Carving Up The New Iraq
By Neil Mackay
The Sunday Herald
Tuesday 15 April 2003
IRAQ lies in ruins this morning. Its cities are bombed; its buildings
have been torched by teenage arsonists; its shops, hospitals, factories
and homes have been looted. This is Year Zero for Iraq. The old regime
is gone and the United States is to rebuild this country literally from
the ground up.
Since the beginning of the year, America has had its reconstruction plan
in place. Answering directly to Centcom commander General Tommy Franks,
retired Lt Gen Jay Garner will be in command of the reconstruction
effort. He will be aided by a series of military hardmen, diplomats and
Republican party place-men who will help the United States create "Free
Iraq'' -- aided by exiles who are returning to get their share of the
spoils.
This isn't a selfless exercise. In a special Sunday Herald
investigation, we have charted the network of financial kickbacks,
political pay-backs, cronyism, self-interest and ferocious ideology
that underpins the entire reconstruction scheme.
The US denies that men like Jay Garner are in effect the first wave of a
military occupation. The Bush administration insists that it wants
these men to work their way out of a job as quickly as possible. Some
have mentioned three months as the possible length of their tenure in
Iraq -- others, more realistically, claim five years is a more likely
term, taking the length of the US occupation of post-war Japan as the
best comparison. America will be entrenched in this nation for decades
to come. The colonisation process has begun already.
In this investigation we have traced the roots of the reconstruction
process back to the ideologues -- the neo-conservatives now in the
ascendancy in the US government -- who devised the scheme. These men
see the US military as the "cavalry on the new American frontier'',
they wanted Saddam "regime changed'' long before Bush took power and
they have long dreamt of a permanent US satellite in the Gulf. They
have also been brutally honest about having a say over Iraq's oil
fields .
Ideology is ideology, but in the US government political theory goes
hand-in-hand with big business. The end result of the lofty musings of
Republican hawks fashioning the concepts behind the new world order is
money-grubbing for the yankee dollar. The world isn't just watching the
spread of a political philosophy in Iraq, it is watching a conquest by
and for US big business as well. The term "military-industrial''
complex brings to mind crazy conspiracy theories , but let's consider
the term again. Each and every one of the companies in the running or
in posession of contracts to reconstruct Iraq are either major
Republican donors or have government staff working for them. The
donations to the Republican party -- and also to George W Bush himself
-- run into millions .
Is this payback time? In the UK, connections like this between big
business and politicians would be front page news for months. But not
so in America.
There is more to this than just kickbacks. The Americans call it "the
favour bank'', we call it more simply cronyism. The connections between
the reconstructors is staggering. If these people aren't in the same
think-tank together, then they work for the same companies, have the
same friends and interests.
Just look at one example -- under our power-brokers section you will
find Andrew Natsios. He's the head of USAid, the government department
which hands out Iraqi reconstruction contracts. Would it surprise you
to find out that Natsios has a connection to a company called Bechtel
which is -- yes -- tipped for a rather lucrative contract? Then there's
IRG. It secured one of the eight government contracts up for grabs. Are
you shocked to learn IRG has four vice-presidents and 24 other staff
who at one time worked for USAid? There's also a subsidiary of
Halliburton, the oil giant once run by Dick Cheney (Bush's number two),
which stands to make a cool $500 million out of reconstruction.
With only a few exceptions, there is a smoking gun for all those behind
the reconstruction work. Whether it's a seat on a board, shares in a
firm, a favour owed here or there, these question the impartiality of
seriously powerful people and ask important questions about the levels
of self-interest that lie behind the rebuilding of Iraq. While Iraq may
be free of Saddam, it looks like it's going to be the most lucrative
country on Earth for the foreseeable future -- at least for US hawks
anyway.
THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES
Paul Wolfowitz
The deputy defence secretary is the
arch-ideologue of the Bush administration and the key architect in the
Pentagon of the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.
Like many of the reconstructors Wolfowitz of Arabia, as he is known, is
a ranking member of the leading neo-conservative think-tank the Project
for the New American Century (PNAC), which advocated regime change in
Iraq even before George W Bush took office. He is also, like many of
the reconstruction team, a key member of the ultra-right-wing Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs (Jinsa) -- a think-tank that
puts Israel and its security at the heart of US foreign policy. Many of
the reconstuctors -- known as Wolfie's People or the True Believers --
are hand-picked place-men chosen by the defence deputy. Wolfowitz is
the ideological link in Team Bush's grand scheme. His thinking is and
was central to the war and its aftermath.
