al-Hayat
September 17, 2003

Mahdi al-Hafiz, Minister of Planning in the new Iraqi government, yesterday denounced the continued payment of reparations to Kuwait, according to al-Hayat (article in arabic). He said rebuilding Iraq would cost at least $100 billion, and that the former regime, not the Iraqi people, invaded Kuwait and contracted enormous loans. He said today’s Iraq should not be burdened with these past obligations incurred by Saddam.