In March of 2003, as the United States military prepared for its imminent invasion of Iraq, Paul Wolfowitz suggested to US Congress members that the US would not foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq after the devastation the US invasion would bring to the country. Wolfowitz, who was then then deputy secretary of defense, assured Congress members that Iraq, through its oil revenue, could pay for its own reconstruction. Reality turned out much different. As Krishnadev Calamur wrote at The Atlantic in 2018, “15 years later, Iraq has yet to fully rebuild after the American-led invasion, a civil war, and the isis takeover of large parts of the country, and has never been able to fund a substantial portion of the reconstruction itself.” Inquisitive, informed individuals would have had plenty of reason back in 2003 to be very skeptical when Wolfowitz dangled before them the prospect of a reconstruction of Iraq at no cost to the US government. But, many people, included among them Congress members, were seeking talking points to sell the war against Iraq, not predictions based in reality. Here we are 19 years later with a similar tactic being used to propagandize to the American people and …read more
Source:: Ron Paul Institute
