintain their power. lots of pay-offs to make.

[leftofthedial]

53. skimmed

wasted

lost

[Blackhatjack]

56. If this keeps up, Pretty soon you will be talking about real money....

[SecularMotion]

57. Hookers

[spanone]

58. Where oh where can it be????

[Octafish]

59. Poppy's CIA ''Team B: The Trillion-Dollar Experiment''

Here's more on the subject:

Team B: The trillion-dollar experiment

Two experts report on how a group of Cold War true believers were invited to second-guess the CIA. Did the "outside experts" of the 1970s contribute to the military buildup of the 1980s?

By Anne Hessing Cahn
April 1993 pp. 22, 24-27 (vol. 49, no. 03) © 1993 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Election years have much in common. They produce a profusion of punditry, media attention, and politically expedient action, quickly forgotten, and with little lasting impact. But not always; sometimes events are set into motion that have long lifetimes. This was the case in 1976 when, as in 1992, an incumbent Republican president faced a strong challenge from the right wing of his own party. Then (as last year) sops were offered to placate the far right and, while it is too early to know which of the 1992 capers will endure, we now know a great deal about one of the most political events of 1976, and its remarkably long-lasting effects on U.S. policy.

Late last year, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released the 1976 "Team B" reports. Team B was an experiment in competitive threat assessments approved by then-Director of Central Intelligence George Bush. Teams of "outside experts" were to take independent looks at the highly classified data used by the intelligence community to assess Soviet strategic forces in the yearly National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs). NIEs are authoritative and are widely circulated within the government. U.S. national security policy on various issues as well as the defense budget are based on their general conclusions. Although NIEs represent the collective judgment of the entire intelligence community, the lead agency is the CIA.

There were three "B" teams. One studied Soviet low-altitude air defense capabilities, one examined Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) accuracy, and one investigated Soviet strategic policy and objectives. But it is the third team, chaired by Harvard professor Richard Pipes, that ultimately received considerable publicity and is commonly referred to as Team B.

The Team B experiment was concocted by conservative cold warriors determined to bury détente and the SALT process. Panel members were all hard-liners. The experiment was leaked to the press in an unsuccessful attempt at an "October surprise." But most important, the Team B reports became the intellectual foundation of "the window of vulnerability" and of the massive arms buildup that began toward the end of the Carter administration and accelerated under President Reagan.

How did the Team B notion come about? In 1974, Albert Wohlstetter, a professor at the University of Chicago, accused the CIA of systematically underestimating Soviet missile deployment, and conservatives began a concerted attack on the CIA's annual assessment of the Soviet threat. This assessment--the NIE--was an obvious target.

In the mid-1970s, the CIA was vulnerable on three counts. First, it was still reeling from the 1975 congressional hearings about covert assassination attempts on foreign leaders and other activities. Second, it was considered "payback time" by hard-liners, who were still smarting from the CIA's realistic assessments during the Vietnam war years--assessments that failed to see light at the end of the tunnel. And finally, between 1973 and 1976, there were four different directors of central intelligence, in contrast to the more stately progression of four directors in the preceding 20 years.

CONTINUED...

http://www.fullmoon.nu/sources.bak/CHAPTER%2010/PART%201/Team%20B.htm

Presto change-o! Poof! With Poppy and his Wall Street Big Oil NAZI Mafia KKK masters, it's no wonder the Peace Dividend never had a chance. Nor the U.S. Treasury.

[thereismore]

62. Halliburton, KBR, CACI. nt

[The Wizard]

64. But at least

some poverty stricken family didn't get any of it for food and shelter. Can't have that.

[gordianot]

65. This is why they would cancel the 2008 election.

Someone new is bound to start asking questions (someday).

[MasonJar]

66. Surely not trillion. Do you mean billion?

[file83]

78. Nope. It's 2.3 Trillion. That's 2,300 Billion. That's 2,300,000 Million. Powerball is usually

only at it's highest jackpot around 300 million. This is 2,300,000 million. This is a lot of fucking money.

[FreeDemocrat]

67. I believe Oliver North called it "the Enterprise"

The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis, by Bill Moyers was done back in 1990ish about Iran Contra etc. But the foreshadowing (literally)as he reels off names and ideas is positively spooky as all theses bad pennies keep showing up.

Then you look at the new BBC report of the attempted coup of the American Government in 1933 and who was involved, and the foreshadowing in that, and it looks a lot like there is a whole separate reality being set up.

