Despite US President George W. Bush's promise to spend $9 billion on reconstruction contracts in Iraq in the next several months, administration and congressional officials said on Thursday it could take more than a year to actually pay out that much money for projects.
With the reconstruction held up by an intensifying insurgency, the administration has faced criticism over the slow pace of spending. Just $1.2 billion has been paid out of the $18.4 billion that Bush asked Congress to rush through last year.
Bush sought to counter the criticism last week by promising that over the next several months "over $9 billion will be spent on contracts that will help Iraqis rebuild schools, refurbish hospitals and health clinics, repair bridges, upgrade the electricity grid, and modernise the communications system."
On Thursday, as Bush prepared to debate Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry on foreign policy, White House officials sought to clarify the $9 billion estimate.
The officials said Bush was not talking about actual spending for work on projects themselves. Rather, they said, he was referring to the amount of money that has been "obligated" to contracts.
The figure promised by Bush included $7 billion already under contract but not yet spent on the ground, officials said. Another $2 billion worth of contracts would be added within the next several months.
But spending the full $9 billion on the ground in Iraq will take time - anywhere from 15 to 30 months, based on Congressional and administration estimates.
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