Iraq Has $79 Billion Surplus And We’re The Ones Paying For Reconstruction

And we’ve spent $48 billion of US taxpayer money on Iraq’s stabilization and reconstruction. In spite of being assured that Iraq oil money, not our taxpayer dollars, would pay for Iraq’s reconstruction, this is not the case.  In fact, the Government Accountability Office says that between 2005 and 2007 Iraq used only 1% of its operating budget for reconstruction.

Then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowiz told a House subcommitee in March 2003 that Iraq’s oil revenues would pay for reconstruction.

…then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz…told a House subcommittee in March 2003 that the U.S. would not foot the entire bill for rebuilding Iraq. Wolfowitz predicted then that Iraq’s oil revenues could reach between $50 billion and $100 billion in the next two or three years.

“We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon,” Wolfowitz said in 2003.

Instead, we have Bush supporters like Senator John Cornyn of Texas praising the administration with no attempt to live up to its promise that this wouldn’t be done on our dime.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.