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TechnoratiUS Auditor Says Funding For Iraqi Rebuilding Should Cease
WASHINGTON - Rising production and skyrocketing prices could more than double the Iraqi government's expected bonanza in oil revenue this year, leading a top U.S. government auditor to call for an end to American funding of Iraqi reconstruction projects.
The Iraqi government had projected 2008 oil revenue of about $35 billion. But a U.S. report to be issued today by the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction will say that oil production in the second quarter of the year hit 2.43 million barrels per day, a post-invasion record.
"With oil now hovering around $125 per barrel -- about five times what it was five years ago -- and Iraq's oil production at record levels, SIGIR estimates that oil revenues for 2008 could exceed $70 billion," the report states.
The report by the independent audit agency provides potent backing to critics of the Bush administration in what has become a highly charged political issue. Democratic leaders in Congress are pushing the administration to pressure the Iraqi government to fund its own infrastructure projects through rising oil revenue.
In the most recent war funding bill, lawmakers inserted a requirement that all U.S. funding for projects not related to Iraqi security be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by Iraqi government spending.
In response, administration officials have urged patience, noting that Iraqi spending for reconstruction has risen sharply and that the American contribution would gradually diminish.
U.S. funding for Iraqi reconstruction has declined over the last four years. In 2008, the new report projects, the $4.2 billion appropriated by Congress for rebuilding will be less than a third of the $13.1 billion that Iraq itself is expected to spend.
But Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general, said in an interview that he favored ending U.S. participation entirely, because the Iraqi oil windfall plus unspent funds from earlier budgets are more than adequate to meet the country's reconstruction needs.
Bowen said that Barham Salih, the deputy Iraqi prime minister in charge of reconstruction, earlier this month had insisted that Iraq did not need additional foreign funding for reconstruction.
"They certainly have the resources to invest in their infrastructure program," Bowen said. "I think we ought to just take them at their word on that and focus on helping Iraq carry out its own program funded by its own money."
According to the report, cumulative Iraqi funding for reconstruction caught up with total U.S. spending within the last three months. Each government has appropriated more than $50 billion since 2003.
The audit emphasizes, however, that the Iraqi government continues to struggle to spend the money it is accumulating. Because of government inexperience and bureaucratic bottlenecks, the Iraqi government had spent only 2.7% of its capital budget by March 2008, the latest figures available.
The report notes that the Iraqi government has improved in this regard, spending 63% of its capital budget last year, compared with 22% in 2006. But Bowen said the U.S. should focus its reconstruction efforts on helping the Iraqis improve those rates.
"A lot of that money is going to be left unspent," Bowen said.
At the start of July, Iraq had already brought in $33.1 billion in 2008 oil revenue, according to the report. Production levels were up 2% over the first quarter of the year and 16% over last year. The audit notes that production is approaching prewar levels, which averaged 2.58 million barrels per day from 1998 through 2002.
A portion of the increase is credited to a drop in pipeline attacks. The report estimates that an additional 350,000 to 500,000 barrels every month now make it to market because of "pipeline exclusion zones," a system of berms, fences and guardhouses built around major pipelines in the country.
Bowen said that corruption remained a problem within Iraq, however, and that he was concerned the huge windfall in oil funds could end up in the wrong hands. Iraq's own government auditing agency, the Board of Supreme Audit, has repeatedly found corruption at many of Iraq's ministries.
"Given that was going on earlier this year and that we have this massive windfall occurring, inevitably there has to be concerns about corruption with regards to those funds," Bowen said.
As Iraq's oil industry has regained its footing, the government has attempted to attract private foreign investment to upgrade its decaying infrastructure. Last month, it announced that it was opening bidding to 35 foreign oil companies for long-term contracts on six of its key fields in hopes of increasing output to 4.5 million barrels a day.
The move followed an earlier decision to offer separate, short-term contracts to five U.S. and European companies -- ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, Shell and BP -- on a noncompetitive basis.
Those contracts have been delayed, however, after Democratic criticism of possible State Department involvement in developing the contracting process.
© 2008 The Los Angeles Times
11 Comments so far
Show AllSorry you have to be a paid subscriber to get the url I posted.
Just google california schools+aclu+islam to get the same info.
Lucitanian August 1st, 2008 12:59 pm
"Afghans and Muslims have different values from you..."
