Iraq may have up to an $80 billion surplus this year due to oil revenues, despite only contributing minimally to the country's rebuilding efforts. Jack Cafferty over at CNN states what's running through many people's minds, namely that Iraq start footing more of the financial bill of rebuilding. So far, the U.S. has spent $700 billion on Iraq since 2003. Fair enough, we went over and broke some stuff, it's only fair that we fix it. But since Iraq is a country rich in natural resources, and it's becoming increasingly clearer that the U.S. isn't going to be in the country forever, it's only fair that we expect them to increase their payments. And in fairness again, the Iraqis are planning to increase their social spending on hospitals, airports, and renovation of Baghdad. Hopefully they'll throw in some money toward renovating their oil production as well, and get those numbers back up to pre-invasion figures. If we get anything else out of this war besides a stable, democracy-friendly nation right in the heart of the Middle East, it certainly wouldn't hurt to increase the world's spare capacity either. –Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; spayne@hartenergy.com