Cornyn: Iraq’s Massive $79 Billion Surplus Is A Success Of Bush’s Policies
Cornyn: Iraq’s Massive $79 Billion Surplus Is A Success Of Bush’s Policies
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are upset over a new Government Accountability Office report showing that the “soaring price of oil will leave the Iraqi government with a cumulative budget surplus of as much as $79 billion by year’s end.” Since 2003, U.S. taxpayers have spent $42 billion for the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq. In contrast, the Iraqi government has allocated $28 billion for similar improvements, but has spent less than $4 billion.
Today on CNN, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) tried to spin these facts as good news and a vindication of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq:
BLITZER: Sen. Cornyn, there are a lot of Americans who feel that the Iraqis are playing the U.S. for suckers.
CORNYN: Well, I think, you know, we’ve fought long and hard to get to this position where now there is a hope that Iraq can govern and defend itself, Wolf. If we had simply quit as Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Obama wanted us to do early on, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. There wouldn’t even be the hope of a self-governing democracy of an Arab world in the Middle East. This ought to be a subject of negotiations between two sovereign powers.
But as Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) pointed out, Iraq’s surplus actually shows the failure of the Bush administration’s policies in holding the Iraqi government accountable, politically. “If we would have had our way we would have had a reasonable timetable for the redeployment of most of our troops which would have put pressure on the Iraqi government to do what they are not doing,” said Levin, “which is essential to end the conflict in Iraq and that is to work out a political settlement among themselves.” Watch it:
Paul Wolfowitz told the American people in 2003 that Iraq would be able to “finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon.” Five years later, the Bush administration continues to spend billions of U.S. taxpayer money instead. As Matt Duss noted at the Wonk Room, the administration has “committed tens of billions of American dollars to various Iraqi construction projects with no real plan for how all of it’s supposed to add up to a stable Iraqi state.”
Levin has also said that he is “seeking a provision in the defense authorization bill that would preclude spending U.S. funds on large-scale infrastructure projects in Iraq, defined as a those that exceed $2 million.” Today on CNN, Cornyn said he supported that measure.
Transcript:
BLITZER: Sen. Cornyn, there are a lot of Americans who feel that the Iraqis are playing the U.S. for suckers.
CORNYN: Well, I think, you know, we’ve fought long and hard to get to this position where now there is a hope that Iraq can govern and defend itself, Wolf. If we had simply quit as Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Obama wanted us to do early on, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. There wouldn’t even be the hope of a self-governing democracy of an Arab world in the Middle East. This ought to be a subject of negotiations between two sovereign powers.
I agree with Sen. Levin that Iraqis need to bear more financial responsibility and that’s why I hope we do get that provision passed in early September.
BLITZER: Go ahead and respond to the charge that if you and others like Sen. Obama, for example, would have had your way, this discussion right now about Iraqi oil surpluses and what to do with it wouldn’t even be a subject for discussion?
LEVIN: Well, if we would have had our way we would have had a reasonable timetable for the redeployment of most of our troops which would have put pressure on the Iraqi government to do what they are not doing which is essential to end the conflict in Iraq and that is to work out a political settlement among themselves. They were supposed to have elections which is a critical part of that settlement on Oct. 1, and instead of doing that, they again are doing nothing to resolve these key political differences on Iraqi elections.
BLITZER: But Sen. Levin, there has been a very dramatic drop in the number of U.S. troops killed and injured and there has been progress on the military side.
LEVIN: There has been on the military side, but the purpose of the surge was to give the Iraqis the breathing room, that was the argument, so that they could work out their political settlements. They must take political responsibility, economic responsibility, and military responsibility for their own country.
They are not doing that, so while the violence has been reduced, thank god, it’s not going to stay that way unless there is a political settlement, and instead of reaching those agreements on how to divide their resources, and on keeping their promise to have elections on Oct. 1, which are so essential to a political settlement, they are now not doing what they promised us they would do. We’ve got to keep the pressure on the Iraqis.
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Wasn’t Iraq supposed to pay for this war?
Tell them to pay up, already….
