Just before the war began, the Bush Administration hoped to ease the concerns of Americans by openly sharing their assessments of the costs of occupying and reconstructing Iraq after our “victory”.
The Vice President, Dick “Fucking” Cheney said in March 2003, “I really do believe we will be greeted as liberators.”
Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld predicted in February 2003 that the war “could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”
And Deputy Defense Secretary testified to congress that Iraq “can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.”
What’s to worry about?
On April 23, 2003, on the eve of war, Andrew Natsios, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development re-assured Americans on Nightline. This reminder comes courtesy of our friends at The O’Franken Factor:
ANDREW NATSIOS: No, no. This doesn’t even compare remotely with the size of the Marshall Plan.
TED KOPPEL: The Marshall Plan was $97 billion.
ANDREW NATSIOS: This is 1.7 billion.
TED KOPPEL: All right, this is the first. I mean, when you talk about 1.7, you’re not suggesting that the rebuilding of Iraq is gonna be done for $1.7 billion?
ANDREW NATSIOS: Well, in terms of the American taxpayers contribution, I do, this is it for the US. The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other countries who have already made pledges, Britain, Germany, Norway, Japan, Canada, and Iraqi oil revenues, eventually in several years, when it’s up and running and there’s a new government that’s been democratically elected, will finish the job with their own revenues. They’re going to get in $20 billion a year in oil revenues. But the American part of this will be 1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on funding for this. [emphasis added]
Well, I think we all now believe the part about “no plans”. Other than that, it’s the judgement, Stupid.
And somehow, there are still Bush Dead-Enders out there who believe that the judgement of this Administration has merited a second term. I’ll have a bit of whatever they’re smoking please.
If you happen to be one of those Dead-Enders, who think the judgement — or the extraordinary display of lack thereof — of this Administration has gotten any better with experience, that they’ve learned their lesson, and are now offering America a more honest assessement of real world events, think again.
I was able to save a copy of the transcript before the USAID took it down. It’s on my site:
The Case Against Administrator Natsios
Enjoy…
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