You are right as an ex-moslem (a moslem for 36 years until I discovered the cult of mohammed is nothing but pure unadulterated crap) Afghans and Muslims have different values from me, and with people like you, (if you are a young person) you will live to see those values become yours or your children's. Sharia law within at the most 2 generations will be the law in most of Europe, It already is in many places. Once Europe fall the US will not be far behind. DID you know thanks to the ACLU you can play "Be a moslem for a week" in California elementary schools, BUT you can't play be a christian, jew or Buddhist for a week. I thought there was a SEPARATION of church and state, but islam is a cult not a religion so according to the ACLU it's OK.
http://www.investors.com/register/roadblock.asp?/ibdarchives
In a recent federal decision that got surprisingly little press, even from conservative talk radio, California's 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it's OK to put public-school kids through Muslim role-playing exercises, including:
Reciting aloud Muslim prayers that begin with "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful . . . ."
Memorizing the Muslim profession of faith: "Allah is the only true God and Muhammad is his messenger."
Chanting "Praise be to Allah" in response to teacher prompts.
Professing as "true" the Muslim belief that "The Holy Quran is God's word."
Parents of seventh-graders, who after 9-11 were taught the pro-Islamic lessons as part of California's world history curriculum, sued under the First Amendment ban on religious establishment. They argued, reasonably, that the government was promoting Islam. But a federal judge appointed by President Clinton told them in so many words to get over it.
As far as Iraq and Afghanistan I say we should leave yesterday if not sooner. Let them live in their cesspool of sharia law they deserve it. I still say Iraq should give the US 50 cents of every dollar they make on their oil until they pay the US treasury back for what we flushed down that rat hole. It was broken LONG before we got there, mohammed and his cult destroyed it when they ILLEGALLY invaded and OCCUPIED Iraq.
wolf123 August: What are you on about?
Your US government was perfectly happy to do business with the Taliban to negotiate pipe lines and work with them through their backers in Pakistan until they couldn't get what they wanted that way, and it had nothing to do with giving up Bin Laden as the Taliban had agreed to do just that. But the use of violence to achieve "regime change" was to tempting to the post 9-11 opportunists.
But that is neither here nor there, because your litany on the evils of the Taliban, suggest that the US killing of thousands of Afghan civilians which goes on till today is some how justified. I doubt your opinion has much sway with the majority of Afghans. If you want to know what they think about having sacrificed Taliban oppression for US backed war-lord oppression, they will tell you how they would be very happy to see the back of NATO and the US forces, the presence of which is the greatest recruiting aid to the resurgent Taliban. Afghanistan will not be dominated by foreign forces. It's been tried before.
I appreciate your lament for the Bamiyan Buddhas, and as wasteful and sad as their destruction was, it was not quite as destructive as the indiscriminate bombing of civilians. The Buddhas were only pieces of stone, and Buddha tells us even, never to grasp and always accept the transient nature of all things. America has only one tool in its box and it is unfortunately the hammer.
Afghans and Muslims have different values from you, and if they want to change them it is up to them not you and your opinion. If you want to know what afghan women think ask one: ask Sonali Kolhatkar Why Afghanistan is "Just as Bad as Iraq"
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/24/the_forgotten_war_sonali_kolhatkar_on
You may consider Iraq a miserable rat hole. But if you knew any history you would know it was a lot less so before the US government started messing with it, including their backing of Saddam Hussein, in their proxy war against Iran. But you are obviously sold on the propaganda and the truth of events will not get much traction I'm sure. But if you want to save your taxes tell your government to get out of other people's countries.
If the US hadn't destroyed Iraq there would be no need for reconstruction, would there. You mess up, you clean up!
Lucitanian July 31st, 2008 1:58 pm
"What price is a war of aggression, total destruction of a sovereign nation's economic and social infrastructure, destruction of historical relics and archives of its culture going back 4000 years and beyond to the cradle of civilization... "
There for a few seconds I thought you were talking about the Taliban, and Afghanistan. After all,taliban militiamen destroyed the almost 2,000-year-old Buddhist masterpieces in the central province of Bamiyan, including the world's tallest standing Buddha measuring 50 meters (165 feet), WHY you might ask, BECAUSE the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan, blew up the statues on the grounds that they were un-Islamic. Destroyed thousands of pre-Islamic figures in the Afghan National Museum. Destroyed every art work that depicted a person or animal in the National Art Museum for the same reason- they were un-Islamic. Passed laws forbidding women to attend school, or work. Passed laws forbidding male doctors to treat female patients (only female doctors could BUT female doctors could not work). Forced all women to wear the burqa in public, Passed laws that all women must have a male relative escorting them in public or be shot for prostitution, just a few of the enlightened ideas and laws passed by the wonderful taliban.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0301-04.htm
"Bowen said "he was concerned the huge windfall in oil funds could end up in the wrong hands". Does he mean in corrupt Iraqi hands instead of corrupt American hands as is the case today."
