Project Iraq reflections: Looking back at the incompetency

Back on April 23, 2003, Ted Koppel of ABC News interviewed USAID Administrator for Iraq, Andrew Natsios, about rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and the costs associated with it. This ties the previous blog entry on Oil prices back to 2003. Here is a brief exchange between Koppel and Natsios as background:

"Koppel:... I think you'll agree, this is a much bigger project than any that's been talked about. Indeed, I understand that more money is expected to be spent on this than was spent on the entire Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of Europe after World War II.

ANDREW NATSIOS
No, no. This doesn't even compare remotely with the size of the Marshall Plan.

TED KOPPEL
(Off Camera) The Marshall Plan was $97 billion.

ANDREW NATSIOS
This is 1.7 billion.

TED KOPPEL
(Off Camera) 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."

So according to the Administration represented by Andrew Natsios, the entire rebuilding of Iraq was going to cost $20 Billion dollars, most of which was going to be paid with Oil Revenue and the only amount American taxpayers were going to spend was $1.7 Billion dollars! Remember that was with Oil prices at $30/barrel, not the current $90/barrel. Have you ever imagined such incompetence on this grand a scale? Unimaginable! I want our money back! And yet, no one, especially this President and Vice President has ever been held to account to us. These are also IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES.

To read the transcript of the entire interview click here.