U.S. Exhausts Seized Iraqi Assets, May Seek More Aid

[MRDU]

U.S. authorities in Iraq have all but exhausted nearly $1 billion in seized assets used to pay Iraqi civil servants, and some administration and congressional officials said on Tuesday that extra money may be needed sooner than expected.

<snip>

But it could be politically risky. For months, the administration has played down the cost of reconstruction, saying it should be covered in large part by increased oil production and financial contributions from U.S. allies. Neither has materialized.

Any new funds would come on top of the $2.5 billion that Congress approved in April as seed money for Iraq's postwar reconstruction, and would exacerbate a federal budget deficit already expected to reach a record $480 billion in 2004.

more...

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=3340382

Hey now, where's that $2.3 trillion Rumsfeld lost track of?

[Hobarticus]

1. They are so boned

I hope the Dems grab this and never let go...

[Mokito]

2. Boy oh boy, they just can't get a break, can they?

GOOD !!!

[Spazito]

3. I guess they will have to go to Bechel, Brown & Root...

and ask them to float them a loan!

[gratuitous]

4. On the contrary

If Halliburton or Brown & Root or Bechtel don't get a contract payment, you can bet there's gonna be some suin' goin' on -- whether or not those private contractors are even over in Iraq doing whatever it is they're supposed to be doing. Those contracts are ironclad, open-ended, no-bid, and all the obligations flow from our pockets to theirs.

Just watch . . .