Lewis Libby
Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff is a
long-standing face at the Pentagon, having served in the defence
department during George Bush Snr's presidency. He is also friend,
confidant and a neo-con fellow-traveller with Wolfowitz, and a founding
member of the PNAC.
He sits on the board of the Rand Corporation, a research and development
corporation which has a huge number of contracts with the Pentagon.
Zalmay Khalilzad (see the Arabs), Bush's special envoy to the the Iraq
opposition, was an employee of Rand Corp.
Libby owns shares in armament companies and has various oil interests.
He is a consultant to Northrop Grumman, the defence contractor, which
has an influential voice on the Defence Policy Board (DPB), the
so-called brains of the Pentagon. Rand Corp, which won $83m in Pentagon
contracts, is linked to the DPB.
Donald Rumsfeld
A founding member of the PNAC, the Pentagon
supremo is probably one of the best-connected men in American politics.
It was Rumsfeld who personally designed the Iraqi invasion plan.
Every detail of the post-war reconstruction has to be cleared by the
defence secretary. Each and every neo-con in the Pentagon owes their
position to him. One fact he doesn't want reminded about is his former
glad-handing with Saddam as Reagan's special envoy to Iraq in the early
1980s. While Saddam was blitzing the Ayatollah's armies with chemical
weapons in the Iran-Iraq war, Rumsfeld spent most of his time talking
to the Ba'ath Party about the building of an oil pipeline on behalf of
the construction company Bechtel. Bechtel's former vice-chairman is
George Shultz, Reagan's secretary of state. Bechtel is one of the
front-runners in the bid to secure US government contracts to rebuild
Iraq.
Douglas J Feith
Under-secretary for policy at the Pentagon,
he picks and selects members of the DPB and is on the board of advisers
of Jinsa. As a lawyer, Feith represented Northrop Grumman (see defence
box). He was a Pentagon place-man when Perle was assistant defence
secretary in the 1980s and hired Michael Mobbs (see power- brokers) to
work at his law firm Feith and Zell. Zealously pro-Israeli, Feith is a
keen fan of Chalabi (see Arabs) as are Perle and Rumsfeld. Other Iraqis
who'll be keen to get his ear include: Jalal Talebani (Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan); Maj General Tawfiq al-Yassiri (Iraqi National
Coalition); Massoud Barzani (Kurdish Democratic Party); Ayadh Allawi
(Iraqi National Accord); Shaif Ali Bin Hussein (Constitutional Monarchy
Party); Abdelaziz al-Hakim (brother of Muhammed Bakr al-Hakim the
leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq) and Major
General Saad Obeidi (former head of Iraqi psychological warfare).
Richard Perle
The Pentagon's Prince of Darkness is a key
member of Jinsa and a prominent member of the American Enterprise
Institute (described by Ronnie Reagan as one of the most influential
right-wing US think-tanks) along with Dick Cheney's wife Lynne. He also
sits on the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, another
right-wing think-tank, along with James Woolsey, tipped to become the
information minister in the post-war Iraqi interim government.
Perle acted as an advisor to the lobbying firm run by Douglas J Feith --
the Pentagon's under-secretary of defence. Perle was also chair of the
DPB until he resigned following a scandal over a conflict of interests
relating to his business connections. However, he still sits on the
board of the DPB. Perle is seeking permission from the Committee on
Foreign Investment, on which the defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld
sits, to run telecommunications businesses in Asia. He is also a member
of neo-con think-tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute, and
worked as an aide to ultra-right-wing former Israeli premier, Benyamin
Netanyahu.
Dick Cheney
Capitol Hill's resident hawk-in-chief, is a PNAC
founding member and a was on Jinsa's board of advisors. The
Vice-President was defence secretary under Bush Snr and has been
calling for Saddam's head for over a decade. He was chairman and CEO of
oil company Halliburton, the corporate behemoth.
