Los Angeles Times
October 14, 2004
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are correct when they say things
are not all bad in Iraq. It just depends on your perspective. Although the
military campaign is in chaos, the economic campaign is moving along quite
nicely, at least for U.S. corporations and the Republican Party.
Halliburton, far and away the largest recipient of Iraq reconstruction dollars
with about $18 billion in contracts, has seen revenues increase by 80% in the
first quarter of 2004 compared with the same quarter of 2003, according to the
Financial Times. These revenues reflect "steep profits from their Iraq
operations."
Next in line is the Bechtel Group of San Francisco, with
nearly $3 billion in Iraq reconstruction contracts. In fact, revenues generated
outside the United States have increased by 158% since 2003 for Bechtel —
turning around a three-year slump in that category. San Ramon-based
ChevronTexaco has a contract to market Iraqi oil. Its profits have increased
90% during the first half of 200 4 compared with the same period in 2003, for a
total increase of more than $3 billion.
And then there's Lockheed
Martin, which hasn't even had to risk operating in Iraq to earn its war booty.
In 2004, Lockheed's shares have more than tripled in value since their low in
early 2000. A Lockheed spokesman told the New York Times that the company's
success since 2000 came from the "changed geopolitical landscape."
Helping to boost these bottom lines are rules put into place by L. Paul Bremer
III, the head of the Bush administration's now defunct Coalition Provisional
Authority in Iraq. Among them are "orders" that ensure that none of the profits
made by contractors have to be reinvested in the fledging Iraqi economy or in
helping with reconstruction. Instead, every last penny can be sent back to the
United States. The orders also make it difficult, come January, for an elected
Iraqi government to overturn such rules.
Not surprisingly, some of the
profits generated by the war in Iraq appea r to be making their way into
Republican Party coffers. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive
Politics, each of these corporations is among the leaders in its industry in
2003-2004 election-cycle contributions, with most of the donations going to
Republicans. Halliburton funneled 85% of its $165,949 in contributions to
Republicans. ChevronTexaco donated 83% of $367,731 in political contributions
to Republicans. Lockheed, whose contribution total of $1,397,132 is more than
the contributions of the other three corporations combined, gave 59% to
Republicans, and Bechtel, 53% of $199,847.
And there's more largess to
come from Bush's remaking of Iraq's economy. Bremer's Order No. 39 allows for
the privatization of Iraq's 200-plus state-owned enterprises. Although full
privatization hasn't happened yet, the process is moving forward.
For
example, Bechtel's contracts include the rehabilitation of Iraq's water and
sewer systems. Bechtel also is one of the world's top 10 private water comp
anies, with interests in more than 200 water and wastewater treatment plants
worldwide. Last month, the Baghdad Water Authority announced plans to
distribute questionnaires to discern its customers' willingness to pay for their
utilities. In April, Iraq's minister of public works told the Independent that
Iraq was considering privatizing its water industry to "fund essential
works."
Moreover, a December symposium on business opportunities in Iraq
— with the U.S. government among its sponsors — specifically
targets "privatization specialists." But if all this adds up to good news from
the Bush administration's standpoint, from a different perspective the economic
campaign seems just as off kilter as the military campaign.
For
example, the U.S. Agency for International Development (which oversees
Bechtel's contracts in Iraq) has found that "water meant for consumption is
pumped through the system largely untreated while raw waste flows untreated
directly into city streets, rivers or marshlands. Many rural communities are
not connected to main water or sewer lines, have no access to potable water and
suffer from health problems related to poor sewage disposal." When they were
asked recently, 44% of Iraqis said U.S. forces were not trying "at all" to
restore basic services, and 41% said they were trying "only a little."
And that takes us back to the good news/bad news equation. U.S. corporate bank
accounts and Republican coffers are indeed filling up. But for Iraqis —
and U.S. taxpayers, who are footing the bill — the glass isn't just half
empty, it's bone dry.