WASHINGTON - Iraq is looking at a potential boon in oil revenue this year, as the U.S. spends some $153 million a month in the country on fuel alone. But U.S. officials say it will take some time before Baghdad builds the capacity to manage the revenue.
The money isn't "just sitting in banks trying to get somebody rich on interest income," said Adm. William Fallon, who recently stepped down as the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East. "It's because they're in a holding position now until they can figure out how to effectively disburse these moneys."
Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said Baghdad in recent months has experienced its highest oil production and export levels since the war began five years ago.
Whereas Iraqi officials estimated $35 billion in oil revenue last fall, Bowen said the final number is likely to be closer to $60 billion.
By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
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NVDL: Hmmm. Interesting. This article is code for - so the US war on Iraq was a good inverstment wasn't it. I guess an investment in Iran is next. The whole point of the exercise is not to allow competitiors to squeeze the world's largest consumer of energy - the US must secure access first and hold onto it. Whether this is sustainable (or even moral) is another question altogether.
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