Halliburton's
subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root has secured contracts worth up to $7
billion from the US army's Corp of Engineers to put out oil well fires
in Iraq. He is a trustee of the American Enterprise Institute and has
had numerous oil interests. He has links to Chevron, for whom he
negotiated the building of an oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea.
Condoleeza Rice, the national security advisor, was the director of
Chevron until 2001 -- and even had an oil tanker named after her.
During Condi's tenure, Chevron's CEO Kenneth Derr once said: "Iraq
possesses huge reserves of oil and gas -- reserves I'd love Chevron to
have access to.'' Dick Cheney's wife Lynne sat on the board of Lockheed
Martin, which manufactures Cruise missiles and now has a $800 million
military satellite which will help troops in Iraq.
Michael Joyce
The former president of the Bradley
Foundation, one of the largest and most influential right-wing
organisations in America. It set up the PNAC led by William Kristol.
Kristol's Weekly Standard is viewed in Washington as the in-house paper
for Team Bush. The Standard is bankrolled by Rupert Murdoch. Joyce once
said that Bush's key people such as Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz
"were clearly influenced by Bradley Foundation thinking''.
There are rumours that Joyce's "best buddy'' William Bennett, Reagan's
education secretary and Bush Snr's drug czar, will have some
involvement with Iraq's post-war education system.
Joyce has phoned Bennett with the words: "This is coach Joyce and this
is what I want you to do.'' Neil Bush, Dubya's brother, has also been
spoken of in connection with rebuilding the education system in Iraqi.
Joyce is a self-styled moral guardian of American family values who,
along with James Woolsey, is an adviser to Americans for Victory over
Terrorism, a group that wants to stifle criticism of American military
muscle.
James Woolsey
A long-time supporter of war on Iraq and PNAC
and Jinsa member, the former director of the CIA has been named as the
likely minister of information in the new Iraq. His business interests
have included: the arms company British Aerospace; the Titan
Corporation, which provides military interpreters and DynCorp, which
provides bodyguards for Hamid Karzai, the Afghani president and has
installed a police force monitoring service in Bosnia. DynCorp is being
sued for human rights violations in Bosnia, environmental health
disasters in Ecuador and fraud in America. He was a partner in the law
firm, Shea and Gardner, which acts as foreign agents for the Iraqi
National Congress, led by Chalabi. He is vice-president of Booz Allen
Hamilton, a corporate consultant firm, which won a contract to develop
a computer model of post-war Iraqi society after the first Gulf war I.
Booz Allen is also closely linked to the DPB. He said that "only fear
will re-establish [Arab] respect for us ... we need a little bit of
Machiavelli''. He has also said: "We really don't need the Europeans.
Anyways, they will be the first in line patting us on the back
following our success and saying they were with us all along.''
THE MILITARY
Lt Gen Jay Garner
Nicknamed variously the Sheriff of
Baghdad, Iraq's king, pro-consul, or president. Garner fought in the
first Gulf war and in January was coaxed out of retirement to be the
director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance
for Iraq. A fan of Jinsa (the Jewish Institute for National security
Affairs), he has praised the Israeli defence force for its "remarkable
restraint in the face of lethal violence orchestrated by the leadership
of the Palestinian Authority''.
After one Jinsa junket he also said: "A strong Israel is an asset that
American military planners and political leaders can rely on.'' He is
president of SY Coleman, the defence firm that specialises in Patriot
missiles and which was awarded over a billion-dollar contract this year
to provide logistics support to US special forces. SY Coleman is a
subsidiary of L-3 Communications, the ninth-largest contributor to US
political parties from the defence electronics sector.
He is a Pentagon place man who is directly answerable to General Tommy
Franks, head of US CentCom. This has been jumped on by many as proof
that the reconstruction work is at best a Pentagon operation and at
worst a military occupation. A Vietnam veteran and former assistant
Chief of Staff, Garner is no stranger to Iraq, having headed the
Kurdish relief programme after the first Gulf war. He is a close friend
of Cheney and Rumsfeld, who co-opted him to work on the extension of
missile defence in space.
Lt Gen Ron Adams
Former commander of the Bosnia
Stabilisation Force, in the first Gulf war he was assistant divisional
commander of the 101st Airborne . He has held the office of Deputy
Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans and was hand-picked by Lt Gen
Jay Garner to be his deputy on the civil reconstruction committee.
