Please help me respond to freeper relative

[DesertRat]

A relative and I were having a discussion about the cost of the war and I mentioned that someone from the administration (Rumsfeld or Wolfowitz) had said that the oil from the Iraq would pay for the war. That the war would essentially "pay for itself".
He said that nobody ever said that. I've googled and can't find a direct link. Can anyone help me? TIA

[YDogg]

1. just a first quick find ... better to verify this link and the quote, though

http://community.myfoxorlando.com/blogs/R8R_H8R/2007/04/18/Iraq_OiL_WiLL_Pay_for_War

[YDogg]

3. looks verifiable. wolfowitz

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52375-2005Mar20.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/09/politics/main572278.shtml

[pepperbear]

2. 2 sources

http://community.myfoxorlando.com/blogs/R8R_H8R/2007/04/18/Iraq_OiL_WiLL_Pay_for_War

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=236508

[dorkulon]

4. It was Wolfowitz

Wolfowitz's economic arguments pertaining to the Iraq War

On March 27, 2003, Wolfowitz told a Congressional panel that oil revenue earned by Iraq alone would pay for Iraq's reconstruction after the Iraq war; he testified: "The oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years. Now, there are a lot of claims on that money, but ... We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon.”<56><57><5> By March 2005, two years later, oil revenues were not paying for the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, Wolfowitz's estimation of 50 to 100 billion US dollars had not materialized, and, in light of his miscalculation, detractors criticized his appointment to head of the World Bank.<58>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz#Wolfowitz.27s_economic_arguments_pertaining_to_the_Iraq_War

[BattyDem]

5. Lou Dobbs article at CNN

Then-White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey put the cost at $100 billion to $200 billion. Mitch Daniels, then the director of the Office of Management and Budget, discounted Lindsey's estimate as far too high and said the cost would be between $50 billion and $60 billion.

As absurd as Daniels' statement was, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz claimed that Iraq's oil revenue would cover the costs: "There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people. ... The oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 billion and $100 billion over the course of the next two to three years. ... We're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon."



http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/05/Dobbs.Dec6/index.html

[Nitrogenica]

6. Rupert Murdock said we'd have $20.00 barrel oil.

Mr Murdoch said the price of oil would be the war's main benefit on the world economy.

"The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy, if you could put it that way, would be $20 a barrel for oil. That's bigger than any tax cut in the any country."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2003/feb/11/iraqandthemedia.news

[barbtries]

7. yes it was wolfowitz and he said it to congress

Enlisting countries to help to pay for this war and its aftermath would take more time, he said. "I expect we will get a lot of mitigation, but it will be easier after the fact than before the fact," Mr. Wolfowitz said. Mr. Wolfowitz spent much of the hearing knocking down published estimates of the costs of war and rebuilding, saying the upper range of $95 billion was too high, and that the estimates were almost meaningless because of the variables. Moreover, he said such estimates, and speculation that postwar reconstruction costs could climb even higher, ignored the fact that Iraq is a wealthy country, with annual oil exports worth $15 billion to $20 billion. "To assume we're going to pay for it all is just wrong," he said.

link http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2003/0228pentagoncontra.htm

incidentally i searched for some time for the video without success, but i know it's out there, i've seen it.

[DesertRat]

8. Thank you, thank you!! This is why I love DU

Stuck in red state hell, you are my sanity!! :grouphug:

[sam sarrha]

9. i don.t piss in the wind any more.. but good luck