All about the Benjamins
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 5:42 pm
Courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor, online....
Daily Update
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
updated 1:00 p.m. ET July 2, 2003
All about the Benjamins
Reuters reports that US and foreign companies swarmed to a private investors conference on Iraq Tuesday in Washington seeking business opportunities in a tight postwar market dominated so far by big US firms. Many of the firms attending the conference were looking for contacts or partnerships that would lead to lucrative contracts. Italian architect Dante Salme came to town to see if there were any opportunities for him in Iraq and for the chamber of commerce he represents in Turin, Italy. "We are hoping to make contacts here that will help us later on when more money becomes available for Iraq," he said. (The Arab Times of Kuwait reports on how business interest in US government contracts to rebuild Iraq is spawning a cottage industry among lawyers, consultants and sub-contractors.)
US Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor told the conference that Iraq's annual gross domestic product had tumbled to $40 billion last year from $130 billion in 1979, but the US is doing its best to shore up the Iraqi economy. "There is the continuing tragedy of people losing their lives, and that is something we are addressing as best we can, but I saw some significant signs of activity," he said. AFP reports that the US Army expects to solicit bids next week for two potentially massive Iraqi oil contracts, replacing a no-bid contract awarded in May. The two contracts would replace a contract given to a subsidiary of Halliburton – a company run by US Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000.
Perhaps the US and its coalition allies could use the lure of lucrative contracts to gain help in another important area – more troops to help in Iraq. Knight Ridder reports that US Administrator Paul Bremer is asking for more American troops and US officials to help speed up the restoration of order and public services. (The Pentagon denied this report on Wednesday.) "It is a legitimate critique of this administration that we did a brilliant job of planning the war, we didn't do a brilliant job of planning what's going on now," a senior defense official said. But Sen. Carl Levin (D) of Michigan, who Tuesday said that the US will need to be in Iraq for several more years at least, wants more troops from other countries, even France and Germany, to help in Iraq. "To me, that is not weakness, that is wisdom, to ask other countries – even if they were not with us – to be with us now," Mr. Levin said.
The Financial Times reports that seven more countries are sending about 5,000 troops to help the British in Iraq. But UK PM Tony Blair had originally asked 20 nations for help. The troops from Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Lithuania, Romania and New Zealand are mainly from nations that originally supported the US and UK's intervention in Iraq.
As the situation on the ground grows more hostile, UK and US politicians are assuring the public that they intend to "stay the course," and will not pull out of Iraq despite attacks on their troops. But those same leaders, including President Bush, are now also saying that the two countries face a "massive and long-term undertaking" to reconstruct civil society in Iraq.
As political leaders begin to admit publicly that their initial estimates about how long the US would be in Iraq were wrong, (or is that perhaps wishful thinking by the media, asks David Frum of National Review) the public itself is beginning to show signs of having second thoughts about Iraq.
In a Gallup poll, 56 percent thought that the postwar situation was going well (down from 86 percent in May) and that the war was worthwhile. But Americans were split on whether the United States would be able to kill or capture Hussein, find weapons of mass destruction, establish democracy, and stop attacks on US soldiers. A University of Maryland poll shows that a majority of the American public now believes that President Bush and his administration "stretched the truth" in statements about Saddam Hussein and WMD.
In Iraq, the BBC reports that US troops in Baghdad are increasingly on edge, as a US soldier who was wounded in an attack on Tuesday died from his wounds. The BBC says Saddam Hussein's presence still lingers over the capital.
Baghdadis are convinced that below their city is a warren of tunnels, linking hundreds of safe houses. Saddam Hussein and his entourage, residents say, can come and go as they please. Sightings of the former leader since the end of the war have been reported, and frustrated US troops have received a number of fruitless tip-offs.
The Guardian reports that US forces suffered another setback on Wednesday when a leading Shiite cleric condemned as "fundamentally unacceptable" US plans to appoint rather than elect the Iraqis who will begin drafting a new constitution. The New York Times reports that, guilty or not, the US is also being blamed for the blast at a mosque in Fallujah on Tuesday that killed a leading Sunni imam.
