US Accountability? We Don't Talk About That.

Four months ago, the UN Security Council ordered an independent board to monitor U.S. spending of Iraq's oil revenues. Diplomats are now blaming the US for delaying the creation of the board in order to maintain US control without international accountability.

Although Iraq oil production has been lower than the neo-cons hoped, Reuters reports that "there is at least $1 billion in the fund, transferred from the oil-for-food program. U.S. officials would not provide an overall figure."

Meanwhile, in the latest clash on the streets of Baghdad, the US military reported two American soldiers had been wounded in the clash, but could not confirm the toll among Iraqis.

"We don't take Iraqi casualties," said a spokeswoman who asked not to be named.

Since before the start of the Iraq war, there has been a concerted effort to ignore the Iraqi dead. Even now, the Western media focusses on the daily death toll of US soldiers while ignoring civilian deaths.

The mantra was established by General Tommy Franks of US Central Command: "We don’t do body counts.”