Defective. Cost: $189,449.00
"Next week, something will happen that will unmask the upside-down morality of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. On October 21, Iraq will pay $200m in war reparations to some of the richest countries and corporations in the world." ... "Here is a small sample of who has been getting 'reparation' awards from Iraq: Halliburton ($18m), Bechtel ($7m), Mobil ($2.3m), Shell ($1.6m), Nestlé ($2.6m), Pepsi ($3.8m), Philip Morris ($1.3m), Sheraton ($11m), Kentucky Fried Chicken ($321,000) and Toys R Us ($189,449)."
Source: Naomi Klein | Why is Iraq Giving $190,000 to Toys R Us?
Note Thanks to Norm Jenson for linking to the above pointer to ongoing and pervasive U.S. economic and political malfeasance in the New Iraq. Naomi Klein has written extensively of it from Baghdad and provides a broad but thorough overview of the criminal palm-greasing, carpetbagging, and savage pecuniary barbarity of the suits guiding and profiting from this illegal invasion and deadly occupation. The following two articles, from The Nation and Harpers, highlighting the depravity of corporate America and its dollar-driven, globalisation-espousing political frontmen (all the usual suspects), are essential reading.
The Greedheads
"That autumn was awash in 'rebuilding Iraq' trade shows, in Washington, London, Madrid, and Amman. The Economist described Iraq under Bremer as 'a capitalist dream,' and a flurry of new consulting firms were launched promising to help companies get access to the Iraqi market, their boards of directors stacked with well-connected Republicans. The most prominent was New Bridge Strategies, started by Joe Allbaugh, former Bush-Cheney campaign manager. 'Getting the rights to distribute Procter & Gamble products can be a gold mine,' one of the company’s partners enthused. 'One well-stocked 7-Eleven could knock out thirty Iraqi stores; a Wal-Mart could take over the country.'"
Source: Naomi Klein | Baghdad Year Zero
The Deal Makers
"A case can certainly be made that James Baker and Madeleine Albright have had more direct influence over Iraq's debts and reparations payments than any politicians outside Iraq, with the possible exception of the forty-first and forty-third Presidents of the United States.
"As Secretary of State, Baker played a role in running up Iraq's foreign debts in the first place, personally intervening in 1989 to secure a $1 billion US loan to Saddam Hussein in export credits. He was also a key architect of the first Gulf War, as well as of the cease-fire that required Saddam to pay such sweeping reparations. In his 1995 memoirs, The Politics of Diplomacy, Baker wrote that after seeing the oil-well fires in Kuwait he cabled President George H.W. Bush and said, 'Iraq should pay for it.' Now, through the consortium, Carlyle could end up controlling $1 billion of those payments."
Source: Naomi Klein | James Baker's Double Life
"The main proposal would transfer ownership of $57bn in unpaid Iraqi debts. The debts would be assigned to a foundation created and controlled by a consortium in which the key players are the Carlyle Group, the Albright Group (headed by another former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright) and several other well-connected firms.
"Under the deal, Kuwait would also give the consortium $2bn to invest in a private equity fund devised by the consortium, with half of that going to Carlyle.
"The consortium would then use its personal connections to persuade world leaders that Iraq must 'maximize' its reparation payments to Kuwait. The more the consortium gets Iraq to pay over a period, the more Kuwait collects, with the consortium taking a 5% commission or more. The goal of maximizing Iraq's debt payments directly contradicts the stated US foreign policy aim of drastically reducing Iraq's debt burden."
Source: Naomi Klein | Bush special envoy embroiled in controversy over Iraq debt
Carlyle backs out
"The Carlyle Group, a large investment firm linked to US and British politicians, has pulled out of a scheme to recover billions of dollars from Iraq [for Kuwait], following the publication in the Guardian this week of documents detailing the secret proposals of a consortium with which it was involved. ... A Carlyle partner, former US secretary of state James Baker, has been accused of a conflict of interest, because he has been touring the world demanding debt relief on behalf of President Bush, while his firm had a private interest in doing a special deal with Kuwait. ... Documents from the consortium describe Carlyle's chairman, former US defence secretary Frank Carlucci, as the man who 'played a convening and guiding role on behalf of Carlyle'."
Source: Guardian Unlimited | Carlyle pulls out of Iraq debt recovery consortium
Additional Material
Guardian Unlimited | Read the James Baker documents [contains pdf files]
