Our Monkey-in-Chief is soliciting donations to help rebuild Iraq, because as we all know by now, the taxes sure aren’t going to pay for it.

Although more than $30 billion in taxpayer funds have been appropriated for Iraqi reconstruction, the administration earlier this month launched an Internet-based fundraising effort that it says is aimed at giving Americans “a further stake in building a free and prosperous Iraq.”

Contributors have no way of knowing who’s getting the money or precisely where it’s headed, because the government says it must keep the details secret for security reasons.

But taxpayers already finance the projects the administration is seeking charitable donations for, such as providing water pumps for farmers. And officials say any contributions they receive will increase the scope of those efforts, rather than relieve existing taxpayer burdens. . . .

The U.S. Agency for International Development, the federal government’s primary distributor of foreign aid, said Friday, “Charitable contributions play an important role in enriching and extending U.S. government efforts.”

The effort is just the newest twist in the administration’s struggle to rebuild Iraq. Andrew Natsios, head of USAID, first predicted it would cost taxpayers no more than $1.7 billion. The tab has since risen to more than $30 billion, with congressional Republicans and Democrats sharply critical of the high cost and slow pace of progress.

In addition, the new campaign comes amid increasing concerns that some of the administration’s major projects in Iraq will be scrapped or only partially completed because of rising costs, especially for security. Some officials fear money may run out before key projects are completed.

Natsios announced the Internet-based campaign in a speech Sept. 9. In a press release issued the same day, USAID said its new Web site “will help American citizens learn more about official U.S. assistance for Iraq and make contributions to high-impact development projects.”

Although USAID has received private donations from corporations in the past, this may be the first time it has geared a charity pitch for U.S. foreign aid dollars to citizens.

Initially, the Web site, called Iraqpartnership.org, is offering potential contributors a choice of eight projects, each seeking $10,000 or less. They include purchasing computers for centers designed to assist Iraqi entrepreneurs, buying furniture and supplies for Iraqi elementary and high schools, paying for the production of posters to promote “awareness of disabilities and rights issues” and buying water pumps for farmers.

There is also a general Iraq country fund, offering donors “another high-impact giving opportunity without making them have to specify a project.” — Chicago Tribune

Where to even start?

It’s a great idea in principle to allow citizens to choose what foreign aid they want to participate in, and I hope that this is used as a model for any future such foreign aid projects.

But without tax relief, people can’t truly choose what projects they want to fund.

Personally I’d love to see the whole federal government’s foreign operations run on a voluntary contributions basis. No money coming in? Americans must not want it, so don’t bother. Money pouring in? Americans must want it, so get out there and do it.