What Would Happen?

Wow. You have probably figured out that I’m often a tad critical of the Bush administration. I think they’ve really screwed the pooch on Iraq (along with pretty much everything else they’ve touched), and I’m enjoying watching the Bushies squirm up on Capitol Hill as they take the heat for the (very forseeable) hefty price tag for Iraq. But I never really considered the possibility that they wouldn’t get the money to rebuild Iraq. Until I read this:

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) – President Bush has failed to make the case for more than $20 billion in funds to reconstruct Iraq included in the administration’s recently unveiled $87 billion emergency spending request, the Senate’s top Democrat said Tuesday.

“I think there is a real possibility that the [reconstruction funds] now requested by the administration do not have the support in the Senate sufficient to pass,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

I’m still guessing the Congress will swallow hard and approve the full amount — but what if they don’t? We have all seen the polls showing that a large majority of Americans do not want Congress to approve the reconstruction funds. Many people, including me, warned very vocally before the war that it was going to be expensive and dangerous once we got tangled up there. But now that we’re there, I can’t help but think that we’re responsible for helping to rebuild the country. Iraq could really turn into an even bigger disaster without US money for reconstruction… So it’s interesting to think about what might happen if Congress doesn’t go along with Bush’s request.

Kash