I find it quite ironic that while conservatives are all about cutting spending at home, they now claim that one of the keys to good governance in Iraq is increased government spending. (Even Mike O'Hanlon now thinks that this is an important benchmark). I guess we shouldn't worry about things like this:

Jobless men pay $500 bribes to join the police. Families build houses illegally on government land, carwashes steal water from public pipes, and nearly everything the government buys or sells can now be found on the black market.

So basically. Insuring poor and middle income children in the United States = government waste. Stealing billions of dollars from the Iraqi government = progress in the "war on terror".