Once again. How many times do you have to be proven wrong? It specifically talks about the article you quote. It specifically says it is a lie.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/17512/minister_says_iraq_has_no_budget_surplus_worries_over_reconstruction.html Americans are looking for an answer on the question of Iraqi surplus money. The figure of $79 billion, as reported in an August 2008 U.S. General Accountability Office report, was cited by Senator Obama in his debate with Senator McCain on Tuesday. Why is the U.S. spending so much in Iraq while there is such a huge Iraqi surplus?
This number is not accurate at all. We have at the DFI fund [Development Fund for Iraq] an amount that is not exceeding $22 billion. And this amount is allocated for the supplemental budget for 2008. In this regard there is no surplus. The surplus is only at the Central Bank of Iraq, and it is needed for supporting the Iraqi currency, and it does not exceed $30 billion. It is not surplus; it is the federal reserve. It is the reserve of Iraq. That means we cannot have a fixed currency without it.
They had a supplemental budget at the end of 2008 and spent the surplus. The other $30 billion is what is held at the CBI to support the 30 trillion dinar. They are now going to run a deficet.