America Inc. Carves Up Spoils of War
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- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 10:48:46 +0100
Carving Up The New Iraq
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 ?Skip? 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.
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.
Source: Sunday Herald
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