Bush Praises International Donors for New Iraq Aid

Michael Bowman
Washington
25 Oct 2003, 14:35 UTC

President Bush says the international community is rallying behind efforts

to rebuild Iraq, providing much needed financial contributions and other
aid.

In his weekly radio address, President Bush paid tribute to international

donors for pledging $33 billion in aid and loans for Iraq at a donors
meeting this week in Madrid. He suggested the effort to rebuild Iraq is
George Bush
gaining momentum.

"In recent weeks, leaders of South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Spain, Denmark and other nations
have committed billions of dollars to Iraqi reconstruction," he said. "This week brought even more
progress. In Madrid, representatives of more than 70 nations and international bodies gathered to
discuss the future needs of Iraq and the ways in which other countries can help. And these nations
and international organizations pledged billions of dollars to aid the reconstruction of Iraq."

President Bush also hailed a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing a multinational force in
Iraq under U.S. command. Mr. Bush said progress is already being made in Iraq with the rebuilding
of schools and power plants, and that the Iraqi people are moving toward a free and democratic
society.

Democrats - and even some within President Bush's Republican Party - have said the United States
is bearing too much of the financial and military burden in Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam
Hussein.

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy gave the Democratic response to Mr.

Bush's radio address.

"We are having to shoulder more than our share of the risk to our troops
and the cost of the war and its aftermath," he said. "That is because the
White House squandered the reservoir of the world's goodwill that we [the
United States] had after September 11 [2001 terrorist attacks]. If we are
going to succeed in rebuilding Iraq, we need to build a real coalition, based
Patrick Leahy on respect for our allies, to share the burden."

Senator Leahy also called for additional health benefits for reservists and other U.S. servicemen
called to duty in the war on terrorism.