He is totally correct, 50 cents of every dollar the Iraqis get from their huge windfall in oil funds should be sent DIRECTLY the US treasury to pay us back for all the money we flushed down that miserable rat hole.
This reads like a Roman administrator talking about one of its conquered outlying dependencies, not a leading western democracy that executed a pre-emptive war of aggression on the bases of deliberately erroneously reported threats from imagined or fabricated data about mythical WMD.
I have only two words, no three; Punitive War Reparations.
What price is a war of aggression, total destruction of a sovereign nation's economic and social infrastructure, destruction of historical relics and archives of its culture going back 4000 years and beyond to the cradle of civilization, what price these barbarities executed through invasion and occupation for 5 years, maintaining an ongoing fight against insurgency apposed to said occupation? What is the compensation for a million dead, not to mention those caused prior by illegal sanctions, and those yet to fall ill and die from the effects of the tons of depleted uranium dispersed, plus the untold numbers of maimed and injured generally and the displacement of an estimated 4 million refugees?
So, the puppet government and it's agencies established by this occupying army is corrupt, is it? Where did they learn that from and "Bowen said that corruption remained a problem within Iraq" and what about the truck loads of money paid to non-competitive contracts made to US / Offshore corporations on the instructions of the occupying authority by the corrupt government they set up, being paid Iraqi money? Ask Halliburton, ask the pentagon, ask the Bush administration, and their corporate cronies.
Bowen said "he was concerned the huge windfall in oil funds could end up in the wrong hands". Does he mean in corrupt Iraqi hands instead of corrupt American hands as is the case today.
This article takes some reading, it also takes a stretch of the imagination to see reality in terms of the US administration. Who's oil is it? To crown it all : "The move followed an earlier decision to offer separate, short-term contracts to five U.S. and European companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, Shell and BP — on a noncompetitive basis" ….. because they, the occupiers and their corporate sponsors, couldn't get away with outright theft. Not even the corrupt Iraqi's could swallow that.
Re-written reality by the Neocon Bush administration, its AIPAC licensors, and their soon to be released block-buster, Obama and his magnificent talking chameleons. (the change is in their superficial colours, big tongues that can move quickly to catching the same old poor flies)
Behold magnificent formula for self financing wars of aggression, that would make Attila the Hun look like a nice guy. Onward and upward, Tehran or bust. If the US and Israel can't have it they'll make damn sure of a good mess which the Iranians can pay for.
How can they rebuild with dollars when bricks cost $20.00. They also have 20 billion dollars thats being withheld til the stop telling us to leave. I think it's 20 billion.
let's not forget that rumsfeld gave a press conference sept 10, 2001 to announce that the pentagon had lost three trillion dollars
not only does this demonstrate they knew what was going to happen the net day, 9/11, it also demonstrates that bushco was involved in that false flag event
it has never been mentioned again
another pys-op gone well
once again proving that there is no sucker like an american taxpayer
I seem to recall that it was George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld that ethnically cleansed the Baathists from all the Iraqi ministries (and burned the ministries to boot) thereby removing anyone who could lead the repairs of Iraq.
Paying for repairs and reparations for America's illegal invasion of Iraq are America's responsibility. Ditto Afghanistan.
Actually, the NEOCONS will probably go for it as a Democratically controlled congress next year MIGHT attempt to bring actual oversight into the war profiteering process (I know - but be hopeful . . . .).
By using bribes like the NEOCONS and Friedman's economic minions do in other countries, the corporatists could still control the wealth while escaping the scrutiny of Congress and the American people, and simultaneously impoverishing the mass of Iraqis - which would - of course - lower their levels of consciousness from one of self-rule to one of mere survival.
Sound familiar?
unfortunately, the idea presented here would make too much sense.
so bush will never go for it.
after all, his only desire is to take all of our money and give it to his buddies.