UN Watchdog Says Work Hindered by Absent U.S. Audits

A U.N.-mandated agency said on Wednesday its task of watching over Iraq's oil money was being hampered by the Bush administration's failure to hand over audits of Iraq contracts awarded without competitive bids, including to Halliburton . The International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) said that despite its repeated requests it was still waiting for the U.S. audits of the contracts, which were paid with Iraqi oil money. The IAMB initially requested the U.S. audits in March as part of its task of watching over Iraq's oil revenues. [more ]