With U.S. troops still under vigorous attack in Iraq, a stable Iraqi economy feels a long way off. Real security for Iraq will not come until the guerilla war there stops and a revived economy kicks into gear.

American planners have a lot to say about the shape of that economy. If it doesn’t work out, the current $87 billion bill won’t be the last.

Click the “Listen” link to hear a conversation with the Bush administration’s point man on reshaping and reviving the Iraqi economy, about the short-term and long-term economic prospects for the country.

Guests:

Jonathan Weisman, financial reporter, The Washington Post

Peter McPherson, president, Michigan State University. He was financial coordinator in the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq.

Kiren Aziz Chaudhry, associate professor of political science, University of California Berkeley and author of “The Price of Wealth: Economies and Institutions in the Middle East”