Iraqi MP Mish'an Al-Jabouri: I Took Millions of Dollars in Bribes, All Iraqi Politicians Do

In a TV interview, Iraqi MP Mish’an Al-Jabouri admitted that he had taken millions of dollars in bribes. In a January 26 interview with Al-Etejah TV, MP Al-Jabouri claimed that all Iraqi politicians take bribery and that only a coward would not. He claimed that the entire political echelon is corrupt and responsible for the destruction of the country. Al-Jabouri is a member of the Iraqi Commission of Integrity, tasked with investigating governmental corruption. He refused to disclose names of fellow corrupt politicians for fear that "they will kill me right in the street."

Interviewer: "Who is behind the corruption?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "We all are. Everybody plays a role."

Interviewer: "All of you (politicians)?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "Yes, everybody."

Interviewer: "How come?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "I am a member of the Commission of Integrity. We open cases, and then close them when we receive bribes. That's one example."

Interviewer: "Did you take bribes?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "Oh yes. Upon my honor, I did. They bribed me to close down a case, but I didn’t. I took several millions of dollars, but I didn't close the case. I don't consider it to be a bribe. I see this as conning a corrupt son of a bitch."

Interviewer: "Who else is corrupt?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "Everybody. Everybody! The Sunnis, the Shiites, and the secularists are all corrupt."

Interviewer: "The parliament? The government?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "They are all corrupt. If someone is not corrupt, it's because he is a coward. Either they are corrupt and take bribes, or else they get it in the form of concessions."

Interviewer: "It's good to be in government?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "Very good. You get an armored car with an escort, and when you get to a roadblock, you just say: I'm an MP."

Interviewer: "So you are behind the destruction of this country?"

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "Of course. The entire political echelon is responsible for this. If there is a homeless man in Iraq, a child who goes to bed without food, or an Iraqi who dies because he has no medicine – the reason is the political echelon in the Green Zone, and the political echelon that manages the various provinces. We all bear responsibility. All of us. We all lie, steal, and take bribes. Anyone who says that he does not take bribes is lying. If I say anything more, they will kill me right in the street."

Interviewer: "This is an indictment of the entire political echelon."

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "By God, the stories I know... If the Iraqis knew these stories, they would storm the Green Zone and burn it down."

Interviewer: "Give us one example."

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "I can't talk."

Interviewer: "Half a story..."

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: "No, they will kill me."