Lt Gen John Abizaid
Tommy Franks's second in command at
Central Command in Qatar, Abizaid is the most senior military officer
of Arab descent in the US Army and is currently the director of the
Joint Staff. He served in the first Gulf war as well as in Bosnia. He
will have a significant voice in post-war Iraq.
Maj Gen Bruce Moore and Gen Buck Walters
Moore and Walters, both retired US Army officers, have been hand-picked
by the Pentagon to run the north and south of Iraq respectively.
Walters, a recently retired businessman, originates from President
George W Bush's home state of Texas.
Cap Frederick ŒSkip' Burkle
Burkle is a medical doctor and
the Iraqi team's resident polymath. He has worked for the World Health
Organisation and USAid. This highly decorated Vietnam and Gulf war
veteran will play a key role in the Iraqi health ministry.
Gen Jerry Bates
General Bates will lead the logistical and
administrative support operations for General Garner. He took part in
the military intervention in Haiti . He is senior vice-president of the
National Group, an arm of the MPRI (Military Professionals Resources
Inc), which has been condemned for being a Pentagon-funded mercenary
outfit.
Col George Oliver
A former head of the Army War College's
Peacekeeping Institute and a Pentagon insider, Oliver has trained
Israeli military staff and was a delegate to the United Nations'
military staff committee. He also served as a military adviser to the
US Permanent Representative to the UN.
Col Richard Naab
Naab was the commander of allied forces
during Operation Provide Comfort in the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq
following the first Gulf war and, like Garner, is seen as a friend by
the Kurds. He is also an adviser to the Iraqi Institute for Democracy.
THE POWER-BROKERS
Robert Reilly
Former director of Voice of America, the
pro-US radio service, Reilly has been entrusted with overhauling Iraqi
radio, television and newspapers.
The Bush administration has already given Reilly the green light to
operate Radio Free Iraq. This will involve using transmitters that have
been sent to the Middle East for the military's psychological
operations.
Reilly is closely involved with an American administration plan to
establish a media network in the Middle East. A $62m (£40m) satellite
TV station is scheduled to begin at the end of the year.
He is a very close friend and business partner of Ahmed Chalabi.
Michael Mobbs
Pentagon lawyer and overall civilian co-ordinator who will be in charge of 11 of the ministries.
Mobbs wants US citizens imprisoned indefinitely without charge for
terrorist offences. A notorious hawk and close friend of Richard Perle,
Mobbs also worked for Douglas Feith's law firm.
Currently a Pentagon consultant, he created the legal framework for the
indefinite detention of al-Qaeda suspects at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo
Bay, which was built by Bechtel (see The businesses) for $16m (£10m).
Also a former member of the US arms control agency under former
president Ronald Reagan.
William Eagleton
Like George Shultz, a contemporary of
George Bush Snr. and revered by the right as one the grand old men of
republican foreign policy.
The pair went to Yale together and both served in the Far East during
the second world war. A career diplomat, Eagleton was based in Iraq
between 1980-1984 as Chief of US Interests Section in Baghdad.
His tenure there came at a time when Iraqi use of chemical weapons
against Iran was being studiously ignored by Washington. He is tipped
to be the "Mayor of Kirkuk'', the oil-rich city in northern Iraq, or
Kurdistan.
Andrew Natsios
The head of USAid, United States Agency for
International Development, Natsios is the man who hands out the
post-war reconstruction contracts. Only US companies can bid for these
lucrative deals.
One of the most controversial episodes of his career saw him, as CEO of
the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, oversee the Big Dig construction
project, a three-mile underground highway in Boston, undertaken by
Bechtel. The budget spiralled out of control costing up to $10bn
(£6.3bn) more than it should have, with the largest budget rises under
Natsios's tenure.
A former Massachusetts House of Representatives congressman, he is the
author of a book called US Foreign Policy And The Four Horsemen Of The
Apocalypse and a retired lieutenant colonel from the first Gulf war. He
was also the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party for most of
the 1980s.
Natsios will be assisted by Michael Marx, the head of USAid Disaster
Assistance Response Team (Dart) and a former US army officer. Marx
previously headed the Dart team after the conflict in Afghanistan.
