[Tamzee]

It seems just so wrong that a group of people that were literally held hostage should now be responsible for the debts of the dictator.

Those who commented above are absolutely right... Iraq claiming this as odious debt would make it more risky for greedy governments to support dictators in other countries.

[monday]

"It seems just so wrong that a group of people that were literally held hostage should now be responsible for the debts of the dictator. "

You are dreaming if you think that any successive government is going to be better than Saddam. Someone once said that people get the governmnet they deserve. The Iraqis deserved Saddam. If they are allowed, they will vote in an even more repressive religous regime to take Saddams place.

Within 5 years we will be getting more terrorists than ever from Iraq. They are already throwing stones at troops during demonstrations against the US. Not exactly what I would expect from people who had just been liberated from a repressive murderous dictator?

Am I the only one who thinks that the Iraqis don't deserve our help?

[AFPhys]

You are completely right, as are some others here. Iraq MUST declare this an "odious debt", as it most certainly did not benefit the people of the country, demonstrably. The result would not hurt Iraq at all, as they will simply have to work on a "cash and carry" manner with anyone who is unhappy about the result. In addition, in the future, countries like France and other companies would be more careful about who they are dealing with... as would certain elements of the US and our financial community.

There is no downside to this that I can think of, and a huge possible upside.