The Bush Administration is blocking payments to Gulf War I veterans, reports The Guardian.

Seventeen former prisoners of war were awarded nearly $1bn (�600m) in compensatory and punitive damages by a US federal court in July.
The awards were supposed to have been paid out of $1.7bn in seized Iraqi assets, but the administration stepped in to prevent them receiving the money on the grounds that it had been confiscated from the Iraqi government in March and was therefore the property of the US government.

There really is no high ground for Bush on this one. Not only is he denying payment to American soldiers who were tortured by a brutal regime, but he's also coming off sounding like a conquistador. Perhaps Bush could take the Daschle way out, and give these guys their $1bn award then tax the hell out of them to get it back.