August 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pmCornyn: Iraq’s Massive $79 Billion Surplus Is A Success Of Bush’s Policies
Except that there’s a $10 trillion dollar deficit in the US , Cornhole ; most of it a direct result of Chimpy’s Idiotic (and illegal) Iraq Adventure.
Send Chimpy to become president of Iraq if that is what you believe ; and you can be his VP there ………
August 10th, 2008 at 12:20 pmLet`s see they have a 79 billion dollar surplus and in the end we will pay 4 to 5 trillion dollars for this war and occupation the Bushco administration started, seems fair to me that they have a surplus.Why should the Iraqi`s pay for this war?The shrub invaded a soveriegn nation,how is it possible that they should pay for it`s own destruction and rebuilding?They didn`t ask to be invaded!!!!
August 10th, 2008 at 12:25 pmThe heart of this congress pumps the blood of the bush administration and carries the disease that is slowly killing the United States.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:28 pmtens of billions of American dollars to various Iraqi construction projects
which isn’t a huge problem for me, considering we went there and trashed the place…
the problem is, how much actually got done, how much was shoddy work, and how much was done by the iraqi citizens?…
not much, i hear…
August 10th, 2008 at 12:29 pmConservatives judge the value of everything in terms of money. It’s why they are so dispicable and inhuman.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:34 pmCORNYN: If we had simply quit as Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Obama wanted us to do early on, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
How about if we had never started? Then we wouldn’t be having all these discussions about Inflation, Recession, mortage crisis, Katrina, $4 gas, food increase, increased poverty, broken health care, broken education, etc.
Moron.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:38 pmWait a minute, I thought Republicans are against people sponging off of our government, and instead want them to be self-reliant.
Why are they supporting Iraq welfare, but are against US health care? It is OUR tax money, after all.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:42 pmUnbelievable Says: It is OUR tax money, after all.
Therein lays the rub. Conservatives feel once it is in the Government coffers. It is THIER money. To do with as they please.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:45 pmCornyn is SUCH an ass. If the “Big John” political ad wasn’t enough to make this clear to the rest us, take a look at his record, his supporters, his position on issues (none other than what DeLay feeds him), his background, etc.
This guy is the biggest TOOL to come along even in texas politics in a long time.
I thought KB Hutchison (sp) was a moron because he couldn’t even balance her own checkbook when she was texas state treasurer but as a senator, Cornyn makes her look like a rocket scientist!
August 10th, 2008 at 12:47 pmThis morning on Yahoo in their news briefs, one on the headlines said that Iraqi officials are demanding a clear timeline on the withdrawal of U. S. forces from their occupied country. I guess that they’re tired of the endless BS of Bush…
August 10th, 2008 at 12:49 pmOh, pardon me. Upon rechecking the Yahoo news site, make that a very clear timeline for the withdrawal of U. S. forces from Iraq…
August 10th, 2008 at 12:53 pmRandomChaos Says: Therein lays the rub. Conservatives feel once it is in the Government coffers. It is THIER money. To do with as they please.
Considering how many of them avoid paying taxes at all (Swiss bank accounts), how many of them are anti-self-government, and how many of them are the drain to our resources, they should have ZERO say in what we do with OUR money.
(I’ve been saying this to everyone I know after a conversation with a Conservative made me realize that too many Americans don’t get the fact that the ‘government’s money’ is really OUR tax dollars, and that WE should decide how they get spent, not the top 10% who barely contribute, if at all.)
August 10th, 2008 at 12:54 pmCan Cornyn prove that Iraq was unable to govern itself before this war of 2003?
August 10th, 2008 at 12:54 pmI wonder how much longer we’ll have democracy? Seriously. Yes, I know there are plenty who would argue that we lost it long ago. Still…
So I’m going to start reading this every day. Just to prepare myself.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:01 pmHasn’t anyone grasped the fact that the money is not in government coffers? But, then, what is a few trillion dollars in IOUs? In a mere 40 years, gondoliers will replace taxi drivers in NYC and will foster a must-see tourist attraction.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:02 pmI GOT NEWS FOR YOU…..
