Iraq tenders 'only for US allies'

[DaBeeeenster]

Companies from countries opposed to the conflict in Iraq will be barred from bidding for new rebuilding contracts worth $18.6bn, the Pentagon has said.

US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the policy was necessary to protect America's "essential security interests".

The 26 prime contracts cover areas such as oil, power, communications, water, housing and public works centres.

The ban would exclude firms from countries such as France and Germany.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3305501.stm

Well I never. Who would have thought it eh? What are the odds that they install a US protocol mobile phone network now?

Disgusting.

[Angus]

If you spend a couple of $billion clearing a far east country of its 'rogue leader' aren't you going to want some money back?

[ACiD303]

The war's initial intent wasnt to remove Sadam from power. It was money the US Government would probably have spent on defense anyway.

It doesnt really come as a surprise that the American government wont let any non-coalition countries do business in Iraq - its probably more surprising that they#re not grabbing all the contracts themselves.

When you consider it though, America and UK aside, the French and the Germans are about the only other ones who will have anything worth doing business in Iraq . . . quite a few of the other coalition countries (cant remember the list just now) are simply too poor to be able to do anything abroad as they've got their own problems to worry about.

[DaBeeeenster]

Well, this is just the countries that are allowed to tender for the work. The contracts are yet to be handed out, so we will have to see how things pan out.

As it is the "coalition of the willing" have bumped off a large amount of competition...

And this was done "for security reasons". Please.

[DR]

I have to say it sounds fair to me - I dont see why the countries who caused so much grief over the war should benifit directly from it. At the end of the day it was men from our country who died helping iraq.

[TiG]

Not sure why companies of non Iraq freeing countries should not be allowed to help out Iraq, surely if we are interested in the best interests of Iraq, they should get the best contracts that will do the best for Iraq?.

Local government computer systems can't be powered by amd etc. It sounds a bit arse about face to me.

Best offer on the table is the only way this should be done in my opinion. Its not the companies fault that the french and german governments choose not to go to war.

TiG

[Loyal]

just a quicky,

What about all the Germany, French and Russian compaines that have contracts already with Iraq. I am sure the Americans view is you sold your soul to a dictator so all contract are forefit. (alot of them)

Its circles and round about, Saddam rewarded the non-aligned countries by giving contracts to their compaines when he was in charge after the first Gulf War. (UK & US wounldn't let their companies go for the tenders I guess)

Now it is reversed, Its a shame for the French etc, but I do not think they were that unhappy when the situation was reversed before the Gulf War.

The world is about self intrest, just happens sometimes self intrest is for the worlds good and sometimes it is not. I am not sure which way to call Iraq yet, but something had to be done. (as has to be done in Iran and Korea).

[ACiD303]

Im not too sure if this is quite right (more words from michael moore) but apparently Burger King has already setup shop there and is already in the top 5% highest grossing BK league.

If thats true, thats really quick.

[DaBeeeenster]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...777195239.html

Basra: Fastfood giants Pizza Hut and Burger King have set up their first franchises inside war-torn Iraq, even as many aid convoys waited on the borders for the war to officially end.

The arrival of the two restaurants - sited inside giant trailers on a British military base near Basra - won a rapturous welcome from soldiers, whose limited range of rations lost their appeal many weeks ago.

That's pretty bizarre. To be honest when I read your post I thought it couldn't be right, but, well, I guess it goes to show the efficiency of the free market to move into vacant markets.

[telfer12000]

Pizza Hut and Burger K - truly great examples of the "efficiency of the free market" and the power of cultural imperialism.

In relation to the question, I am not sure what is "disgusting"?

Why on earth should countries who were not prepared to actively participate in the liberation be entitled to share any of the "spoils" of building a new Iraq?

I don't think it matters whether you agreed or disagreed with the invasion - the "spoils" of war achieved through reconstruction contracts or, as was the case historically, reparations or just plain old rape and pillage has always been the way of the world. Modern day conquerors have become more sophisticated in their pursuit of reward and at least monopolising reconstruction contracts is a more acceptable spoil of war than ethnic cleansing. Not that two wrongs make a right but it least it is a lesser wrong which is progress.

[DaBeeeenster]

I thought maybe it should be up to the Iraqis to decide who fixes their infrastructure?

Excluding major first world nations like France, Germany and Canada is going to limit the competitiveness of the bidding process.

