White House Says Iraq Funds Request Still Falls Short (Need 55B more)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-iraqmoney9sep09,1,4249907.story?coll=la-home-headlines

The White House acknowledged Monday that it substantially underestimated the cost of rebuilding Iraq, and that even the additional $87 billion it is seeking from a wary Congress will fall far short of what is needed for postwar reconstruction.

Administration officials said President Bush's emergency spending request -- which would push the U.S. deficit above the half-trillion-dollar mark for the first time -- still leaves a reconstruction funding gap of as much as $55 billion dollars.

"It is fair to say that the level of decay and underinvestment in the Iraqi infrastructure was worse than almost anybody on the outside anticipated," said one senior administration official.

"We were all surprised," said another.

[ixion]

1. what a bunch of morans

seriously... these people are allegedly professionals, and yet they didn't think that 12 years of sanctions under tyranical rule would degrade the infrastructure? Oh puh-leeze. :eyes:

[ramblin_dave]

2. David Letterman said

"Bush says we need 80 billion dollars for Iraq. And please, when you make out the check remember that Halliburton is spelled with two L's..."

[proud patriot]

13. ha ha Great joke from Letterman

:D

[markses]

3. $87 Billion + $55 billion = $142,000,000,000

They are despicable.

Watch for this fresh spin: If Clinton would have gone in in 1998 the infrastructure wouldn't have eroded quite as much and we would have saved some money. That's the rearguard. If you hear that one, put a fork in these idiots.

They'll need $100 billion JUST FOR MILITARY OPERATIONS. Just for this year and next. Guaranteed.

We cannot sustain this. This is truly a fiscal catastrophe of monumental proportions.

And they want to recall Davis for the Enron scams! Davis should say - ahem, check out the frickin' FEDERAL DEFICIT, and these bills coming due for the unnecessary war. Iraq will bankrupt us like Afghanistan bankrupted the Soviet Union. Nobody ever thought that the superpower would collapse (except, of course, that every Marxist economist in the West predicted the USSR's fiscal collapse in the early-1970's) - but there it is. We're on the same path: corruption and mismanagment, imperial wars we can't afford and shit for fiscal policy. Bush is destroying this nation, for real.

[dw]

4. "the level of decay and underinvestment in the Iraqi infrastructure"

... but it had nothing to do with shock and awe, or depleted uranium weapons, so stop saying that.

[Booberdawg]

5. *sigh*

unfucking believable. Just unfucking believable.

If conservatives don't now see what a miserable failure this administration is I don't know what will ever convince them.

This is just sickening. Mismanagement of staggering proportions.

"We were all surprised" my ass.

[Q]

6. Decay...or shock and awe?

- If the Bushies hadn't opted for the BIG SHOW of shock and awe...there wouldn't be so much damage. At least Halliburton, Bechtel and Carlyle are happy.

[JPace]

7. Iraq...Iraq...Iraq...Iraq...Iraq...

It is all AWOL talks about, thinks about,
has visions about.

Americans are hurting, we need jobs, healthcare,
better education and rebuilding of infrastructure.

What a mess he has gotten us into!

[SharonAnn]

10. He doesn't care about us, only Halliburton

And he's doing just fine funneling the money to Halliburton.

[Wwagsthedog]

15. Don't forget the Carlyle Group

poppy and babs have to be fed.

[Emboldened Chimp]

8. Oh, these lying mother fuc--

Surprised my ass! They knew DAMN WELL they needed that much. President Asshole got up in front of the country and lied--AGAIN! When are we, as a nation, going stop tolerating their BULLSHIT?

I want my country back! Go Dean!

[NJCher]

9. "miserable failure" doesn't do it justice

Cher

[symbolman]

11. INVOKE

THE WAR PROFITTEERING ACT NOW.. NOW!!

WHere did it go? Is there still one availible? INVOKE IT!

[Emboldened Chimp]

14. I bet Chimp got rid of it

with an exec order.

[madrchsod]

12. remember most of the infrastructure

is french,chinese,russian,and german..so for the american corprations to rebuild will be difficult to say the least. then you "unemploy" all the engineers who built it and replace them with americans..what a bunch of idiots..

[maggrwaggr]

19. I saw where 25 billion of the 87 bln is going for "infrastructure"

which means, yes, right into the pockets of Halliburton and Bechtel.

I'm so proud to be an Amurrikun now ...

[cliss]

16. The only thing that

gives me any satisfaction at this point is: these guys are driving us over the cliff, but they are sitting in the driver's seat.

We all go down together. Even if Hallitosis, Bucktel and WorldCon leave this country and move their headquarters to Angola, they're still TOAST.

How's that for prudent businessmen?

[Fatima]

17. The surprise is coming

ELECTION 2004

Lets not f it up by infighting and sniping, folks. We have but ONE mission. ONE MISSION.

ELECTION 2004

-and then we start firing these idiot bootlicking Congressmen/women that helped us get into this mess.

[maggrwaggr]

18. old saying - "it's easier to apologize than to get permission"

and this is exactly what Bushco did. They just charged right ahead without permission from ANYbody, and now they're saying "gosh, sorry, this is gonna cost a lot. Thanks."

WE KNEW IT THEN! Why didn't anybody listen!? Idiots, everyone who voted for the war is a goddamn idiot. Everyone who voted for Bush is a goddamn idiot.

[tom_paine]

20. My God -- what a disaster!

:nuke: :nuke:

The economics is staggering, and if you count the cost in maimed and ruined lives and stolen loot (both from the American and Iraqi People)...

:nuke: :grr: :nuke:

[Zorba607]

21. Christ

142 billion dollars. If you haven't read Byrd's speech yet to put this shit in perspective then I urge you.
We're actually pushing the deficit to a point where we have to move from trillions into...what...quadrillions? This is the sort of thing that I refuse to beleive repubs won't get pissed about. Not the pols but the voters. There's no way to spin this.

[ewagner]

22. Where is all that

Iraqi oil that was supposed to pay for this?

BTW, it is well know that the administration's plan for Iraq is to privatize everything, oil, water, utilities, services, EVERYTHING...so the question is this:

Why the hell should the American taxpayer pay for rebuilding an infrastructure that will be sold off for pennies on the dollar to some American corporation to profit off of?