<sagan>Billions and Billions....</sagan>

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve sent record payouts of more than $4 billion in cash to Baghdad on giant pallets aboard military planes shortly before the United States gave control back to Iraqis, lawmakers said Tuesday.

The money, which had been held by the United States, came from Iraqi oil exports, surplus dollars from the U.N.-run oil-for-food program and frozen assets belonging to the ousted Saddam Hussein regime.

Bills weighing a total of 363 tons were loaded onto military aircraft in the largest cash shipments ever made by the Federal Reserve, said Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"Who in their right mind would send 363 tons of cash into a war zone? But that's exactly what our government did," the California Democrat said during a hearing reviewing possible waste, fraud and abuse of funds in Iraq.

On December 12, 2003, $1.5 billion was shipped to Iraq, initially "the largest pay out of U.S. currency in Fed history," according to an e-mail cited by committee members.

It was followed by more than $2.4 billion on June 22, 2004, and $1.6 billion three days later. The CPA turned over sovereignty on June 30.

The Reuters report says "more than $4 billion." If the reporter had bothered to add up the reported numbers, perhaps they would have written "$5.5 billion"

In fact, the size of that shipment of cash makes me want to raise my extended pinky to the corner of my mouth, while I repeat, "five point five BILLION DOLLARS" in my best Dr. Evil voice.

As a poker player, I am not immune to what Phil Hellmuth describes as an occupational hazard of poker players: a disregard for cash that borders on contempt. Nonetheless, the idea of pallets and pallets of shrink-wrapped bundles of $100 bills on military transport planes being flown to Baghdad is the stuff of caper-movie dreams. Where is Danny Ocean when we need him? Heck, even the good ship Serenity and her plucky crew ought to have been able to intercept some of that cash.

(via Josh Marshall)