US denies Iraq reconstruction watchdog being muzzled

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US officials rejected allegations that a US agency which has exposed numerous instances of corruption and mismanagement of American reconstruction efforts in Iraq was being shut down ahead of schedule. The New York Times reported Thursday that Republicans in Congress had quietly slipped a provision into a huge military spending bill that will close the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) in October 2007.

The newspaper quoted lawmakers who have supported the inspector general, Stuart Bowen, describing the move as a bid to end a string of embarrassing revelations that have added to the deep public skepticism over President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq war. In two years of work, Bowen's investigations have sent US...