Iraqi ambassador: $22,000/month
[It’s odd to see this on Page Six - is Bush losing Rupert Murdoch now
too?]
New York Post [Page Six] - July 15, 2007
Trump Lux For Iraq Envoy
IRAQ’S ambassador to the United Nations, Hamid al Bayati, likes the
high life. Bayati, who’s been on the job for just over a year, is
said to be living in a $22,000-a-month apartment at Trump World Tower
on First Avenue. He’s renting while the Iraqi U.N. Mission and
official ambassador’s residence on East 79th Street undergo a $40
million renovation. Where did the Iraqis get the cash? Newsmax.com
reports the U.N. Security Council is paying with funds it once used
to finance the now-terminated U.N. Iraq arms inspectors. When asked
about the lavish use of the cash, Bayati refused comment. U.S.
Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad shrugged off the Iraqis’ lush
lifestyle by telling reporters, “$40 million is not a lot of money.”
According to U.N. documents, the U.S. delegation approved the
transfer of the cash from the Security Council to Iraq. All of this
comes as the federal Government Accounting Office reported the war in
Iraq is costing American taxpayers $12 billion monthly.