ONCE IT’S DETERMINED THAT BUSH LIED THE USA INTO AN ILLEGAL INVASION AND OCCUPATION THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER WILL BE ON THE HOOK FOR TRILLIONS IN REPARATIONS AND WRONGFUL DEATH SUITS.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPSSSS.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:03 pmSenator Cornhole might be onto something.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:03 pmI always suspected that the Bush/Cheney agenda was/is to maximize the profits for their cronies in the energy business (see Cheney’s secret January 2001 meeting with energy executives)
.
They accomplished that mission and since Iraq derives 90% of it’s revenue from oil the Iraqis get a windfall as an unintentional result of Bush/Cheney policies to maximize oil profits.
These people redefine stupid. Unbelievable. But, there are still enough utterly dumb in the U.S. to believe this idiocy.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:04 pmSince there are 283 comments about the Edwards article below, I’m giving in to temptation and starting another thread about it.
What if Edwards would have won the nomination?
What if Edwards’ affair had come to light in September or October?
If that had happened, I maintain, solidly, strongly, that he would have won the Presidency despite the scandal of having an affair. Why?
How could McAncient possibly attack him for this, seeing as he is the most philandering Senator since Roman times? Why on earth would sane Americans change this vote, after the last eight years, just because he had an affair two years ago? And, most importantly, if Clinton were able to run for a THIRD TERM in 2000, after the Lewinsky scandal, he would have TROUNCED George W. Bush or whatever stinking Republican they might have put up against him.
Stop wagging your finger at Edwards. What he did was nobody’s business, and the fact that it had to be revealed by the National Enquirer says it all.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:05 pmWaltTheMan Says:
Hasn’t anyone grasped the fact that the money is not in government coffers? But, then, what is a few trillion dollars in IOUs? In a mere 40 years, gondoliers will replace taxi drivers in NYC and will foster a must-see tourist attraction.
If anyone remembers the briefcase stuffed with IOU’s in the movie, “Dumb and Dumber”;
August 10th, 2008 at 1:09 pmThat’s how I picture the US treasury….look it ’s all here…here’s an IOU for a $1 trilion dollar war, look here’s an IOU for a $200 billion dollar bailout…..hey we’re good for it, those IOU’s are as good as money!
well if you look here at a Guardian report (part 1 of 3 )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTMp-YNaDdg&eurl=http://www.crooksandliars.com/
there is some form of self-government in Iraq in that the Sunnis and the Shia are having to look-out for themselves behind the walls that the US put up as part of the “surge”.
As the journalist notes in part 3, inside these ghettos kids are for instance going to school but the schools are funded and protected by militants and the lessons include of course militant political indoctrination. There is no US presence in the footage shown–he drives through checkpoints run by militia, not Iraqi police or US forces.
Some rough math: 2 million barrels a day x 365 days x $100-per barrel = $73 Billion.
The Iraqi cash reserves is surely due to oil prices (now that they have had debts forgiven by Kuwait and others).
August 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pmThe war was illegal and immoral, there should be no debt caused by this mismanaged quagmire that the neo-conservatives dreamed up. Cornyn is a liar. That is why he has (R) after his name. There is no success with the debt we have incurred, the loss of life we have incurred and caused on the Iraqi citizens. The war was a lie.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pmThis guy [Cornyn] is the biggest TOOL to come along even in texas politics in a long time.
Whoa, Nelly!
That bar is set exceedingly high. Are you sure that Cornyn is the biggest tool? I would submit that GDumbya and his entire Keystone Kops executive team are running way ahead of Cornyn for that title.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:16 pmEveryone from Wolfowitz to Natsios said this would be paid for by Iraq – after they threw us candies and flowers.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:19 pmBushies have been so abysmally wrong, so far off the mark, so inept, so corrupt themselves that they could not see corruption in Iraq — or more likely, they supported corruption in Iraq to suit their own purposes.
Cornyn, the a$$kissing politician who puts his own self-interest above that of the nation is no better than a traitor.
Yes, unbelievable -
August 10th, 2008 at 1:23 pmRepugnicans place a price tag on everything – that is how they value everything – by the profit or monetary advantage – in fact, that is how they value people: how much, what – in what form, they can contribute to repugnicans.
The Republicans need Wheels for their Iraqi Goalposts..they’ve had to move them so often.
If our goal was the elimination of
Weapons of Mass Destruction…we accomplished that BEFORE we did anything in Iraq.
