Buying Up Iraq

the corporate take-over of Iraq excludes most Iraqis. The bidding process favors Americans and Europeans over Iraqis and, while small enterprises are protected by the new law which mandates 51% Iraqi ownership, large ones need only be 30% Iraqi. It would be interesting to know how many Iraqi exiles with dual citizenship will be represented as Iraqis in these figures and how long it would be before the big fish eat the smaller ones.

There is every reason to expect that a truly democratically elected Iraqi government will insist on controlling its oil production and little reason to believe that the United States will allow Iraq to elect a truly representative government that would do so. But there is another fundamental contradiction between the Bush Administration’s stated goals and the realities of the Middle East. A recent CIA report, submitted to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, that U.S. policy vis--vis Israel is one of the primary reasons for negative feeling toward the U.S. in the region. The United States cannot tolerate Arab democracy at the national level because of its unilateral support of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and no freely elected Arab government will support Israel against the Palestinians. If real democracy means letting people have a real voice in governing themselves then there is little hope of this happening in any Arab state, including Iraq.

Was my work in Iraq worth anything? The IFES Pre Election Assessment certainly was. Modesty aside, the IFES assessment will become the international benchmark for similar projects. But I as far as the future of Iraq goes, I doubt it will it make a difference in the larger picture. The United States has its arms around a tar-baby. It cannot stay—without exacerbating the conditions, increasing the resistance—and it cannot leave without plunging the country into the chaotic violence characteristic of a failed state. While I believe the United States can endorse small civil institutions in Iraq such as those that advocate the national rights of women, improve health and education, and encourage local groups to participate in municipal efforts to improve daily existence it cannot allow the emergence of a true democracy at the national level.

To be fair to the Iraqis and ourselves, I believe we must cut a deal with the international community to rescue us from this situation. If we taxed the corporations instead of letting them tax us, we could pay the United Nations for the costs of reconstruction, pay them for peace-keeping, and pay them to run elections. Then we can get out of Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5327.htm

The United States of Iraq.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Iraqi government void all of these contracts and purchases and return everything to Iraqi companies and Iraqi citizens . . . that's what I hope they do, anyhow . . .

ultimate in obscene. Ideas which were born in board rooms, over Perrier water and lobster lunches. The war planners left no stone unturned. How could they possibly cover all the angles and maximize the profits?

1. Get the weapons machinery going (Kellogg Root & Brown et al)

2. Provide outsourcing for the armed forces, a la Marriott/Sodexho.

3. Start the oil running in the pipeline, flowing due west toward Halliburton Oil, now the world's largest oil producer.

4. Put Iraq up for sale to the highest bidder. As they rub their hands together, they visualize a McDonald's and Taco Bell on every street corner. Don't forget Honey Baked Ham.