Who Was The Guy on Nightline Saying Iraq Rebuild No More Than $1.7B

I looked on the Nightline site w/ no luck - he was interviewed before invasion and said that US portion of rebuild would no more than $1.7 billion. He also said with confidence that Britian, Japan, Norway, etc...would be giving U.S. billions more...

Love how before the invasion/occupation they were saying Iraq's oil revenues would pay for rebuild. NOW the spin is...it would look as if the US invaded just for the oil, so using oil revenues are out of question for now.

He was in charge of the Big Dig here in Boston. Got out just as that blew up in 40%-50% cost overruns and payoffs, too.

Somebody ought to ask this brainless POS if he would like to invest his savings in the profits from rebuilding Iraq.

Of course he would.

Now, the money available for the rebuilding is $1.7 billion.

Ask him again.

http://www.usaid.gov/about/bio_asn.html


A "fixer"

It's kind of late, and I'm tired. But I'm going to try to say this right. Here goes.

It's like the question in Congress is "We're gonna build all this stuff. So are we gonna build it for free (grants)? Or are we going to send them a bill later (loans)? Somebody (McCain, I think) made a decent point that if we make it loans then we reinforce the idea we were just after oil. I kinda see his point.

I think that's the wrong question. The question I have is why are we building them all this neat stuff if we didn't break it in the first place? It isn't our fault Iraq doesn't have zip codes. It isn't our fault they don't have 911. It isn't our fault the infrastructrure was neglected. If we don't take it upon ourselves to rebuild unnecessarily we won't have a huge bill to pass on to either the American people or the Iraqis. Rebuild what we broke, train and equipt a police force, let them elect their leaders, then get the hell out. Let them then decide what they want to rebuild and who they want the contractors to be. (There's a good chance they'll pick American firms all on their own). Then they can pay for it themselve--with oil revenues--without it looking like we're a car mechanic doing a complete engine restoration, then sticking the car owner with a huge bill when he just came in to get new tires.

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Sorry for the rant. Like I said, it's late and I'm a bit loopy. :) I imagine most of you probably already agree with my on this. My main point (which I'm just now getting to), is we should try to call them on trying to divert this into the wrong question. They're saying "How are we going to pay for all this were gonna build?" We should be making them ask "Why are we building stuff we didn't break?"

operation with the proceeds going to the chosen few U.S. corporations. Iraqis and Iraqi companies will be getting very little of the $20 billion.

First, the fat cats get tax breaks and changes to the tax code to benefit them, then they get a second chance to sidle up to the trough of our taxdollars.

Preach austerity and taxcuts at home, but balloon the defense budget on war projects that will require rebuild projects for Republican contractors later.

Just like the Carlyle Company..."We're in the Coonstruction/Destruction/Reconstruction business"....the ultimate business model.

This had been the plan for many years ....

I really dont doubt that ....

Poor Kennie Boy: left out of the loop like that: .... He is missing out on all the kindly american cutter offered by Bush/Cheney to their other friends in good standing ....

First make war ....

Then make war material, paid by oodles of government contract money .... and make shitloads of tax loot ....

This is the Neo-Plutocratic welfare state ...

They spend OUR blood and treasure to move their own self enrishment scheme forward ....

Whats REALLY kewl is that they changed the tax laws to help them keep MORE of their ill gotten gains ....

Geeeeez .....

profiteers. Money laundering indeed.