> And this matters how? Why would Bush, or for that matter the Europeans, > care about rebuilding (what?) in Iraq? Other than the minimum > investments required to prevent the population from rising up against > their future leaders, why should the U.S. concern itself with making > investments in Iraq not directly related to creating and maintaining oil > extraction and transport facilities?
Consumers. You have people there. The people want to eat, drink water, use electricity, place phone calls. You build the infrastructure, they will use it. You build and then own the infrastructure, they pay you and they pay through the nose as there is no competition, at least in the beginning. They will need money, they will work shit overtime jobs, and they are closer than Malaysia is.