Lewis Lucke, another USAid senior staffer, will oversee the Iraqi
reconstruction process. He headed the USAid mission team in Haiti
alongside Timothy Carney (see grey suits), one of the former US
ambassadors who is now involved in administering Free Iraq. Attempts at
establishing democracy in Haiti have so far failed, with elections
collapsing amid allegations of electoral manipulation and fraud.
George Shultz and Clint Williamson
A Republican heavyweight
and former secretary of state under Nixon, Shultz was Bush Jnr's
presidential campaign adviser. He is also one of the administration's
key thinkers on running post-war Iraq, and on the board of directors at
Bechtel, which is in the running for contracts after regime change.
Like Perle, he has lucrative financial relationships, which bring his
impartiality into question. Shultz is the chairman of the International
Council of JP Morgan Chase, the banking syndicate in which Lewis Libby
(see neo-cons) has heavy investments. Morgan Chase lent Saddam's regime
$500m (£320m) in 1983. Shultz is a member of the Committee for the
Liberation of Iraq and a patron of the American Enterprise Institute.
Perle advised clients of Goldman Sachs, the investment house, on
post-war investment opportunities in Iraq. Perle is also a director of
the software company Autonomy Corp, which has clients including the
Pentagon. Autonomy says it expects its profits to increase dramatically
after the war in Iraq ends.
Clint Williamson, who is expected to head the Iraqi ministry of justice,
appears to be one of the good guys. A former prosecutor at the Hague's
International War Crimes Tribunal, he helped compile evidence against
Slobodan Milosevic. Williamson now works at Condoleezza Rice's National
Security Agency. Williamson appears ideally placed to deal with the
unfolding chaos gripping the nation of Iraq, and is skilled and
seasoned in preparing indictments against war criminals.
John Bolton
A prime architect of Bush's Iraq policy, Bolton
served Bush Snr and Reagan in the state department, justice department
and USAid and is now under-secretary for arms control and international
security in Bush Jnr's state department. His appointment was intended
to counter the dove-ish Colin Powell.
Bolton now leads Rumsfeld's charge to destabilise Powell's
multilateralism. Bolton is part of the Jewish Institute for National
Security Affairs, the Project for the New American Century and is a
vice-president at the American Enterprise Institute. He was also one of
Bush's chad-counters during the Florida count. Bolton has long
advocated Taiwan getting a UN seat -- he's been on the payroll of the
Taiwanese government.
The US unilateralist is a regular contributor to William Kristol's
right-wing Weekly Standard and has vilified UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan. Bolton was an opponent of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and
a cheerleader for the Star Wars Defence System. He has hinted at
targeting Cuba in the war on terror. His financial interests include
oil and arms firms and JP Morgan Chase, like Shultz. It is said that
Bolton believes in the inevitability of Armageddon.
Like Woolsey, Bolton is said to believe we are in the midst of world war
four which he estimates could take 40 years to finish. Despite evidence
to the contrary they believe Iraq was involved in September 11. With
Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Khalilzad, Bennet, Woolsey, Perle and Kristol,
Bolton co-signed a letter in 1998 urging President Bill Clinton to take
military action in Iraq .
THE THINK-TANKS
These are the right-wing foundations and
intellectual powerhouses stuffed with Republican Party hacks which have
successfully influenced Bush's Iraq policy since he took power.
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.
With its
aims of informing Americans of the continued importance of American
security, and of the need for an Israeli "victory'' in the Middle East,
Jinsa places itself firmly on the extreme right wing. It has repeatedly
praised Israel for what it views as "remarkable restraint'' in the face
of a centrally-orchestrated campaign of terror from the Palestinian
authorities, and its ranks include most of Bush's neo-cons. It also
supports both Garner and Chalabi.
The Project for a New American Century.
Founded by the likes
of Rumsfeld and Cheney in 1997 to counter what it viewed as Clinton's
drifting foreign and defence policy, this think-tank would come to form
the nucleus of Team Bush. It has always lobbied for regime change in
Iraq and for America to play a more permanent role in the Middle East.
It also believes American foreign policy to be by definition,
inherently "right''. Many see it as the brains behind a US-controlled
"new world order''.
The American Enterprise Institute.
One of America's biggest
and most-established think-tanks, the American Enterprise Institute has
been pushing its conservative agendas for over 50 years in both foreign
and domestic policy. With 14 of its members in Bush's administration,
it claims to be better represented than any other think tank in the
current administration.
