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--- Begin Message --- -Caveat Lector- British Ask What a War
Would Mean for Business
By ALAN COWELL
New York Times, Business
LONDON, March 17 — A satirical skit on British television depicted Queen Elizabeth II questioning Prime Minister Tony Blair about the money the United States was prepared to pay to win support for war in Iraq. Mr. Blair spoke of billions going to other countries. But how much, the mock-Queen wanted to know, would Britain get? "Er, nothing, ma'am," came the reply.
The skit was not far from the mark in reflecting unease among businesspeople [in England] about plans for postwar reconstruction in Iraq and the prospect that British companies would be left out, despite Britain's military commitment to disarming Saddam Hussein.
Britain has sent more than 40,000 soldiers to join the 200,000-plus American troops massed for an invasion of Iraq, making Britain by far the biggest non-American military player. News reports here have suggested that British forces would be assigned to protect oil fields in southern Iraq and to hold the city of Basra while American forces move north to the capital.
Last week, however, several British executives said they were surprised to learn that the United States Agency for International Development had sought bids from American companies for $900 million worth of building contracts in postwar Iraq.
Representatives from 15 British companies, including BP and Shell, met with government officials in London last Tuesday to find out where British companies were likely to stand. The group also included AMEC, an oil and gas engineering company that participated in the clearing of ground zero in New York and the rebuilding of the Pentagon after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Since the meeting last week, scores of other companies have registered interest in reconstruction contracts, government officials said, but they have received no guarantees.
There was "a lot of speculation about U.S. contracts, so British companies came to us," said a spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry. "But until the situation changes, we can't promise them anything."
"The Americans have been much more forward on this because their objectives have been different," the spokesman said, speaking in return for anonymity. "What we are saying at the moment is that until the first shot is fired, we cannot speculate about what will happen after that."
Britain's official reticence about the post-Hussein era, he suggested, reflected the government's reluctance in recent weeks to acknowledge openly that its war aims went beyond the disarmament of Mr. Hussein to envision his removal.
By contrast, the United States Agency for International Development said it had already solicited bids for contracts to rebuild seaports, airports, schools, hospitals and other facilities from American companies including the Bechtel Group and Fluor. A unit of Halliburton, the company run by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000, was also reported to be in the bidding.
The Bush administration's apparent intention to limit the contracts to American bidders has unsettled competitors in other countries. And Derek Simpson, a British labor union leader, said there were grave concerns in Britain about the American attitude toward British companies and workers, who he said could readily compete for reconstruction contracts if given the chance.
Moreover, the British government — which has been Washington's most steadfast ally — has said that the United Nations must be involved in reconstruction efforts, even if it plays no role in military operations. And Chris Patten, the European Union's foreign affairs commissioner, has told Washington that Europe would find it difficult to help finance postwar rebuilding without United Nations approval.
"It will be that much more difficult for the European Union to cooperate fully and on a large scale — also in the longer-term reconstruction process — if events unfold without proper U.N. cover," Mr. Patten said, calling the solicitation of bids exclusively from American companies "exceptionally maladroit."
The work that most interests British businesses is infrastructure repair, fixing not just battle damage to bridges, railroads, power lines and the like but also years of neglect.
If retreating Iraqi forces set fire to oil fields, as they did in Kuwait in 1991, specialist fire-fighting concerns will be called in. Most such companies are based in Houston, but AMEC, the British firm that helped rebuild the Pentagon, also fought oil well fires in Kuwait.
John Hillsden, a spokesman for the Institute of Civil Engineers in Britain, said there had been "no assurances or guarantees" that British companies would get postwar reconstruction contracts, but "civil engineering is a global industry, and contractors work together," so there was a good chance that British companies would at least get subcontracts. "That's the way it generally works, and the way it will work this time," Mr. Hillsden said.
Royal Dutch/Shell and BP have both sought to play down their interest in lobbying for postwar contracts, beyond arguing that they should not be discriminated against.
"There must be a level playing field for oil companies to get in there," Lord Browne, the chief executive of BP, said late last year. His remarks were echoed by a Shell spokesman last week.
Oil companies are also trying to dispel expectations of an automatic oil bonanza to be had in Iraq, whose oil reserves rank second only to Saudi Arabia.
"There's this idea that oil companies are going to walk into Iraq, but based on history there's a feeling that it is not going to be like that," one oil executive said. "After the last gulf war, everybody said there'd be contracts in Kuwait, but that hasn't happened."
Unless Iraq planned to step up production far beyond the 2.5 millions barrels a day that it now pumps, the executive said, the bulk of the reconstruction work would be for engineering companies rather than oil companies.
"If sanctions are lifted and the Iraqi government says it wants foreign investment in the oil fields, then the oil companies will consider the opportunities as and when they arise," the executive said.