Take a look at this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/10/in...rtner=MOREOVER

The United States government is paying the Halliburton Company an average of $2.64 a gallon to import gasoline and other fuel to Iraq from Kuwait, more than twice what others are paying to truck in Kuwaiti fuel, government documents show.

Halliburton, which has the exclusive United States contract to import fuel into Iraq, subcontracts the work to a Kuwaiti firm, government officials said. But Halliburton gets 26 cents a gallon for its overhead and fee, according to documents from the Army Corps of Engineers.

The cost of the imported fuel first came to public attention in October when two senior Democrats in Congress criticized Halliburton, the huge Houston-based oil-field services company, for "inflating gasoline prices at a great cost to American taxpayers." At the time, it was estimated that Halliburton was charging the United States government and Iraq's oil-for-food program an average of about $1.60 a gallon for fuel available for 71 cents wholesale.

But a breakdown of fuel costs, contained in Army Corps documents recently provided to Democratic Congressional investigators and shared with The New York Times, shows that Halliburton is charging $2.64 for a gallon of fuel it imports from Kuwait and $1.24 per gallon for fuel from Turkey.

[TiG]

I had to turn the Tv off while watching the news last night when bush was going on about the fact that "US Citizens demand that the contracts go to Friendly allies - that is US tax paying dollars that are to be spent with allies only"

There are a few things that make me much madder than cutting off ones nose to spite there face, and i see this as very much this sort of thing.

EU trade war with US looms, i think something is going to tip this over the edge.

That and the UN's position being completely shot to hell now too.

Its not good times for worldwide agreement...

TiG

[DaBeeeenster]

More Iraq news here. I find the fact that no other news agencies have been detailing this sort of thing pretty surprising.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...riponiraqtowns

As the guerrilla war against Iraqi insurgents intensifies, American soldiers have begun wrapping entire villages in barbed wire.

In selective cases, American soldiers are demolishing buildings thought to be used by Iraqi attackers. They have begun imprisoning the relatives of suspected guerrillas, in hopes of pressing the insurgents to turn themselves in.

[telfer12000]

Mostly because nearly all of the stories cannot be independently substantiated.... fear not, given the international politics of the majority of journos of my acquaintance, if there was substantiation there would be plenty of agencies who would happily pick up and publish the stories.

On a related point, get real, what do you expect the US and other coalition forces to do? Sit back and wait to be shot or blown up. I think they are exhibiting extraordinary control.

I dread to think what our modern 2003 sense of fair play (which in most cases is developed in our front rooms thousands of miles away from the conflict) would make of Norman Schwarzkopf and the Basra Road?

Before the media became a living part of the war experience (including death by friendly fire and the brutalisation of the emancipated nation) in the western developed nations all war and conflict was news managed just as it is today in much of the non-CNN believing world. Jeez, Al Jazeera reminds me of an allied WW2 news agency and, in relation to WW2, no rated historian would be able to estimate how many hundreds of thousands of civilians and friendly forces were tortured, murdered and raped by the so called allied forces. In those days all ‘Gerrys and Japs’ were evil murderers and even if they were naturalised citizens of the US or UK we interned and we brutalised them and no-one complained. Not acceptable but the way of the world at that time!

I suppose what I am getting to is that you can tut-tut and turn off your TVs all you like but the simple reality is that the US and the UK for whatever reason you believe to be true invaded Iraq and removed Hussein and the Baath party and now intend recouping their gigantic expense via reconstruction contracts and economic favour whilst at the same time the ground forces attempt to minimise their loss of life in any way they can short of wiping out entire towns a-la Mai Lai (and hundreds of other unknown atrocities).

The current approach of the US and their armed forces in Iraq is neither disgusting nor shocking because it represents, in best Trollopian traditions, the way we live now

[Blub2k]

In selective cases, American soldiers are demolishing buildings thought to be used by Iraqi attackers. They have begun imprisoning the relatives of suspected guerrillas, in hopes of pressing the insurgents to turn themselves in.


And they learned that tactic from??
Israel.

The consultants that they are using are the same people that "did" Jenin, hearts and minds, more like arses and elbows.

[Gr44]

well if the US and UK are the only likely countrys to be able to help, most if not all will goto the US because of the exchange rate anyways, so they may as well just hand the money back right now