What have trillions of dollars and over 4000 lives bought us in Iraq???
A politically Fractured Iraq…Increased Iranian Influence…and the long term Enmity of the Iraqi People.
And the Ones who attacked us on Sept. 11th??? Still in Business in their Safe Haven in Pakistan.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:25 pmDaddy-o
August 10th, 2008 at 1:27 pmWhile not disagreeing with you, note that ABC has “scrubbed” John Edwards’ comment in the Nightline interview where he noted that McCain also had an affair. (He didn’t even mention multiple affairs in McCain’s background.)
5th Estate Says:
there is some form of self-government in Iraq in that the Sunnis and the Shia are having to look-out for themselves behind the walls that the US put up as part of the “surge”.
As the journalist notes in part 3, inside these ghettos kids are for instance going to school but the schools are funded and protected by militants and the lessons include of course militant political indoctrination.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
——–
And just think – that’s exactly the kind of surge “success” McCain wants to replicate in American inner cities! Apartheid walls, ethnic cleansing, and mob rule. Great plan, McCain!
August 10th, 2008 at 1:33 pm#2 MCMETAL. Just a word about terminiology.
There is almost a $10 Trillion US government debt. For fiscal year 2007 there was a $343,454,000,000 “on budget” deficit.
Deficits are the amount by which government expenditures exceed revenues for a given period of time, usually a year.
Deficits requre the Treasury department to borrow by selling bills, notes and bonds. This borrowing is the national debt. That is, the debt is the sum of past borrowing by the government required by deficits.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:37 pmApartheid walls, ethnic cleansing, and mob rule.
This is exactly where we are heading in the U.S. if the imbalance of benefits to citizenship tilts much further off its axis. This is a key to the failures of the republicans — they have no sense of the value and importance of assuring that all Americans participate in the responsibilities and rewards of our society.
When class warfare begins, the few remaining reactionary republicans will be forced to retreat behind walls for fear of losing what they have amassed on the backs of the lower and middle classes whom they have raped.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:47 pmUhhhhmmmmm.. Iraq had a functioning government before we broke it. Had we chosen to work with Iraq to end the sanctions and develop their country, we/they would be a trillion dollars ahead and have a functioning country today.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:47 pmClearly the Republicans live in a parallel world that has no place in reality.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:54 pm“now there is a hope that Iraq can govern and defend itself,”
Govern?
They haven’t sorted out the oil-sharing agreement yet and it doesn’t look like they will be able to any time soon.
The elections planned for this fall are in jeopardy and how I wonder how are they going to be run anyway when Sunni and Shia militias control their respective Baghdad ghettos?
Who the hell would want to go against the wishes of their local militia on whom Ahmad Q Public currently depends? It would surely either be “vote this way”, or no voting at all.
As we’ve seen Al Sadr has strength in Basra and the Iraqi forces had to rely on US support to end up with a stalemate at best.
The Iraqi ‘government’ is nothing more than a bureaucracy with offices and budgets, but without the political or physical authority to do anything more than to provide for their own survival.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pmtoasterhead : “And just think – that’s exactly the kind of surge “success” McCain wants to replicate in American inner cities! Apartheid walls, ethnic cleansing, and mob rule. Great plan, McCain!”
hey there toaster! I was going to say that’s a bit harsh, but given that McCain seems to have what might be described as a predominantly ‘reptilian brain’ I;d say you aren;t projecting your fears all that much.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:06 pmWelcome to the rabbit hole! Cornyn is but the teacup in the hands of the Republican Mad Hatter. Having murdered time, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s, the Hatter works again to escape decapitation come November. Spin, Conryn, spin, ’til the world is topsy turvey.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:06 pm“Deficit’s don’t matter”
Dick Cheney
¶ AIO
August 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pmstateofthedivision…
And all along I thought he was the 10/6 price tag in the hat!
August 10th, 2008 at 2:20 pmThis ought to be a subject of negotiations between two sovereign powers.