____________________________
BBC News online [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1138009.stm]
29 January 2001
Analysis: Oil and the Bush cabinet
By Katty Kay
A majority of President Bush's new cabinet are millionaires and several are multimillionaires. According to information from financial disclosure reports, released by the Office of Government Ethics, most cabinet appointees have amassed their fortunes in stock options. Now a Washington-based think tank is questioning whether some of the cabinet members could face a possible conflict of interest. It is not unusual for American politicians to be rich. For the last two decades more than half of all cabinet members have been millionaires.
Strong ties
But the number of millionaires in this new cabinet highlights the influence of money in American politics.
"You don¹t come to Washington and give up your life and business unless you have a lot of money," said Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity. What makes the new Bush administration different from previous wealthy cabinets is that so many of the officials have links to the same industry - OIL.
The president, vice-president, commerce secretary and national security adviser all have strong ties to the oil industry. Vice-President Dick Cheney amassed some £50m-$60m while he was chief executive of Haliburton oil company. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans held stock valued between $5m and $25m in Tom Brown Inc, the oil and gas exploration company he headed.
Opening exploration
National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice was a director of Chevron. The concentration of energy connections is so pronounced that some critics are calling the Bush government the "oil and gas administration".
There are also questions about how energy policy decisions may be affected by the private financial interests of so many senior cabinet members. The Bush administration has already made it clear that it would be interested in opening up oil exploration in Alaska. It is a move opposed by environmental groups but favoured by energy companies. With oil prices rising in recent months this issue has taken on new urgency.
Political apathy
And this is not just the era of wealthy cabinet members.
One third of this senate are millionaires and 10 of the major presidential candidates also had financial fortunes in the millions. If wealth is a prerequisite of political office, it appears that poverty is often a hallmark of political apathy. Charles Lewis of the Center for Public Integrity said: "There is a perception of wealthy folks running the government and those who are not wealthy not participating in government." Of the 100 million Americans who do not vote, the overwhelming majority are lower middle class or poor.
________________
Factoids from The Age (Melbourne, Australia) March 17, 2003:
"Vice President Dick Cheney once served as head of Halliburton Company, whose subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root is part of one bidding consortium.
"Other big bidders are Bechtel Group Inc, Parsons Corporation and Louis Berger Group and Fluor Corporation - companies which made political contributions of a combined $US2.8 million ($A4.7 million) between 1999 and 2002.
"More than two-thirds of those donations went to Republicans, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited the Centre for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group."
_____________________
Post-war profiteers who bet on Bush are cashing in
![]()
By Chad Selweski, Columnist
March 16, 2003
The Macomb Daily
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7386012&BRD=988&PAG=461&dept_id=141269&rfi=6![]()
Columnist Chad Selweski says the well-heeled contributors to the Republicans and the Bush campaign not only enjoy an inside track to the White House, they'll receive an escort into post-war Baghdad.
If it's true that the victors get the spoils, then the big corporations that placed their bets on Bush in 2000 may soon enjoy a win-win situation.
The well-heeled contributors to the Republicans and the Bush campaign not only enjoy an inside track to the White House, they'll receive an escort into post-war Baghdad. And that's when they'll really cash in.
News reports last week indicated that the Bush administration has gone well beyond deciding when to launch the war in Iraq, how long the war might take or how to maintain stability in the country after the bombs have stopped falling.
Now, they've already decided who will rebuild Iraq. No surprise - the Bush buddies are those who will profit handsomely.
The five firms tentatively chosen for the rebuilding effort chipped in $2.8 million in campaign contributions over the past three years, with most going to Republicans. Most of the money is donated through Political Action Committees.
Bechtel, the engineering giant, gave $1.3 million and is now in line to make billions in post-Saddam Iraq.
Another company ready to benefit is Kellogg, Brown & Root, which kicked in $709,000, including $17,677 directly to the Bush campaign. The firm's parent company, Halliburton, is the same Houston-based energy operation that had Vice President Dick Cheney as its chief executive for five years.
Fluor, which contributed $483,000, has ties to the Defense Department. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which compiled the data on campaign contributions, a Fluor vice president served as assistant secretary of the Army.
With $900 million in contracts initially at stake, the White House set aside the rules on seeking bids for projects like these, declaring "urgent circumstances" that require rebuilding plans to go forward.
Experts say that this well-connected group of firms will position themselves to secure post-war business opportunities that will be worth many billions of dollars. More importantly, these Bush buddies have their eyes on the big prize: a piece of the Iraqi oil business.
The first companies with their feet in the door will help develop the country's oil industry, and their monikers will become brand names in Iraq for decades. The value of that status may be incalculable.
When they donated to the GOP and Bush in 2000, these companies could never have dreamed the windfall they would reap.
They will profit from the most expensive, elaborate reconstruction effort since America helped rebuild Germany and Japan after World War II.
These construction conglomerates are part of a Bush pre-war public relations offensive to prove that the United States has humanitarian plans in place to repair and rebuild roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.
This is part of the convoluted White House message that says the USA is eager to make life better for Baghdad. After the war, we'll feed you, help educate you, give you clean water to drink and provide quality health care to patch up the wounds we inflict.
