(September 27, 2004) Finance chiefs from leading industrialised countries must bridge a transatlantic rift over how much of Iraq’s foreign debt to write-off if they are to make progress towards a deal.

(September 27, 2004) U.S. congressional investigators are trying to determine whether lax monitoring at a French bank that held more than $60 billion for the U.N. oil-for-food program facilitated illicit business deals by the former Iraqi government.

(September 24, 2004) Most debts created by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein were used to oppress the Iraqi people or were otherwise not used in the public interest. Such debt should qualify as “odious” according to international legal doctrine on the matter. Debt arbitration, which relies on the rule of law and a public judicial process, should be used to determine how much of the more than $120 billion in claims creditors currently hold against Iraq are legally enforceable, a new Cato Institute study contends.

(September 20, 2004) U.S. and European officials said they expect to hammer out a deal by year-end to forgive most of the loans Iraq owes industrialized nations, giving a big boost to the new Baghdad government’s ability to sort out its tangled finances.

(September 20, 2004) On Sept. 28, Cato will release a new policy analysis, "Iraq’s Odious Debts, by Patricia Adams. She argues that an open arbitration process is a more fair and equitable way to handle Iraq’s debts.

(September 17, 2004) The Bush administration has officially proposed to shift money away from Iraq’s reconstruction effort toward internal security, the oil industry, "economic development" in Iraq’s private sector, and paying back Iraq’s debt to the U.S.

(September 14, 2004) The Paris Club of creditor nations didn’t arrive at a consensus on the exact amount of Iraq’s debt to be canceled, but agreed in principle to an individual treatment of the debt cut.

(September 10, 2004) Iraq is crippled by debt. The country’s oil wealth was squandered by Saddam’s regime on arms and personal enrichment; today it is looted to pay for occupation. Such odious debt must be cancelled.

(September 9, 2004) Iraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawar began a European tour Wednesday in Germany voicing optimism that elections in his country would go ahead by the end of January as scheduled and appealing for more help with debt relief.

(September 9, 2004) Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer renewed calls for a big write-off of his country’s massive foreign debt at talks Thursday with German leaders in Berlin.

(September 9, 2004) The International Monetary Fund says Iraq could have an IMF-backed economic program with financing in place by the end of 2004 following "good progress" made in talks last week in Paris.

(September 9, 2004) The United States’ campaign for a rapid write-off of almost all of Iraq’s foreign debt is going nowhere for now, sources say.

(September 7, 2004) His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday said Jordan will continue supporting international efforts to help rebuild Iraq and reduce its foreign debt.

(September 2, 2004) Giving Iraq a real chance to recover also requires a clean break with the financial legacy of the Baathist regime not full and total repudiation, but a significant write-off of debt and war reparations obligations