Waste? What waste?

According to the watchdog group Media Matters, broadcast and cable news networks largely ignored a new report that concludes that the United States has squandered billions of dollars trying to rebuild Iraq due to widespread fraud, abuse and waste.

Of the $60 billion the U.S. has spent on reconstruction projects in Iraq following the 2003 invasion, at least $8 billion of it was “wasted,” reports Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

In the five days following the report’s release, only PBS and MSNBC offered substantial coverage of the report. NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News and CNN devoted a combined 35 seconds to the news.

Source: Media Matters for America; www.mediamatters.org