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Bush ponders £10bn New Deal to create jobs in Iraq
The White House is expected to announce a reconstruction package for Iraq as part of a plan for a surge of up to 30,000 troops into Baghdad when President George W Bush unveils Americas new strategy next month. Bush is being urged to give up to $10 billion (£5.1 billion) to Iraq as part of a New Deal that would create work for unemployed Iraqis, following the model of President Franklin D Roosevelt during the 1930s depression. At the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff are insisting on reconstruction funds as part of a package of political and economic measures to accompany the armed forces. They fear the extra troops will be wasted and more lives lost if Bush relies purely on the military to pacify Iraq, according to sources close to General Peter Schoomaker, the army chief of staff. Posted by: .com 2006-12-24 |
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