Coalition Provisional Authority

David Oliver, retired admiral and the Coalition Provisional Authority's (C.P.A.) director of management and budget, was asked by a BBC reporter what had happened to all the cash airlifted to Baghdad:

Oliver: "I have no idea---I can't tell you whether or not the money went to the right things or didn't--nor do I actually think it's important."

Q: "Not important?"

Oliver: "No. The coalition--and I think it was between 300 and 600 people, civilians--and you want to bring in 3,000 auditors to make sure money's being spent?"

Q: "Yes, but the fact is that billions of dollars have disappeared without a trace."

Oliver: "Of their money. Billions of dollars of their money, yeah, I understand. I'm saying what difference does it make?"



--This as reported in Vanity Fair, October 2007