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July 04, 2004
It's Official: Only $366 Million of the $18.6 Billion Has Been Actually Spent
For the first time, we have an official number on how much of the $18.6 billion Congress allocated for reconstruction of Iraq has been actually spent.
It's only $366 million.
While that number is close to the lowest estimate I published here, I must admit I'm still shocked. I was a bit skeptical of the low-end estimates. It turns out the real number is lower than what I was willing to countenance:
Iraqi, Not U.S., Cash Spent on Rebuilding:The U.S. government has spent 2 percent of an $18.4 billion aid package that Congress approved last year after the Bush administration called for a quick infusion of cash into Iraq to finance reconstruction, according to figures released Friday by the White House.
The U.S.-led occupation authorities were much quicker to channel Iraq's own money, expending or earmarking nearly all of $20 billion in a special development fund fed by the country's oil sales, a congressional investigator said.
Only $366 million of the $18.4 billion U.S. aid package had been spent as of June 22, the White House budget office told Congress in a report that offers the first detailed accounting of the massive reconstruction package.
Thus far, according to the report, nothing from the package has been spent on construction, health care, sanitation and water projects. More money has been spent on administration than all projects related to education, human rights, democracy and governance.
I suppose I misunderestimated how corrupt and callous this bunch can be.
And, as I have been pointing out for a while, the CPA has spent ::drumrolls:: almost all of Iraq's own money, turning almost nothing over to the incoming government:
Christoff [Director of international affairs and trade at the General Accounting Office] said in a telephone interview on Saturday that all but $900 million of the fund had been spent or allocated by the time the United States transferred political authority to an interim Iraqi government last Monday.
What a great set up. The administration has 138,000 troops while Iraq has a barely functioning police. Iraq has very little money while Negroponte will have unspent billions to dispense.
P.S. I think "misunderestimate" is perfectly good coinage. I believe it is a (verb) meaning to underestimate a person, an occurence or an entity due to misunderstanding their nature, habits or capacity.
Posted by zeynep at July 4, 2004 01:34 AM
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Comments
I like misunderestimate, and I believe that it does mean exactly what you say it means. It reminds me though of a related phrase that I read quite a few years ago. Unfortunately I have never been able to remember where I read it or to whom it belongs in spite of the fact that I've tried often to discover its origin. It is very applicable though to current events. The phrase is, "No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up!!" I felt this way often during the Clinton years and now even moreso during the Bush-43 regime. I don't know when I first heard or read this expression, but it could be that it dates all the way back to Reagan. Unfortunately it has just continued to grow in validity over the past 15+ years. It sounds like something that Mark Twain might have said, but I believe that it is much more recent than that.
Sincerely,
Old & In The Way
Posted by: Phil Cicchi at July 4, 2004 07:46 PM