WHAT IS OWED:

France Should Pay Us Back for World War I If She Insists on Iraqi Compensation (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 3, 2003)

[I]f the French are going to be sticklers, we think it's time they be reminded of their outstanding debt to the United States. No, we're not talking about the hundreds of thousands of American soldiers who gave their lives in two world wars so that France might be free. We're talking about a monetary debt -- one that hasn't been serviced since Herbert Hoover was president.

During and after World War I, the U.S. extended a substantial amount of credit to its European allies. In 1922, the U.S. and 15 European countries agreed on a total indebtedness of about $11.5 billion -- slightly more than $4 billion for France. Payments were made until 1931, mostly from German war reparations. Then the Depression led Hoover to declare a one-year moratorium, and by 1934 all but two of the countries defaulted. As of last December, according to the U.S. Treasury, principal and accrued interest on the French debt amounted to about $11.8 billion, or about twice what France may be owed by Iraq.

If France is going to make America's mission in Iraq more difficult by insisting on Saddam's debt, maybe the U.S. should insist on France finally repaying it.

To quote a great man: "They hired the money didn't they?"

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 7, 2003 8:32 PM