THE US IS UNABLE to account for some $8 billion in Iraqi oil money marked for reconstruction projects in the country, according to Al Jazeera.

An audit released today by the US Special Investigator for Iraq Reconstruction blamed poor bookkeeping by the US Defence Department for the problem. The report said that the Defence Department’s actions had left the US unable to account fully for the money it withdrew from a special UN fund.

$8.7 billion was withdrawn between 2004 and 2007, and of that, the Pentagon could not provide documentation on how it spent $2.6 billion.

The report criticised the Defence Department’s failure to set up an organisation to oversee how funds were spent.

AP was unable to contact Iraqi officials for comment on the audit results, but the news is unlikely to do anything other than further anger Iraqis who are living without basic resources.

Today, Iraq’s parliament indefinitely postponed its session, meaning that the political deadlock preventing the formation of a new government continues.