Wednesday, August 6, 2008

WASHINGTON POST: IRAQ BANKS BILLIONS IN SURPLUSES

The United States is shelling out $9 BILLION DOLLARS a month to fight the war in Iraq and help in rebuilding Iraq and all the time the Iraqi government is salting away almost $90 BILLION DOLLARS in surplus profits from the sale of oil.

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Iraq Banks Billions in Surpluses, GAO SaysNation's Oil Revenue Rising Sharply While U.S. Funds Reconstruction Projects

By Karen DeYoungWashington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 6, 2008; A06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/05/AR2008080502493.html

Iraq's oil income will more than double this year, even as Baghdad continues to spend only a small percentage of its own money on reconstruction and services while it banks billions in surplus funds, according to projections by U.S. government auditors.

Between 2005 and 2007, only 10 percent of Iraq's expenditures went toward reconstruction, with just 1 percent spent on maintaining U.S. and Iraqi-funded investments in roads, water, electricity and weapons, according to a report released yesterday by the Government

Accountability Office. Even when Baghdad has allocated larger sums, the report said, it has spent only a small portion of the budgeted money.

Those trends, which the report said have continued during the first half of this year, are likely to fuel further congressional discontent over ongoing U.S. payments to rebuild Iraq. "It is inexcusable for U.S. taxpayers to continue to foot the bill for projects the Iraqis are fully capable of funding themselves," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said in a statement yesterday.

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2 comments:

lonnie said...

so it appears to be the politically expendiant course to point rage towards iraq about this oil surplus money? seems to me that the u.s. has no claim to any of their money. not a dime! there was no offical aggreement for their oil resources to pay or repay us for anything. nothing! just another puff of smoke this administration blow up the collective american a--. serves our stupid a--es right for invading their "sovereign nation" to begin with. the u.s. broke it! the u.s. must fix it! don't like it! leave! now!

Bill Corcoran said...

Lonnie: Remember how that jerk Cheney said the amount of money we would get from Iraq oil would pay for the war? Another of his lies.

Thanks for commenting.
Bill