I can’t believe that Cornyn said that. We invaded Iraq and are currently occupying it by force. And somehow this comes down to “negotiations between two sovereign powers”. I have news for you Mr. Cornyn, Iraq will not be sovereign until the US stops occupying their country. This is why they want a timetable for us to leave. We are an occupying force.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:27 pm5th Estate Says:
The Iraqi ‘government’ is nothing more than a bureaucracy with offices and budgets, but without the political or physical authority to do anything more than to provide for their own survival.
And that is the way it will be until we are gone and they are forced into a position where they have to start making some compromises. We can’t do it for them and we have no right to dictate to them. It’s time for us to leave and let them work it out for themselves. I would have said that we should pay them some reparations for the damage we have caused, but after seeing how rich they have gotten off the high price of gasoline we are paying, I think they have already been paid.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:31 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins: “but after seeing how rich they have gotten off the high price of gasoline we are paying, I think they have already been paid.I think they have already been paid.”
the rest of what you wrote, yes… but the part I quote above doesn’t make any sense to me.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pmI’m trying to figure out how U.S. taxpayers footing the bill to such an extent that the Iraqi government is able to save up a surplus 1/3 the size of the surplus Clinton left us in 2000 is something Americans should be happy about.
But hey, if Republicans want to run on that platform in November, I’m all for it!
August 10th, 2008 at 2:57 pmExcuse me, Senator Cornflake, but the hundreds of thousand dead Iraqis and the thousands of dead American and Coalition servicemembers belong in that equation, too.
How do their deaths figure in “the hope of a self-governing democracy of an Arab world in the Middle East”?
If that was the goal for this war, why did Bush choose Iraq? Why not Kuwait? Q’atr? Saudi Arabia? Why aren’t there self-governing democracies there?
August 10th, 2008 at 3:02 pm5th Estate Says:
Bilbo Hussein Baggins: “but after seeing how rich they have gotten off the high price of gasoline we are paying, I think they have already been paid.”
the rest of what you wrote, yes… but the part I quote above doesn’t make any sense to me.
Part of that 79 billion they have in the bank came from our pocketbooks when we bought gasoline. Does that make more sense?
August 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pmCornyn: Iraq’s Massive $79 Billion Surplus Is A Success Of Bush’s Policies
Is there no limit these evil bastards will go to?
They have tried every which way to make this illegal act WE did into a positive political gain. I have asked this question for 4 years… What is success in Iraq? What is winning?
WE, US have lost monetarily, our minds and our credibility.
August 10th, 2008 at 3:12 pmCheer cheer John Cornyn! That $79 billion surplus is in the same ballpark as last quarter’s profits from big oil. Give the multinationals another three months and they’ll smash throught that target. Ooopps! I shouldn’t have used the word target…..
August 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pmDumb Question: As the neocons can only judge success in dollar figures: How much would the surplus have been if Saddam were left in power ?
My quess is that they would pumping a lot more oil and making a lot more money. In short, Bush would have been more successful to leave Saddam in power.
August 10th, 2008 at 5:10 pmHe’s right–success in terms of starving the beast!
August 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pmBlack is white, war is peace, bad is good, etc for the Greedy Oil Party.
August 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pmOLD AND IN THE WAY.
August 10th, 2008 at 8:18 pmGood they can pay back the US taxpayer then.
August 10th, 2008 at 8:52 pmA success?
Is the occupation over?
Was the war itself just?
Was the occupation effective under Rumsfeld (the economist Defense Secretary)?
Has reconstuction been completed?
Why is Iran so powerful in the region now?
How many Iraqi refugees are still in exiled limbo?
How many Iraqi’s are still dying?
Has reconciliation taken place?
Why are the Blackwaters, Triple Canopys and Khaki tyoe mercenary contractors still required in Iraq at an exobinate amount of taxpayers funds?
Why hasn’t the President withdrawn our troops?
Why do Republicans want to stay in Iraq for 100 years?
Where are the WMD of the “smoking gun in the form of a nuclear cloud at?
Where is Osama? Al Qaida?
If Bush would have listened to Gen Shinseki(sp?) would we have had these troubles?
If it is a “winner” then why will troops be in a country the size of Califonia after the President leaves office? And why has it taken so long?
How many American lives does it cost for the Oil Companies to call it a “Win”.?
August 10th, 2008 at 11:25 pm