Reduced budget endangers Iraq rebuilding -Maliki

Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, is “uncomfortable” with parliament’s move to cut the 2009 budget, saying on Sunday it would endanger efforts to shore up security with reconstruction and jobs.

“We hoped the budget would be ratified so the process of rebuilding and tackling the needs of the Iraqi people could continue,” Maliki told reporters.

Parliament voted on Thursday to pass a 2009 budget of $58.6 billion, 7 percent lower than the government requested, arguing that a nation reliant on oil exports for over 95 percent of its revenue could not ignore the slump in prices.
Reuters