The Bradley Foundation.
During the 15-year tenure of Michael
Joyce heading up this charitable body, the century-old foundation
increased its profile dramatically and can now claim to be cash-rich
and very powerful. It even provided the money needed to set up the
Project for a New American Century. The Republicans love it and some
even call it the patron saint of hawkish causes, thanks to the
considerable amounts of money it doles out to neo-con causes.
THE BUSINESSES
SteveDoring Services Of America
This world-leading Seattle
port company won the first USAid contract for Iraqi reconstruction -- a
$4.8m (£3m) deal to manage Iraq's strategic port, Umm Qasr. Known for
its union-busting activities, it turns over around $1bn (£634m) a year
and its president, John Hemingway, has made personal donations to
Republican Party candidates. SSA's contract has angered the British
government and army, and Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt unsuccessfully
called on Washington to intervene. The British shipping giant P&O
is also angered about missing out and about not being told why they
lost. EU commissioner Chris Patten called the US-exclusive bidding
"exceptionally maladroit''.
Bechtel
Almost certain to win $900m (£573m) in contracts.
The total amount of business from Iraqi reconstruction could total
$100bn (£634m). Bechtel has donated $1.3m (£820,000) to political
campaign funds since 1999, with the majority going to the republican
Party. George Shultz (see power-brokers) is Bechtel's former CEO and is
still on the board of directors. Other Republicans linked to the
company include former Reagan defence secretary Caspar Weinberger.
General Jack Sheehan, retired Marine corp general, is its senior vice
president, he also sits on the Pentagon's influential Defence Policy
Board. In the 1980s Bechtel proposed building an oil pipeline through
Iraq with Rumsfeld as a intermediary for the company to Saddam.
International Resources Group.
The Washington-based company has won a $70m (£44m) contract to establish
the humanitarian aid programme in Iraq. Obviously this involves an
exceptionally close working relationship with USAid, which awards the
contracts. Four of IRG's vice-presidents have all held senior posts
with USAid, and 24 of the firm's 48 technical staff have worked for
USAid. Other players tipped to win contracts include Washington Group
International, bidding for the capital construction job, which gave
$438,700 (£270,000) to the Republicans -- along with a donation to
Bush, and the Louis Berger Group which gave $26,300 to the republicans
and is implementing the USAid Croatia development programme.
Halliburton
This was Dick Cheney's old oil company until he
joined Team Bush, walking out the door with a pay-off worth around $30m
(£19m). There have been deferred payments of $180,000 (£120,000) a
year.
Halliburton's subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, was the first
company to be awarded an Iraqi reconstruction contract by the Pentagon
to cap burning oil wells, the deal is reportedly worth $500m (£320m).
The contract was awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers without any
open competitive bidding process thanks to federal laws allowing the
negotiations to take place in secret in the interests of national
security. KBR has won a string of lucrative contracts despite failing
to control the cost of work in the Balkans and being fined $2m (£1.3m)
following claims of fraud at a military base. KBR is also one of two
contractors chosen by the Defence Threat Reduction Agency to undertake
the disposal of weapons of mass destruction -- if they are ever found.
Since 1999, Halliburton has given 95%, or just under $700,000,
(£448,000) of its political donations to the Republican party. It also
gave George Bush nearly $18,000 (£12,000). KBR has subcontracted some
of the work to two Houston firms -- Wild Wells, and Boots and Coots,
which is close to bankruptcy. Boots and Coots have a capital deficit of
$17m (£11m).
They were recently given a $1m (£634,000) loan from a Panama-registered
investment company, Checkpoint, run by Texas oilmen. It claims Boots
and Coots defaulted and wants it to file for bankruptcy.
Best of the rest
Fluor Corp, which donated $275,000
(£175,000) to the Republicans and $3500 (£2200) personally to George
Bush, has ties to a number of intelligence and defence procurement
officials. These include Kenneth J Oscar, former acting assistant
secretary of the army and Bobby R Inman a retired admiral, former NSA
director and CIA deputy director.
