Billions
War reparations are widely credited as part of what went into creating the environment in Germany that gave rise to the Nazis and Hitler’s militaristic goals, that then bankrupted state desperate for the legitimacy offered by world domination at the point of a gun, so clearing off 80% of Iraq’s $39 billion in debt is a very positive step forward. That’s $39 billion, however, owed to America, Japan, Russia, and parts of Europe, not any of the $30 to $40 billion is reparations to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Persian Gulf nations. As usual, the Arab nations have yet to step forward to address problems in their own part of the world, and everybody’s tip-toeing around them, hoping for a positive outcome. Admittedly, it’s not their fault that Hussein invaded Kuwait and had to be kicked out, but among them, $40 billion (and $10 billion of that is still be adjudicated) could be written off, and with little harm to their respective national populations. Oil revenue is everything they’ve got, but that ain’t hay. The effective reconstruction of Germany and Japan after 1945 was possible because of the generosity of the victors regarding the war debt of the losers. Magnanimity is something we cannot afford to forego.