you were asked again by senator, how much will this cost and you said, iraq will be able to pay for its own reconstruction. in fact, that part didn t work out. looking back i was asked how much will the war cost. i said we have no idea how much the war will cost. i said iraq can iraq is not going to be a permanent ward. right. you said we are dealing with a country that can finance its reconstruction. after the end of the conflict, this war went on. at this point, i think iraq is largely, i don t know the numbers okay, i was somewhat the sense was, the war wouldn t last for six, seven years and that this was a country with substantial oil resources. but what i m trying to get at is a larger question, which is looking back from where we are
you in a sense a bottom line question. you were asked again by a senate committee how much will this cost and you said iraq will be able to pay for its own reconstruction relatively easily. in fact that part didn t work out that way, so looking out wait, wait. i was asked how much will the war cost. i said we have no idea how much the war will cost. i said iraq can, unlike afghanistan, iraq is not going to be a permanent ward of the international community. you said we are dealing with a country that can finance its reconstruction and relatively soon. that s the exact quote. after the end of conflict. this war went on, in fact to some extent it still goes on today. at this point i think iraq is largely, i don t know the numbers now. okay, i was somewhat the sense was the war wouldn t last for six, seven years and that this was a country with substantial oil resources. but what i m trying to get at is a larger question, which is looking back from where we are