In another, but far more recent, large-scale foreign bailout, the United States has spent over $60 billion to rebuild Iraq following the 2003 invasion and subsequent toppling of Saddam Hussein from power. The government’s inspector general for the reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, effort told the Associated Press in 2013 that it “grew to a size much larger than was ever anticipated” and “not enough was accomplished for the size of the funds expended.”

With the rise of the Islamic State, the U.S. has returned its attention to Iraq. Whether that will eventually lead to another massive rebuilding effort remains to be seen, but the Obama administration has so far resisted returning to the scale of the past decade.