And we know just the right people to get this rebuilding project going.
Bechtel officials issued a statement saying they "hope for a peaceful settlement in Iraq." If you believe that, I have a soon-to-be-smithereens bridge in Baghdad to sell you.
After all, this is the same firm that profited by helping to rebuild Kuwait after the Gulf War in 1991. And this is one of the same companies that allegedly supplied Saddam with weapons in the 1980s.
How convenient. Help Iraq build up its military. Profit when the U.S. troops smash Saddam's army. Wait for Saddam to become a menace again. And then profit when the Pentagon returns for round 2.
The Iraqis of political and economic consequence who survive the war have no idea what they're in for.
These American sharks will schmooze them to win more contracts and expand their reach. When it comes time to hold an election, that's when the cash will start flowing to candidates. The democratic successors to Saddam will realize what they've been missing.
What an education the Iraqis will receive.
____________________
GOP-linked firms already lining up to rebuild Iraq
The Denver Post
March 16, 2003 -
Although the Bush administration contends a war with Iraq is not a certainty, a small group of elite U.S. construction firms - Bechtel Group Inc., Fluor Corp., Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root, Louis Berger Group Inc. and Parsons Corp. - is now bidding on a $900 million contract to rebuild a postwar Iraq.
That's the U.S. Agency for International Development's initial estimate for repairing and constructing new schools, hospitals, roads and water systems.The construction firms have contributed a combined $2.8 million - 68 percent to Republicans - over the past two election cycles, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Bechtel boasts a number of government alumni, including former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of State George Shultz and former CIA director William Casey - all employed by the engineering firm before taking those positions.
Halliburton is the Houston-based oil and construction giant run by Dick Cheney until he left in August 2000 to campaign with George W. Bush. Its subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root has already landed a Pentagon contract to extinguish any oil wells set on fire by Iraqi forces.
Fluor vice president Kenneth Oscar was recently acting assistant secretary of the Army, managing its $35 billion annual budget.
Although the initial contract bids are approximately $900 million, a possible reconstruction of Iraq may parallel the costly rebuilding of Germany and Japan after World War II. A national security panel of experts said last week that reconstructing a postwar Iraq would cost $20 billion a year.
President Bush has not disclosed estimates on the cost of a possible war, saying that he will submit them with his supplemental budget request, but press secretary Ari Fleischer implied that the sky might not be the limit."On the question of war with Iraq, if anybody were to suggest that the president or anybody on the Hill should be able to provide a cap or a ceiling on the price of defending liberty and freedom, we don't know it," he said.
_________________
March 12, 2003
The Guardian (UK)
Cheney is Still Being Paid
by Pentagon Contractor
Bush deputy gets $1m from firm with Iraq oil deal
by Robert Bryce in Austin, Texas and Julian Borger in Washington
Halliburton, the Texas company which has been awarded the Pentagon's contract to put out potential oil-field fires in Iraq and which is bidding for postwar construction contracts, is still making annual payments to its former chief executive, the vice-president Dick Cheney.
The payments, which appear on Mr Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure statement, are in the form of "deferred compensation" of up to one million dollars a year. When he left Halliburton in 2000 to become George Bush's running mate, he opted not to receive his leaving payment in a lump sum but instead have it paid to him over five years, possibly for tax reasons.
The vice-president's office said yesterday it had nothing to do with the award of Pentagon contracts, and said it would look into the details of the Halliburton payments. The company would not say how much the payments are. The obligatory disclosure statement filled by all top government officials says only that they are in the range of $100,000 and $1 million. Nor is it clear how they are calculated.
Halliburton is one of five large US corporations - the others are the Bechtel Group, Fluor Corp, Parsons Corp, and the Louis Berger Group - invited to bid for contracts in what may turn out to be the biggest reconstruction project since the second world war. It is estimated to be worth up to $900 million for the preliminary work alone, such as rebuilding Iraq's hospitals, ports, airports and schools. The contract winners will be able to establish a presence in post-Saddam Iraq that should give them an invaluable edge in winning future contracts. The defense department contract awarded to the Halliburton subsidiary, Kellog, Brown & Root (KBR), to control oil fires if Saddam Hussein sets the well heads alight, will put the company in an excellent position to bid for huge contracts when Iraq's oil industry is rehabilitated.
KBR has already benefited considerably from the "war on terror". It has so far been awarded contracts worth nearly $33 million to build the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for al-Qaida suspects.
Asked whether the payments to Mr Cheney represented a conflict of interest, Halliburton's spokeswoman, Wendy Hall, said: "We have been working as a government contractor since the 1940s. Since this time, KBR has become the premier provider of logistics and support services to all branches of the military."
In the five years Mr Cheney was at the helm, Halliburton nearly doubled the amount of business it did with the government to $2.3 billion. The company also more than doubled its political contributions to $1.2 million, overwhelmingly to Republican candidates ...
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