[NYS_Eric]

Iraq's Ba'athist regime owes Russia and France tens of billions. There's a good article on Weekly Standard this morning by Irwin Stelzer that argues wiping out this debt will leave more than enough for Iraq to rebuild quickly. There is no moral argument for repaying this debt. Hussein did not feed his people or build his nation's infrastructure with these dollars. It was all used to support a despotic police state (as Russia and France well knew when they entered into these "agreements").

[sarcasm]

There is no moral argument for repaying this debt. Hussein did not feed his people or build his nation's infrastructure with these dollars.

The same can be said about many governments. Default on these obligations will set a horrible precedent - I'm sure that African and Latin American nations will quickly jump on this bandwagon.