Iraq says does not need U.S. financial aid

By Mohammed Abbas

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq does not need any financial aid from the United States, the government spokesman said, in the wake of criticism from some U.S. politicians that Washington is paying too much towards Iraq's reconstruction.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, U.S. taxpayers have paid $48 billion (27 billion pounds) for stabilisation and reconstruction in Iraq, a congressional report said last month, adding Baghdad had spent little of its growing oil revenues on rebuilding infrastructure.

"I think we are in a position now not to ask for financial aid from anybody, even the United States," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Reuters at the weekend in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.

"I think we have enough money to spend and we are not in need of any money in the future."

Dabbagh said what Iraq needed from the United States and other countries was help in building technical expertise and training, especially since the country's legal and technological framework needed updating after decades of neglect.

Iraq, which sits on the world's third-largest proven oil reserves, has reaped the benefits of soaring oil prices, but violence and an outdated bureaucracy have hampered efforts to spend its money effectively.

Government ministries have made minimal outlays for reconstruction according to the August report from the Government Accountability Office, a U.S. congressional watchdog.

Criticism of Iraq's spending has been sharp from some U.S. politicians as Americans struggle to pay for high petrol prices.