Cliff Stearns: “as we debate the Presidential supplemental request for Iraq, one point I do want to address is the idea of placing some…”

“as we debate the Presidential supplemental request for Iraq, one point I do want to address is the idea of placing some of the requested funds for reconstruction to Iraq in the form of a loan. I believe it is possible to do this considering the enormous assets of this country. I am not persuaded by the argument that we do not want to add to Iraq's current debt of $200 billion, which is largely owed to France, Germany, and Russia. I find it difficult to believe that if these countries truly want to contribute to the stability of the region, they would not seek to forgive a substantial portion of their debt. The American families sacrificed much to win the freedom in Iraq. However, we cannot expect Iraq to pay back funds first to those very countries that sat back and let our men and women undertake the risks to win the freedom in Iraq.”