Congress last year appropriated $ 8 million to assist the anti-Saddam opposition in Iraq. Will it surprise you to learn that the Clinton administration has unaccountably failed to do anything useful with the money? The principal backers of the Iraq Liberation Act -- a bipartisan group that includes Trent Lott, Joseph Lieberman, Jesse Helms, and Bob Kerrey -- wrote to the president last week to complain. Here, writ small, is a devastating indictment of this administration's foreign policy frivolity:
To date, of the $ 8 million appropriated to assist the opposition, less than $ 500,000 has been used to support activities carried out by the opposition. Most of the rest of this money is being spent on such things as academic conferences, community outreach projects, and conflict management programs that will do little or nothing to expedite the demise of Saddam's regime. Notwithstanding these expenditures, we understand that as much as $ 1 million of this aid may be returned to the Treasury at the end of this fiscal year. Further, the opposition has received no assistance whatsoever from the $ 97 million in military assistance made available under the Iraq Liberation Act. The Administration has begun to plan an initial drawdown under the Iraq Liberation Act, but has signaled Saddam that he has nothing to fear by emphasizing that the drawdown will be 'non-lethal' in nature. Reportedly it will include photocopiers, computers, and fax machines, as well as training in such areas as accounting and flood management. In providing authority for military drawdown, it was our intention to train and equip a force dedicated to bringing democracy to Iraq.
The italics, needless to say, are not THE SCRAPBOOK's, but the frustrated senators'.