When news of a budget “surplus” for the fledgling Iraqi government reached Capitol Hill recently, the Democrats and a handful of Republicans were quick to brand it as further evidence of misguided policy and bad news from the battlefield.
It is not surprising that to those in Washington who know only deficit budgets would be completely unfamiliar with a government revenue surplus. Addicted to endless federal debt and believing all news from Iraq is by definition “bad” these politicians missed the real message in the Iraqis good fortune. No one could have said it better than the Wall Street Journal editorial board:
“Before the war, Iraq’s oil revenues, derived from the world’s third largest reserves, were being laundered through the Oil for Food program to sponsor Saddam Hussein’s murderous regime and buy political patrons in the West. Now they’ll pay for a better life for Iraqi citizens. If this is the worst news the antiwar movement can highlight, victory must be at hand.”