US was big spender in days before Iraq handover

It's things like this that make my flesh creep. I'm afraid there is something nefarious behind this.--Dictynna

By Sue Pleming

Tue Jun 21, 6:32 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States handed out nearly $20 billion of Iraq's funds, with a rush to spend billions in the final days before transferring power to the Iraqis nearly a year ago, a report said on Tuesday.

A report by Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, said in the week before the hand-over on June 28, 2004, the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority ordered the urgent delivery of more than $4 billion in Iraqi funds from the U.S. Federal Reserve in New York.