Anticorruption Efforts in Iraq: U.S. and Iraq Take Actions but Much Remains to be Done

Abstract : SIGIR has issued four reports addressing U.S. Embassy efforts to manage a multitude of U.S. government agency anticorruption programs, including those of the Department of State (DoS), Department of Justice, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I). In a July 2006 report SIGIR identified fundamental problems in implementing a U.S. anticorruption program such as the lack of coordination and leadership. SIGIR provided 12 recommendations to address these problems and to form a basis for assessing progress. For example, SIGIR recommended that DoS appoint a senior leader to direct the anticorruption program and provide continuity in program administration, and that a steering group be established to provide oversight over program activities and ensure that all agencies are working towards a common goal in an efficient and effective manner. In our April 2008 report SIGIR discussed how the U.S. Embassy had implemented actions to address two recommendations, but that actions were still needed to fully address the remaining ten.