Don't burden Iraq.

Byline: The Register-Guard

President Bush has threatened to veto a spending measure for Iraq's military and reconstruction needs if it requires Iraq to repay any of the money. History suggests that the president should make good on that threat.

In the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, the victorious allies heaped massive debt and reparations on Germany. The democratic Weimar Republic crumbled under their weight, clearing the way for the Nazis' rise to power.

Despite its understandable frustrations with the Bush administration's Iraq policies, Congress should make aid to Iraq an outright grant rather than following the extortionate example of the post-World War I period. Such a course could lead to further economic dislocation and social chaos in Iraq - and risk creating a new and fertile spawning ground for terror.

Congressional approval of most of the $87 billion that the administration has requested for Iraq is a foregone conclusion. The Senate and the House approved separate spending measures last week. Negotiators from the two bodies are trying to reconcile their bills, with some lawmakers from both parties insisting that much of the aid be in the form of loans and not grants.

The White House threatened a veto after the House voted 277-139 on Tuesday to instruct House negotiators to accept language in the Senate bill that designates half of the president's $20.3 billion rebuilding request as a loan unless Iraq's foreign creditors forgive its already overwhelming debts.

The temptation is understandable. Public support for the war is waning. Bush's unilateral approach on Iraq has alienated many lawmakers. The administration has failed to devise a convincing long-term plan for reconstruction and, even with last week's U.N. compromise, has yet to gain significant military and financial assistance from allies.

Lawmakers, however, should not take out their frustrations on the people of Iraq - or on the American troops whose well-being and safety depend on creating a stable, healthy Iraq that can stand on its own.

Iraq already is burdened with $200 billion in debt - $300 billion if reparations to Kuwait are included. Adding to that crushing burden makes no sense. Demanding that assistance be repaid would undermine U.S. efforts to persuade other countries to both donate and to forgive Iraq's debts. Further indebting Iraq while U.S. companies reap the profits of reconstruction would only reinforce the impression abroad that the WMDs that the United States seeks in Iraq were really "wondrous mountains of dollars."

Although Congress has had a weak spine in most of its dealings with the White House on Iraq, that hasn't been true on Bush's request for $87 billion. Lawmakers have stripped requests such as Iraqi Zip Code and phone number development, a four-week business course costing $10,000 per student, more than three dozen $50,000 garbage trucks and $100 million to restore marshes. An amendment sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., cut $200 million from a $900 million fund for the importation of petroleum products to Iraq. Wyden also was instrumental in adding provisions for oversight of spending and contracts.

Congress should also tie future requests for Iraq assistance to the administration's willingness to fully disclose information on Iraq spending, including which companies are making how much in profits and efforts to control reconstruction costs.

With rebuilding costs expected to rise to between $50 billion and $75 billion before the job is done, Congress should also make it clear that not one dollar will be forthcoming until at least a portion of the Bush tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers and corporations are repealed. Next year, the combined cuts will cost nearly $280 billion, more than three times the request for Iraq.

The president has often told the country that prevailing in Iraq - and in the global battle against terrorism - will require sacrifice. Congress should hold him to his word.