Estimated surplus of sixty billion.

"But according to other U.S. officials, a major problem is that Iraq does not have the capacity to allocate the money without it being wasted or pocketed by corrupt officials."

"I think they are beginning to do more," particularly in improving its military and buying new weapon systems, said Claude Kicklighter, the Pentagon's inspector general. "And I think that's certainly the trend that we should be following."

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Hmm...their population is too immoral to reconstruct their nation, because the money disappears into waste and private pockets?

Here's an idea: put into place layers of American middle mmanagers, thousands of whom are out of work here, and channel the Iraqi money through professioanl project managers. Pay them with Iraqi oil money they can send home.

As for spending their billions on arms, did no one learn anything from the successful reconstruction of Japan for Christ's sake? A new-built armament is not what Iraq needs first, for crying out loud. How tragic and stupid.


A