Waxman: Iraqi Budget Surplus = 'Same Amount US Consumers Have Paid To Line Maliki's Pocket'

kpete

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Fri Aug-08-08 02:34 PM
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Waxman: Iraqi Budget Surplus = 'Same Amount US Consumers Have Paid To Line Maliki's Pocket'

Edited on Fri Aug-08-08 02:42 PM by kpete

the Iraqi budget surplus is almost the same amount as the money Americans have spent on Iraqi oil.

Your Expensive Commute Has Gone To Line Maliki�s Pocket
By: emptywheel Friday August 8, 2008 10:38 am

..............

http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20080808130134.pdf

WAXMAN: On Tuesday, the Govemment Accountability Office reported that by the end of this year Iraq may amass a budget surplus of between $67 billion and $79 billion as a result of windfall oil sale revenues.

This is roughly the same amount U.S. consumers have paid to purchase Iraqi oil since the war began. According to data provided by the Energy Information Administration, the United States is the single largest purchaser of Iraqi oil, and U.S. consumers will have spent between $70 billion and S74 billion to purchase Iraqi oil by the end of this year.

This means U.S. consumers have been paying record gas prices at the pump to build up Iraq's massive budget surplus. At the same time, U.S. taxpayers have paid $48 billion to fund Iraq's reconstruction. I am writing to ask what steps the Bush Administration is taking to ensure that Iraq contributes its fair share to finance the reconstruction.

I'm sure the international oil market doesn't work on a one-to-one correlation like this. But the American consumers paying $4 a gallon to fund their 30 mile commutes don't know that--nor do they care, I suspect.

Waxman writes:

Based on this information, it appears that U.S. taxpayers are paying twice - once through their taxes to pay for lraq's reconstruction and a second time at the pump to help build Iraq's massive surplus.

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/08/08/your-expensive-commute-has-gone-to-line-malikis-pocket/

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AndyA

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Fri Aug-08-08 02:39 PM
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1. I'm certain this is all just a coincidence.

That's all it could be, right? :eyes:

F*ck this administration. They are nothing more than hoodlums. Thieves. Criminals. I only hope that someday justice is served to them.

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