Kate McCann
Associated Press
October 19, 2003

The United States should not ask Iraq to repay a portion of the proposed $87 billion for postwar expenses, U.S. Sen. John Sununu said Friday.

It would send the wrong message to the Arab world and American allies, he said.

Sununu, a Republican, voted against legislation the Senate passed that would require Iraq to repay half of $20 billion set aside for rebuilding costs.

The House, however, passed similar legislation Friday; the two chambers now have to negotiate a compromise.

President Bush and his top aides have urged Congress that reconstruction money be in the form of grants, not loans. Loans would only plunge Iraq deeper into debt and hurt U.S. attempts to get foreign nations to forgive Iraqi debt, they argue.

Under the Senate amendment, the $10 billion in loans would be transformed into a grant if other countries forgive at least 90 percent of the debt owed by Iraq.

“Trying to attach loans to this proposal sends the wrong message to our allies,” Sununu said. “It sends the wrong message to the Arab world.”

Loan supporters say American taxpayers should get a break during a time of record budget deficits and not have to shoulder the burden of more war expenses.

But Sununu said America can’t shortchange security when other countries are developing weapons and the technology for mass destruction.

“It’s a mistake for anyone to suggest we can afford to pay for national security only if I get the tax policy I want,” Sununu said. “To link this to domestic policy is ridiculous.”

U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican, who also voted against the amendment, has said it is necessary to support the troops. He said there is no question the money for the troops and the investment in rebuilding Iraq directly benefit America.

“It is about creating an opportunity to undermine the sources which breed the fundamentalist Iraqi movement, and thus lessening the threat against America and our culture,” Gregg said while the legislation was discussed at a legislative session earlier this month.

The $20 billion would be used to restore the economy and rebuild government in Iraq. Some of the expenses include $217 million for border security, $2.8 billion for drinking water and $2.1 billion to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure.

The remaining $66 billion would be used to sustain U.S. military occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sununu was in Iraq in late August as part of a congressional delegation, where he said he was impressed with postwar reconstruction efforts by the Iraqi people.