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New Corruption Study Has Important Lessons for U.S. Voters Email Print

By truthista
11/06/2006 12:04:52 PM EST

As a result of a misguided and poorly planned U.S. invasion, Iraq is mired in brutal civil warfare with no end in sight. The Bush administration and Republicans in Congress would have us believe that the invasion was worthwhile because it brought democratic government to the nation.  But, U.S. officials have incessantly meddled in Iraq's internal affairs, with the result that Iraq is now considered the third most corrupt nation in the world, ranking 160 out of the 163 countries measured for integrity in a study just released by Transparency International.

The level of Iraq corruption is probably no surprise to those who have followed news reports describing a steady stream of corruption in the Bush administration and among Republicans in Congress. But, many voters may be unaware that rampant corruption in a nation practically guarantees widespread poverty.

A strong correlation between corruption and poverty is evident in the results of the CPI 2006. Almost three-quarters of the countries in the CPI score below five (including all low-income countries and all but two African states) indicating that most countries in the world face serious perceived levels of domestic corruption. Seventy-one countries - nearly half - score below three, indicating that corruption is perceived as rampant. Haiti has the lowest score at 1.8; Guinea, Iraq and Myanmar share the penultimate slot, each with a score of 1.9. Finland, Iceland and New Zealand share the top score of 9.6. (TI, 11/6 press release)

Currently, on TI's integrity list, the United States is tied with Chile for 20th place - lower than  France and Hong Kong, and only slightly higher than Slovenia, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates.

TI's report offers a warning to U.S. voters. A vote for a corrupt party or individual is a vote in favor of corruption that ultimately could turn the "land of opportunity" into a land of widespread poverty.

Republicans would have Americans ignore the corrupt elephant in the room and focus on topics with little real impact on our future.  Instead, as Americans cast our votes on November 7, we should keep in mind this time-tested guide:  Election year promises quickly fade; character endures.


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