Kuwaitis Reject Bremer’s Call to Forgive Iraq Reparations
Kuwait’s government rejected any suggestion that it cease demanding reparations from Iraq. CPA head Paul Bremer recently called on Kuwait and other Gulf states to write off loans they had made to Iraq (mostly during the Iran-Iraq war) and in the case of Kuwait, to let Iraq off the hook with regard to continued payment of reparations for invading that country in 1990. The Kuwaiti Information Minister said that the subject was not open for negotiation. Iraq’s external debts may be as high as $200 bn., and Kuwait reparations alone come to $100 bn.. The United States, as the occupying power, has now become legally responsible for those debts (which is why Bremer tried to get them canceled). [I have heard that Bremer himself admitted US responsibility for the debts as long as it occupies Iraq, which I presume implies that the occupying power is technically liable for payment of debt servicing. Since Bremer’s administration is broke, I doubt it is doing any debt servicing, which puts the US in the wrong.] (-al-Sharq al-Awsat)