(December 5, 2003) U.S. President George Bush appoints longtime family friend and troubleshooter to be his personal envoy in seeking an international deal to lower and refinance Iraq’s staggering foreign debt.

(December 4, 2003) Iraq’s debt has become a politicised issue and a means for countries like Germany and France which opposed the war to try to influence the reconstruction and political future of Iraq.

(December 4, 2003) A senior French official said on Thursday that he does not see an easy way to quickly reduce some of Iraq’s huge $200 billion in outstanding debt because the U.S.-occupied land is not a sovereign country.

(December 4, 2003) New York Times op-ed, arguing the author was wrong to ignore the legal principle, illegitimate contracts need not be honored.

(December 3, 2003) Saudi Arabia will withhold the $1 billion (£582 million) in loans and credits that it pledged last month for Iraq’s reconstruction until the security situation is stabilised and a sovereign government takes office.

(December 2, 2003) In a discussion paper published on its Web site, debt campaigner Jubilee South called for an investigation and audit of the alleged Iraqi debt. According to Jubilee South, the people of Iraq are not demanding handouts and debt relief but, rather, sovereignty and reparations.

(November 30, 2003) Iraq’s US-installed Governing Council has appealed to the international community to speed up the rescheduling of the towering debt accumulated by Saddam Hussein’s ousted regime.

(November 27, 2003) MSU president Peter McPherson after five months’ leave as the financial coordinator of ORHA/CPA in Iraq says, "We can’t have Iraqis paying for Saddam 25 years from now. To postpone the debt would be a geopolitical mistake."

(Sydney Morning Herald November 24, 2003) We have not forgotten what helped Germany after World War II. Without the Americans’ generous repayment plan, there would not have been reconstruction and an economic miracle in Germany.