**Get Out Your Checkbook **](Get Out Your Checkbook)
Michael Freedman, 03.20.03, 12:00 PM ET
NEW YORK - The 34 nations publicly backing the U.S. campaign in Iraq may truly believe Saddam Hussein is a tyrant who must go. They also know who helps pay the bills.
Twenty-four of those countries, including Macedonia, Eritrea and Nicaragua, are slated to receive direct financial assistance from the U.S. in 2004 (see table, below). Yet some of the leading recipients of U.S. foreign aid have failed to publicly back the campaign. The Bush Administration has requested $1.9 billion for Egypt in 2003, making it the second-largest recipient of foreign aid. But Egypt has never publicly backed the war and it is unclear what, if any, role the nation will play in Iraq. Still, it is asking for more money. Russia, which threatened to veto a U.N. resolution backing the use of force, could receive as much as $158 million in 2003.
The Bush Administration is expected to ask for supplemental foreign aid within the next two weeks. Lawmakers responsible for doling out foreign aid are likely to remember which countries showed support for the U.S., says Scott Lasensky, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York who is writing a book on American foreign aid. The longer Turkey sits on the fence, for example, the greater risk to its aid.
The Cost Of Conflict
Country U.S. Foreign Aid Appropriations, Fiscal 2004* ($mil)
Afghanistan $550
Albania 34.9
Australia 0
Azerbaijan 49.6
Bulgaria 41.5
Colombia 574.6
Czech Republic 11.9
Denmark 0
El Salvador 41.1
Eritrea 8.2
Estonia 9.2
Ethiopia 58.9
Georgia 89.9
Honduras 41.0
Hungary 11.9
Iceland 0
Italy 0
Japan 0
Korea 0
Latvia 9.3
Lithuania 10
Macedonia 51.4
Netherlands 0
Nicaragua 35.4
Philippines 89.7
Poland 14
Portugal 0.9
Romania 43.5
Singapore 0
Slovakia 9.3
Spain 0
Turkey 255.6
United Kingdom 0
Uzbekistan 57.5
*Pending Congressional approval. Source: U.S. Agency for International Development
Nations that play significant roles in the war will be remembered, too, though. Jordan, which has played a quiet role, could be a big beneficiary, as could Israel, a nation that already tops the list of U.S. foreign aid at $2.7 billion. Other nations that help in the reconstruction of Iraq may also benefit.
Still, diplomats must remember to avoid the appearance of checkbook diplomacy. So far the Bush Administration, as well as countries like Turkey, have handled the issue crudely, Lasensky says, making the quid pro quo between money and support too obvious. “Aid, like diplomacy itself,” he observes, “is a delicate instrument.”