US Prints Saddam banknotes (BBC): US and British officials have said it is better to lose face by printing 250 dinar notes with Saddam on them for a short period than risk further inflaming public anger. They say new banknotes will be designed once an interim Iraqi administration is in place. Earlier this week, angry crowds gathered outside Iraq’s central bank brandishing 10,000 dinar notes.
US Printing Iraqi Dinars (AP): In Washington, Tony Fratto, a spokesman for the Treasury Department, which is involved in the reconstruction effort, said the 250-dinar note was seen as a short-term measure - especially given the distrust surrounding the 10,000-dinar note, which was a favorite among counterfeiters. “It’s temporary. No one likes to see Saddam Hussein’s face on the currency and at some point, that will go,” Fratto said. “And, we hope that it will be sooner, rather than later.” The irony of Americans printing Saddam-emblazoned cash was not lost on Iraqis. “The Americans got rid of the old regime, so why are they printing the same currency?” Mudafar Mahdi, a businessman, asked Wednesday.
