U.S. taxpayers may end up paying a lot more to rebuild Iraq

( Knight Ridder ) - A shortage of money is hampering the U.S.-led effort to rebuild Iraq, and American taxpayers may end up footing a much larger bill than they expect, according to members of Congress and top U.S. officials in Baghdad.

As they plan for next year’s budget, American officials in Iraq are worried that they won’t have enough money to restore enough basic services to get the country’s economy growing again. That may be true even if Congress grants President Bush’s request, expected in the next few weeks, for another $2 billion to $3 billion on top of the $3.5 billion U.S. taxpayers already are spending this year.

Now let’s add to that a bit via MSNBC

SO HOW DID Bush respond? He fired off a letter to Congress to cut the pay raise promised to federal workers. He said the country is in a state of national emergency and has been since 9/11. The pay cut saves mere pennies compared to the billions Bush needs, but bureaucrats are easy scapegoats.

And an election in the works….

Just how do you put a positive spin on a $500 billion deficit, tax cuts for the rich, a mounting death toll of American soldiers, growing Iraqi protest, dissatisfaction, and violence over poorly planned reconstruction, and isolation from an international community alienated by lack of diplomacy?

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