Forgive the Iraqi Debt
The Bush Administration should formally call upon the European powers (primarily Russia, Germany, and France) and Arab nations (including the Gulf states and Egypt) to forgive the huge debts owed by the Iraqi government. Forgiving these debts would constitute both an historic contribution to the economic development of post-Saddam Iraq and a major gesture of support for the Iraqi people.
The world must heed the lessons learned from the immediate aftermath of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, when France demanded $32 billion in reparations from Germany. This onerous debt burden contributed to Germany's financial collapse in the 1930s and the end of the Weimar Republic, paving the way for the rise of the Nazi Party.