In May 2013, Jim McCormick the owner
of the company that sold 7,000 fake bomb detectors to Iraq was sentenced to ten years in prison by a British court on three counts of fraud. The fallout in
Baghdad is just beginning to be felt. The government is trying to act like
nothing happened, while two anti-corruption groups are pushing for new
investigations, and implicating Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and other top
officials. Unfortunately, while committees can look into these matters there is
little likelihood that anything substantive will happen.
A fake bomb detector still being used
at a checkpoint in Baghdad, May 2013 (AFP)
After the news broke in Iraq that Jim
McCormick had been convicted there was little change on the ground. Deputy
Interior Minister Adnan Asadi, who is the de facto head of the ministry told
the press that the bomb detectors would eventually be replaced, but he did not
mention how or when. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that the authorities took care of the bomb detectors a long time ago seemingly blowing
off the McCormick conviction. Later he told a press conference that some of the detectors actually worked. This was despite the fact that the British
court proved that there were no working parts within the so-called detectors. Agence
France Presse quoted a policeman in Baghdad who said that they were under
orders to continue to use the anti-explosive devices even though they knew they
did not work. Only in Dhi Qar did the police announce that they would stop using the detectors, and would be using bomb-sniffing dogs instead. That
province happens to be in the south where there are hardly any attacks, so its
decision would not have a real effect upon security in the country. Baghdad on
the other hand sees the most violence, yet the government is acting like the
McCormick case means nothing. The premier’s statement is a perfect example
since the detectors are still in daily use, so obviously they have not been dealt
with properly.
Parliament and the anti-corruption
Integrity Commission are taking the matter much more seriously. Immediately
after the sentencing of McCormick Iraq’s integrity committee in the legislature
said that officials from the Office of the Commanding General of the Armed
Forces and former Interior Minister Jawad Bolani were involved in buying the fake detectors. Parliamentarian Jawad Shihili stated that both the
inspector general at Interior and the Science Ministry objected to the
purchase, but higher officials insisted upon it. Al-Mada received a memo from
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office as commander and chief that okayed buying the devices. That was despite a British officer warning the Interior
Ministry that the detectors did not work. This new evidence led the integrity
committee to form a joint committee with the Interior and Defense Ministries’
inspector generals to investigate the matter. The independent Integrity
Commission went on to issue arrest warrants for five directors of companies
involved with buying the anti-bomb equipment. A further look into the
matter is definitely required as the McCormick trial revealed that at least 15 Iraqi officials received bribes from his company to finalize the deal. So
far only General Jihad Jabiri the former head of the explosives department at
the Interior Ministry and two others have been jailed over the devices in 2011.
That occurred after Minister Bolani was removed from office, because he was
protecting Jabiri and the others from prosecution.
The problem with investigating
corruption in Iraq is that it can only go so far. Bribes and thievery are so imbedded
within the government that it has actually become part of the way of running
the country as pilfering from the state is considered part of the payoff of
holding office, and a way to reward followers. That severely limits the ability
to charge and successfully prosecute people, because the political parties and
their leadership will block it just as Minister Bolani did. New documents can
be uncovered, people can be named, new information revealed about the fake bomb
detectors, and maybe even some company heads might be taken to court, but those
that were truly responsible will never be touched. That would open the door to
everyone involved in the system being charged, and that simply won’t happen in
Iraq right now.
SOURCES
Agence France Presse, “Iraq PM insists some fake bomb
detectors work,” 5/20/13
- “Iraq province to ditch fake bomb detectors,” 5/14/13
- “Iraq still using James McCormick’s fake bomb detectors at
checkpoints,” 5/3/13
AIN, “Shihaili: Maliki’s assistants, MOI officials involved
in corruption,” 5/5/13
Booth, Robert, “Fake bomb detector conman jailed for 10
years,” Guardian, 5/2/13
Al-Mada, “A document proving that Maliki’s office instructed
to purchase sonar despite warnings from British inability for detecting
explosives,” 5/12/13
- “Iraq’s Integrity Committee pursuing the inventor of
explosives detectors and 5 local companies,” 5/14/13
Morris, Steven, Jones, Meirion and Booth, Robert, “The
‘magic’ bomb detector that endangered lives all over the world,” Guardian,
4/23/13
Al Mustaqbal News, “The names of directors of companies
involved with explosives detection devices,” 5/14/13
No comments:
Post a Comment