Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Done, gone. who wrote (507089)	12/10/2003 9:49:18 AM
From: PROLIFE	Respond to of 769667

that's good news.

To: Done, gone. who wrote (507089)	12/10/2003 9:50:28 AM
From: Done, gone.	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 769667

“We don’t do body counts” -- General Tommy Franks, US Central Command iraqbodycount.net

To: Done, gone. who wrote (507089)	12/10/2003 10:59:07 AM
From: Done, gone.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

Critics blast Iraq contract ban Countries set to be excluded from billion-dollar reconstruction contracts in Iraq have questioned the logic of a formal ban being imposed by the US. Old US allies and Russia stand to lose lucrative contracts because they opposed the US-led war. France said it was studying the ban's legality and Canada, a substantial donor, said it would be hard to justify giving further funds for rebuilding. The German Government said that such a ban was "unacceptable". Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said Moscow did not intend to write off Iraq's $8bn debt - despite earlier statements by Russian officials that they could consider restructuring the debt. The 26 prime contracts in Iraq are worth $18.6bn and cover areas such as oil, power, communications, water, housing and public works centres. It would not correspond... to the spirit of what we have agreed together, which is about looking together toward the future and not the past Bela Anda German Government spokesman US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said in a policy document revealed on Tuesday that the contracts were being restricted in order to protect America's "essential security interests". Prime contracts would, he said, be limited to companies from "the United States, Iraq, coalition partners and force-contributing nations". The French foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it was studying the ban to see if it was in line with international competition law. In Canada, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley suggested that such a ban would make it difficult for his country to give further money for Iraqi rebuilding. "To exclude Canadians just because they are Canadians would be unacceptable if they accept funds from Canadian taxpayers for the reconstruction of Iraq," he said. According to a spokesman for Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Canada has to date contributed more than $190m to the reconstruction effort. British officials said London believed in open bidding for contracts, with as much attention given to Iraqi contractors as possible. Officials refused to criticise the US position - but our world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says that there has been a difference of view between the US and UK for some time. Our correspondent says the US and Britain plan to go back to the UN Security Council in the spring for a new resolution to get the UN involved in supporting the transitional Iraqi government due to take office by the end of June. Compromise A spokesman for the German Government said that if reports of the US ban were confirmed, it would be "unacceptable". GUIDE TO IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION 26 contracts worth $18.6bn, including: Water services Power generation Oil infrastructure New Iraq army equipment "It would not correspond either to the spirit of what we have agreed together, which is about looking together toward the future and not the past," said Bela Anda. At the German foreign ministry, Karsten Voigt, coordinator for German-American relations, said he could not see how involving companies from Germany and other opponents of the war would damage America's security interests. "To say... it is in the security interests of the US not to give contracts to German companies... [is] a little bit strange," he told the BBC's World Today programme. Echoing the Canadian deputy prime minister, Mr Voigt added that the US decision would make it harder to persuade Germany to give more humanitarian aid and technical assistance for Iraqi reconstruction. One MP from France's governing party who spoke to the BBC's World Update programme suggested some compromise was possible by involving Nato as a whole in Iraq. "That could be a way for French companies to be [involved]," said Herve Mariton of the Union for Popular Movement. War allies rewarded Mr Wolfowitz said he hoped that excluded firms would press their governments to join the post-war effort. "Limiting competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international co-operation in Iraq and future efforts," he wrote in a notice on the website www.rebuilding-iraq.net. The US ban will appease countries such as Britain, Italy and Spain, which provided troops to Iraq but whose companies were excluded from the first round of deals that went to US firms. The biggest contractor in Iraq is Bechtel, the American construction firm that has an estimated $1bn contract to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. The other major US contractor is Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of the oilfield services company Halliburton. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk Published: 2003/12/10 15:27:07 GMT © BBC MMIII