In news on Iraq, the Washington Post is reporting the Bush administration is dramatically reducing spending on so-called “democracy promotion” in Iraq. The move has angered several Republican-linked organizations who were awarded contracts after the US-led invasion. US officials said the money was needed to pay for increasing security costs. Les Campbell, who heads Middle East programs for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, said of the President’s commitment to democracy in Iraq: “when it’s translated into action, [it] looks very tiny.”