Iraqi government intentionally halting corruption investigations

In Iraq, more than $5 billion each year is wasted due to corruption .  But according to a new report by the U.S. inspector general, slated for release this week, none of that will change anytime soon because the Iraqi government is blocking internal investigations into its own behavior:

A large part of the problem, according to the report, is that Iraq'sprime minister's office is using a law dating back to the 1970s to stopongoing investigations in their tracks. The law says that no case cango forward without the approval of the minister of the affected agency.So far, the report says that various agency ministers have stopped theprosecution and investigation of 102 individuals involved in 48 cases.

There is much more to a democracy than just the right to vote.  Government agencies are supposed to accept the fact that they are under the microscope, and cooperate fully with internal audits.  In the case of Iraq, that is obviously not happening.

And it gets worse:

The prime minister's office has also ordered that any case involving aminister or former minister must have the approval of the primeminister before it can be recommended to an investigative court.

In a nut-shell, this grants the prime minister unyielding power over all internal investigations.  Think of how a future Iraqi prime minister could use that power to wipe out all dissent in the government.

And the most hypocritical part about all this is even though people claim that Iraq is now a democracy, the Iraqi government is using a Saddam-era law as an excuse to suppress these audits.

From a corruption standpoint, this is extremely unhealthy for Iraq's future.