paris club and 80% "debt forgiveness":
jubilee iraq does the rounds on problems with the Paris Club debt relief program for Iraq: among other things the deal imposes IMF conditionalities on Iraq, extending the US Treasury's control of the Iraqi economy, is really more of a debt refinancing scheme, that none of the nations involved acknowledged the debt as odious, and apparently the unelected, uncredible Iraqi National Assembly managed to demonstrate the barest visage of independence and told the Paris Club to screw off. Even Allawi got in the game. It's scandalous that anybody thinks Iraqis owe anybody anything, and it's absolutely criminal that reparations payments have continued under successive occupation authorities.
your turing test:
Oil for Nothing:US Holds On Humanitarian SuppliesIraq: 1997-2001
the good book and other cultural artifacts