Posted on 04/14/2008 1:50:22 PM PDT by moderatewolverine
Iraq's financial free ride may be over. After five years, Republicans and Democrats seem to have found common ground on at least one aspect of the war. From the fiercest war foes to the most steadfast Bush supporters, they are looking at Iraq's surging oil income and saying Baghdad should start picking up the tab, particularly for rebuilding hospitals, roads, power lines and the rest of the shattered country.
"I think the American people are growing weary not only of the war, but they are looking at why Baghdad can't pay more of these costs. And the answer is they can," says Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
Nelson, a Democrat, is drafting legislation with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana that would restrict future reconstruction dollars to loans instead of grants.
Their bill also would require that Baghdad pay for the fuel used by American troops and take over U.S. payments to predominantly Sunni fighters in the Awakening movement. Plans are to propose the legislation as part of a war bill to cover spending through September.
Likewise, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he wants to add a provision to a defense policy bill that would force the Iraqi government to spend its own surplus in oil revenues to rebuild the country before U.S. dollars are spent.
(Excerpt) Read more at primetimepolitics.com ...
congress is full of johnny come latelies, it is already being done (iraq’s portion of such expenses IS increasing, without any grandstanding resolution by congress)
and
if we can continue to help iraq on the security issues they will - because they want to - assume more control and financial responsibility for many things we help them with
Administration and military officials say the lack of spending isn’t sinister.
“Part of it’s a lack of expertise. Part of it is a lack of trained people.
By all means let’s send Congress to Iraq to teach them to spend money. Should be the easiest job they have ever had since they are experts at it.
How come there are ‘war critics’ and then ‘Bush supporters’?
If you support the war, you are a ‘Bush supporter’. If you are against the war, and are pulling for the defeat and death of our troops overseas, you are benignly ‘a war critic’.
We used to have ‘patriots’ and then you had ‘subversives’. Things were so much simpler once.
Finally, blood for oil and the Democrats love it. In fact if they pass this legislation they’ll consider it a victory. ;-)
Can anyone provide links with real/reliable news and statistics on this subject? If Congress does something, I am always suspect of the motivation behind it....
Amen. At $111.00 a barrel they can afford to build their own roads.
“Look, they agree on something.”
What if Iraq doesn’t agree and wants the US to continue footing the bill?
We’re not going to leave Iraq, regardless whether they pay for their infrastructure or not and they can always reason that we have to assume the cost because we destroyed their infrastructure.
I agree that the Iraq’s should be paying their own way to reconstruction, but isn’t it ironic that the “Republicans invaded Iraq for the oil” Democrats are now demanding that we now help ourselves to some of that oil?
I've got a better idea...send all the trial lawyers to Iraq. Al Qaeda will lay down their arms out of professional courtesy.
LMAO, as if the Democrats were first to think of this.
Of course Iraq is going to start picking up the tab. Now that the oil fields are producing significant income, what did the Dems expect?
Next they’ll discover the wheel, follow by the loom and steam engines.
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