Iraq finds “ghost soldiers” in army
baghdad » The Iraqi army has been paying salaries to at least 50,000 soldiers who don’t exist, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider alAbadi said Sunday, an indication of the level of corruption that permeates an institution that the United States has spent billions on equipping and arming.
A preliminary investigation into socalled “ghost soldiers” — whose salaries are being drawn butwho are not in military service— revealed the tens of thousands of false names on Ministry of Defense rolls, Abadi told parliament Sunday. Follow-up investigations are expected to uncover “more and more,” he added.
Abadi, who took power in September, is under pressure to stamp out the graft that flourished in the armed forces under his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki. Widespread corruption has been blamed for contributing to the collapse of four of the army’s 14 divisions in June in the face of an offensive by Islamic State extremists.
The United States is encouraging Abadi to create a leaner, more efficient military as the Pentagon requests $1.2 billion to train and equip the Iraqi army next year. The United States spent more than $20 billion on the force from the 2003 invasion until U.S. troops withdrew at the end of 2011.
With entry-level soldiers in Iraq drawing salaries of about $600 a month, the practice of “ghost soldiers” is costing Iraq at least $380 million a year — though officials say that’s probably only a fraction of the true expense.
“It could be more than triple this number,” said Hamid al-Mutlaq, a member of the parliamentary defense and security committee, pointing out that more thorough on-theground investigations are planned. “The people who are responsible for this should be punished. Iraq’s safe has been emptied.”
The corrupt practice is often perpetrated by officers who pretend to have more soldiers on their books to pocket their salaries, experts say.
Abadi’s announcementwasmet with applause in parliament. He said the perpetratorswould be tracked down, but his priority is to end the practice as soon as possible.
“We are losing money all the time,” he said. Since taking power, Abadi has retired dozens of officers who served under Maliki, who has been accused of promoting officers based on loyalty rather than merit.
The United States is focusing its efforts on three divisions in order to begin effective counteroffensive operations against the Islamic State, which controls around a third of the country’s territory. The Pentagon also has requested $24 million to train and equip tribal fighters, and $354 million for Kurdish forces as part of its strategy to turn the tide against the Islamic State.