Add another trillion of Saddam's money and more shipped in on airplanes on pallets and pretty soon there is a lot more than just money involved.

[EVDebs]

75. Fawn Hall's dyslexia results in a big payoff

" 38 Instead of Lake Resources account number 386.430.22.1, the number North provided to Abrams, on a card typed by North's secretary Fawn Hall, was 368.430.22.1.

After the United States submitted to Switzerland its initial request for assistance in investigating possible Iran/contra crimes in December 1987, Swiss authorities noted the similarity of the two account numbers. The individual who controlled account number 368.430.22.1 had not been identified by the United States as among a list of individuals involved in Iran/contra. Therefore, the magistrate executing the request concluded that this individual was not involved in activities subject to the request. The magistrate stated that this individual benefitted from the transfer of funds solely because of the transposition of figures in the account number.

Independent Counsel late in 1989 obtained new information indicating that the $10 million Brunei contribution passed through an account or accounts controlled by or on behalf of Bruce Rappaport, a Swiss businessman with ties to certain individuals involved in the Iran/contra affair.39 In August 1989, Rappaport's lawyers received from Credit Suisse bank a letter disclaiming Rappaport as the recipient of the Brunei funds. It stated: ``Credit Suisse knows the identity of the person in whose account the Sultan of Brunei's $10 million was placed. Neither Bruce Rappaport, nor any entity directly or indirectly controlled by Bruce Rappaport was the recipient of the Sultan of Brunei's $10 million.'' 40 Despite Credit Suisse's denial, Independent Counsel sought further information regarding the deposit through the State Department, but these efforts did not resolve the question. "

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_14.htm

Praytell whatever DID 'resolve the question' ?

[Autumn Colors]

68. Unofficial early bonuses to Blackwater personnel....

... to buy their loyalty when the time comes for them to REALLY serve as a "private army"?????

[defendandprotect]

70. Actually, it's more now . . . $3.4 TRILLION . .. !!!!! !!!!

[defendandprotect]

71. THIS is also why Switzerland's secret bank accounts are a threat to democracy --

How many members of Congress have Swiss bank accounts -- ???

Or other secret accounts?

There has to be some place to put the money --
especially when we might also be talking about drug money --

Recently, there's a case of a Mexican who is saying he was holding the huge amounts of $ found on his property for the president of Mexico -- ??? I think that's how the story went . .. ?

[sellitman]

72. Glad I got my Republican tax break

or this news would have really gotten me pissed off.

[LuckyLib]

74. Meanwhile, at my public place of employment, they'll order me post-its if I really need them.

[DirtyDawg]

76. I can honestly say...

...that I don't have any of it, but if those that do would send me a bunch I promise not to tell anybody and won't even complain about the sorry-ass bush administration for at least a month or two. Deal?

[kevin4589]

79. This country has no hope of recovering unless criminals in our government are dealth with

If there is any hope that this country can recover any credibility as a civilized society, then criminals elements in our government must be dealt with. Bush and his administration must be made to pay for its crimes...and there should be no statutes of limitations on this.

[flyarm]

80. many of us have been wondering for a very long time!!..is rummy still keeping an office

at the pentagon..with taxpayer funded staff?????

can't get an answer on that either!!

fly

[TheWraith]

88. It's worth noting that this is not recent: it's over the course of 60+ YEARS.

This number is often regurgitated and claimed to be news, or that this amount of money goes missing every year. That's obviously crap, since it's almost as much as the entire United States budget. Nor is this saying that this money just disappeared. It got spent on things, but thanks to a combination of secrecy and poor record keeping, we don't neccessarily know what it was spent ON. For that matter, $2.3 trillion dollars is a top-end figure--nobody can say for sure that that much was actually spent, only that it's vaguely possible.

[Syrinx]

90. it's true. And sadly...

It existed in the Clinton era.

A snippet from Rumsfeld's (2001) confirmation hearing.

SEN. ROBERT BYRD: How can we seriously consider a $50 billion increase in the defense budget when DOD's own auditors, when DOD's own auditors say that the Department cannot account for $2.3 trillion in transactions in one year alone? My question to you, Mr. Secretary, is what do you plan to do about this?

DONALD RUMSFELD: Decline the nomination. (Laughter)

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june01/rumsfeld_01-11.html