Also in the running is Parsons Corp, which donated $152,000 (£96,000) to
the Republican party and £2000 (£1800) to Bush. It has helped
reconstruct Kosovo and Bosnia and built the Saudi "military city'' of
Yanbu. Bush's labour secretary Elaine Chao served on its board before
joining the cabinet. It has got a chance of $900m (£570m) of
reconstruction contracts and works closely with Halliburton. Chao's
husband, assistant majority leader and majority whip Mitch McConnell
has links to defence contractor Northrop Grumman. He has also received
donations from, among others, Halliburton and arms firm Lockheed Martin
.
California congressman, Darrell Issa, wants firms such as Lucent
Technologies and Qualcomm to rebuild Iraq's decrepit telecoms system --
a deal worth around $1bn (£634m). Pentagon under-secretary, Douglas
Feith, has up to $500,000 (£317,000) invested in Lucent; and Dick
Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, has shares in Qualcomm.
Raytheon Corp alongside KBR is another company apparently chosen by the
Defence Threat Reduction Agency to deal with WMD. Libby also has shares
in this company.
THE DEFENCE PLAYERS
The business players inextricably tied to the reconstructors:
SY Coleman
It is a key company connected to the US Patriot
missile system. The fact that the company is headed by Lt Gen Jay
Garner, the so-called Sheriff of Baghdad, has caused consternation
among both aid agencies and the UN.
Northrop Grumman
One of the biggest winners under Bush's
increases in defence spending, they won $8.5 billion in contracts last
year. It has links with Jinsa and the AEI and key Bush administration
hawks. The company planned a merger with Lockheed Martin, another
defence giant who had Dick Cheney's wife Lynne on the board.
DynCorp
Linked to former CIA director James Woolsey. It
provides security in world trouble spots where America has had to act
as the policeman. Woolsey's DynCorp links tally with his intellectual
inclinations -- both he and Richard Perle sit on the Foundation for the
Defence of Democracy, a pro-military think-tank
The Defence Policy Board
This is the massively influential
Pentagon advisory group, headed by Richard Perle until forced to resign
over a conflict of interests. Currying favour with the DPB is the key
to getting a Pentagon contract. Eight other DPB members have links to
firms that have won defence contracts including Northrop Grumman,
Bechtel and Rand Corp, which is linked to Lewis Libby and Zalmay
Khalilzad. DPB members include General Jack Sheehan, who is connected
to Bechtel, the CIA's James Woolsey and former Republican secretary of
defence James Schlesinger.
THE ARABS
Ahmed Chalabi
Leader of the London-based Iraqi National
Congress (INC), Chalabi's supporters include Paul Wolfowitz and Donald
Rumsfeld, who are pushing for him to be the interim leader of the
post-war Iraq. He is backed by the think-tank Jinsa and linked to the
American Enterprise Institute.
Convicted in absentia in Jordan for his part in an massive embezzlement
scandal, Chalabi received up to $12 million from Washington after the
first Gulf war.
He will be working with Reilly (see power-brokers) on broadcasting and
communications in the new Iraq. Often referred to as "Cheney's
protégé'', he is unpopular in Iraq and loathed by Colin Powell's state
department. He has also fallen out of favour with the CIA, which in the
early 1990s funded the INC to the tune of $325,000 a month. However, in
a recent trip to Israel, organised by Jinsa, he tried to warm up
relations regarding Iraq's post-regime change. Other Iraqis involved in
a future government -- at the behest of Wolfowitz -- include INC
members Salem Chalabi (Chalabi's nephew) and Aras Habib. Habib's
cousin, Dr Ali Yassin Karim, a former medic with the CIA, was nearly
kicked out of the agency but was saved by the CIA's James Woolsey.
Wolfowitz also wants jobs to go to Chalabi's friends Tamara Daghestani
and Goran Talebani.
Zalmay Khalilzad
Afghanistan-born Khalilzad is Bush's
special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq and has a wide variety of oil
interests. He co-wrote an article on Saddam, entitled Overthrow Him,
with Wolfowitz, his former boss. A consultant with the oil company
Unocal, he was pushing for a natural gas pipeline in Afghanistan during
the Taliban regime, and worked under Condoleezza Rice when she served
as director of Chevron. He is also a close associate of George Shultz,
and encouraged Schultz to use Iran to help topple Saddam. He is a
former Rand Corp employee and a charter member of the PNAC.
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