Bills to pay ... Usually you dig holes and get the gold OUT.

Faced with the costs and consequences on US federal Government spending of Katrina (US$250Bn ?) , and now Rita (?) , it is worth remembering how the US was going to pay for the illegal invasion of Iraq …..

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz:

“There’s a lot of money to pay for this that doesn’t have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people…and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years…We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.”

[Source: House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 3/27/03]

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

“I don't believe that the United States has the responsibility for reconstruction, in a sense…[Reconstruction] funds can come from those various sources I mentioned: frozen assets, oil revenues and a variety of other things, including the Oil for Food, which has a very substantial number of billions of dollars in it.

[Source: Senate Appropriations Hearing, 3/27/03]

The Oil For Food funds, lodged with the Paribas Bank in Paris (France) were of course not dollars, but those beastly bi-metallic Euros, for which Saddam had been charging for his oil (with UN approval) since Dubya entered the White House … and was a major (but unstated) factor in the decision to illegally invade Iraq.

The US Department of Energy latest report on Iraq shows ;

Historically, Iraqi production peaked in December 1979 at 3.7 million bbl/d, and then in July 1990, just prior to its invasion of Kuwait, at 3.5 million bbl/d. From 1991, when production crashed due to war, Iraqi oil output increased slowly, to 600,000 bbl/d in 1996. With Iraq's acceptance in late 1996 of U.N. Resolution 986, which allowed limited Iraqi oil exports in exchange for food and other supplies ("oil-for-food"), the country's oil output began increasing more rapidly, to 1.2 million bbl/d in 1997, 2.2 million bbl/d in 1998, and around 2.5 million bbl/d during 1999-2001. Iraqi monthly oil output increased in the last few months of 2002 and into early 2003, peaking at around 2.58 million bbl/d in January 2003, just before the war.

As of May 2005, Iraqi production (net of reinjection) had reached perhaps 1.9 million bbl/d, with "gross" production (including reinjection, water cut, and "unaccounted for" oil due in part to problems with metering) of around 2.1 million bbl/d. Most analysts believe that there will be no major additions to Iraqi production capacity for 2-3 years, but that 4.0 million bbl/d is possible by the end of the decade.

The US electors in the forthcoming mid-term elections may be faced with the choice of spending Federal funds on the reconstruction of the US South, or the reconstruction of Iraq.... now the difficult part is working out which they will choose.

The National Enquirer (remember they got the first of the Anthrax attacks ?) report today that Dubya is back hitting the old electric soup ....can't be true... can it ?

"Congress is not an ATM," said Senator Byrd West Virginia, top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee said. "We have to be able to explain this new enormous bill to the American people." When considering Dubyas request (Sept 2003) for $87 Bn (having previously passed $79Bn) for post war reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan said " Mr. Wolfowitz, you told Congress in March that 'We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon.' Talk about rosy scenarios" .

Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota ( Now EX Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota ) said at a news conference that Mr. Bush's plan must recognize "that there is urgency with regard to meeting the needs in Iraq, but there is an urgency to meet the needs in this country," such as education, health care and homeland security.

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that well known forecaster, wise and responsible leader, associated with prudence, patience and great foresight (who also spent the morning of September 11th 2001 shooting the breeze with Senator McClellan in his office away from phones, radios, TV’s, staff indeed any contact with the outside world whilst Manhattan fell apart – but Hey everyone gets 20/20 hindsight Buddy) said Iraqis were rapidly assuming security responsibilities (see pic for results).

He said 55,000 are now fighting alongside Americans and 184,000 are expected by the summer of 2005. Remember this was September 2003 – 2 years ago. Ask yourself, would you put this guy in charge of training your military ?