Iraq Spending

Congressman Ron Klein wants Iraqis to pay for reconstruction of their country.

“They have tens of billions of dollars they’re just sitting on right now,” Klein said, noting that Iraq has the world’s second-largest known reserves of oil.

Meanwhile, a recent Government Accountability Office study said Iraq has so far paid only 4.4 percent of the amount it owes for reconstruction work since the war, Klein said.

“It’s ridiculous. They’re sitting on billions and billions and billions of dollars and they’re not paying for these things.”

Two problems with Klein's proposal. The Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds can't agree on who owns the oil. I imagine collecting revenue for reconstruction will be equally frustrating. The second is George W. Bush would veto any bill that forced Iraqis to pay for reconstruction. The President has shown no interest in holding the corrupt Iraqi accountable. He isn't about to change his last year in office.

In related news: the President is asking for more money for the war. The Democrats are responding by adding pork to the military spending bills. I'm wondering when someone will seriously address Iraq and Afghanistan.