50 cents on the dollar Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service The following editorial appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday, April 6:

On Nov. 3, 2003, when Congress approved President Bush's $87 billion supplemental budget request for the war in Iraq, the bill included $18.4 billion for rebuilding that nation's shattered infrastructure.

Before the war, hawks like Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz had said that Iraq's oil revenues could pay for most of the reconstruction. But by late 2003, $18.4 billion worth of reality had set in.

Now, 30 months into the reconstruction effort, most of that money has been spent or allocated. All of it will be gone by the end of the year. For $18.4 billion, the Iraqis - and the American taxpayers - stand to get about $9 billion worth...

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Posted by rjorr at April 7, 2006 2:12 PM