Worldview

By Seema Sirohi

Officially, it’s all about rebuilding Iraq, and who better to do it than American companies? Specially if they have the right connections. The US Agency for International Development reportedly asked five major US engineering firms in secret, even before the war began, to bid for contracts worth $900 million. Open and competitive bidding was sidestepped by using "emergency" rules for government procurement. The chosen few have done government work for years and have deep, abiding ties with official Washington. Halliburton Co., whose subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root is part of the pack, was headed by Dick Cheney—now the US vice president—until 2000 when he sold his stock and joined George Bush.

The subsidiary will lay out a plan for fighting oil-well fires, in case Iraqi forces torch them. Other invitees include the Bechtel Group, the giant that has many former and possibly future politicians pouring out of its mega offices. The five companies made political contributions totalling $2.8 million over the past three years, more than two-thirds of the booty going to the Republican Party, according to the Wall Street Journal. There is no mention of the United Nations development agencies or European companies in the 13-page document, ‘Vision for Post-Conflict Iraq,’ which was circulated to a small circle of sympathisers and contractors. It might seem a bit unseemly to the finicky that Washington’s commercial nose was on the scent even before bombing began. A case of first deconstructing, then reconstructing? Oh no, says the press release, it is about giving the Iraqis a better life.