Claim: During the 2008 campaign, we repeatedly called out then-candidate Barack Obama for complaining that the U.S. was spending billions in Iraq while the Iraqi government sat on a projected $79 billion surplus. We said that Obama's projection didn't account for updates to the Iraqi budget. But things were slightly more complicated than we originally thought: On paper, Iraq's budget showed a surplus of up to $57 billion, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office pointed out that the Iraqi government had shown little ability to spend all that it had budgeted.
Fact-check: The $79 Billion Iraqi Surplus, Re-reconsidered - FactCheck.org
Verdict: during the 2008 campaign, we repeatedly called out then-candidate barack obama for complaining that the u.s. was spending billions in iraq while the iraqi government sat on a projected $79 billion surplus. we said that obama's projection didn't account for updates to the iraqi budget. but things were slightly more complicated than we originally thought: on paper, iraq's budget showed a surplus of up to $57 billion, but the u.s. government accountability office pointed out that the iraqi government had shown little ability to spend all that it had budgeted.
Organisation: FactCheck.org
Author: Joe Miller
Date published: 2009-01-29T19:01:40