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told reporters this week that Iraq has not become a "quagmire" like Vietnam. But The Financial Times writes that the scenario the US needs to keep in mind is not Vietnam, but Chechnya.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0702/dailyUpdate.html
Daily Update
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
updated 1:00 p.m. ET July 2, 2003
All about the Benjamins
Reuters reports that US and foreign companies swarmed to a private investors conference on Iraq Tuesday in Washington seeking business opportunities in a tight postwar market dominated so far by big US firms. Many of the firms attending the conference were looking for contacts or partnerships that would lead to lucrative contracts. Italian architect Dante Salme came to town to see if there were any opportunities for him in Iraq and for the chamber of commerce he represents in Turin, Italy. "We are hoping to make contacts here that will help us later on when more money becomes available for Iraq," he said. (The Arab Times of Kuwait reports on how business interest in US government contracts to rebuild Iraq is spawning a cottage industry among lawyers, consultants and sub-contractors.)
US Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor told the conference that Iraq's annual gross domestic product had tumbled to $40 billion last year from $130 billion in 1979, but the US is doing its best to shore up the Iraqi economy. "There is the continuing tragedy of people losing their lives, and that is something we are addressing as best we can, but I saw some significant signs of activity," he said. AFP reports that the US Army expects to solicit bids next week for two potentially massive Iraqi oil contracts, replacing a no-bid contract awarded in May. The two contracts would replace a contract given to a subsidiary of Halliburton – a company run by US Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000.
Perhaps the US and its coalition allies could use the lure of lucrative contracts to gain help in another important area – more troops to help in Iraq. Knight Ridder reports that US Administrator Paul Bremer is asking for more American troops and US officials to help speed up the restoration of order and public services. (The Pentagon denied this report on Wednesday.) "It is a legitimate critique of this administration that we did a brilliant job of planning the war, we didn't do a brilliant job of planning what's going on now," a senior defense official said. But Sen. Carl Levin (D) of Michigan, who Tuesday said that the US will need to be in Iraq for several more years at least, wants more troops from other countries, even France and Germany, to help in Iraq. "To me, that is not weakness, that is wisdom, to ask other countries – even if they were not with us – to be with us now," Mr. Levin said.
The Financial Times reports that seven more countries are sending about 5,000 troops to help the British in Iraq. But UK PM Tony Blair had originally asked 20 nations for help. The troops from Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Lithuania, Romania and New Zealand are mainly from nations that originally supported the US and UK's intervention in Iraq.
As the situation on the ground grows more hostile, UK and US politicians are assuring the public that they intend to "stay the course," and will not pull out of Iraq despite attacks on their troops. But those same leaders, including President Bush, are now also saying that the two countries face a "massive and long-term undertaking" to reconstruct civil society in Iraq.
As political leaders begin to admit publicly that their initial estimates about how long the US would be in Iraq were wrong, (or is that perhaps wishful thinking by the media, asks David Frum of National Review) the public itself is beginning to show signs of having second thoughts about Iraq.
In a Gallup poll, 56 percent thought that the postwar situation was going well (down from 86 percent in May) and that the war was worthwhile. But Americans were split on whether the United States would be able to kill or capture Hussein, find weapons of mass destruction, establish democracy, and stop attacks on US soldiers. A University of Maryland poll shows that a majority of the American public now believes that President Bush and his administration "stretched the truth" in statements about Saddam Hussein and WMD.
In Iraq, the BBC reports that US troops in Baghdad are increasingly on edge, as a US soldier who was wounded in an attack on Tuesday died from his wounds. The BBC says Saddam Hussein's presence still lingers over the capital.
Baghdadis are convinced that below their city is a warren of tunnels, linking hundreds of safe houses. Saddam Hussein and his entourage, residents say, can come and go as they please. Sightings of the former leader since the end of the war have been reported, and frustrated US troops have received a number of fruitless tip-offs.
The Guardian reports that US forces suffered another setback on Wednesday when a leading Shiite cleric condemned as "fundamentally unacceptable" US plans to appoint rather than elect the Iraqis who will begin drafting a new constitution. The New York Times reports that, guilty or not, the US is also being blamed for the blast at a mosque in Fallujah on Tuesday that killed a leading Sunni imam.
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told reporters this week that Iraq has not become a "quagmire" like Vietnam. But The Financial Times writes that the scenario the US needs to keep in mind is not Vietnam, but Chechnya.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0702/dailyUpdate.html