Transcription excerpt from Nightline, April 23, 2003

"Project Iraq"

[01]03:39:08 TED KOPPEL, ABC NEWS
(OC) Well, it's a, I think you'll agree, this is a much bigger project than any that's been talked about. Indeed, I understand that more money is expected to be spent on this than was spent on the entire Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of Europe after World War II.

[01]03:39:22 ANDREW NATSIOS, AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
No, no. This doesn't even compare remotely with the size of the Marshall Plan.

[01]03:39:26 TED KOPPEL, ABC NEWS
(OC) The Marshall Plan was $97 billion.

[01]03:39:28 ANDREW NATSIOS, AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This is 1.7 billion.

[01]03:39:30 TED KOPPEL, ABC NEWS
(OC) All right, this is the first. I mean, when you talk about 1.7, you're not suggesting that the rebuilding of Iraq is gonna be done for $1.7 billion?

[01]03:39:36 ANDREW NATSIOS, AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Well, in terms of the American taxpayers contribution, I do, this is it for the US. The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other countries who have already made pledges, Britain, Germany, Norway, Japan, Canada, and Iraqi oil revenues, eventually in several years, when it's up and running and there's a new government that's been democratically elected, will finish the job with their own revenues. They're going to get in $20 billion a year in oil revenues. But the American part of this will be 1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on funding for this.

---

Home