Sunday September 28, 2003 at 4:59 PM
Opportunites Abound in the Iraqi Desert
Appearing in Politics
There’s little doubt that war profiteers have been with us as long as war itself. Likewise, there’s little doubt that those same profiteers have never been shy about exploiting their political connections. In the past however, those who would partake of such morally questionable activities at least had the decency to conduct their business in the back rooms of power, far from the public view. Emboldened by a truly historic string of successes however, such individuals have recently come into the daylight, proudly advertising and promoting their unique exploitative abilities.
To wit, in response to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Joe M. Allbaugh has started a new consulting firm, New Bridge Strategies. According to their web site, New Bridge was “created specifically with the aim of assisting clients to evaluate and take advantage of business opportunities in the Middle East following the conclusion of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.”
Although one might like to think of Mr. Allbaugh as an enterprising entrepreneur in the great capitalist tradition, the political cronyism present throughout his career makes such a conclusion hopelessly naive. Preceding his founding of New Bridge, Mr. Allbaugh served as the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under President George Bush and before that, the Chief of Staff to then-Governor Bush of Texas as well as the National Campaign Manager for the Bush-Cheney 2000 presidential campaign. In other words, Mr. Albaugh is just the guy to make sure you get your piece of that +$20 billion Iraqi reconstruction package.
Of course Mr. Allbaugh is just the top dog in the pack. The rest of New Bridge’s executives have similar connections into the Oval Office and apparently no hesitation in exploiting them for personal gain.
And if all that wasn’t reason enough for concern, consider this quote from their site, “[the company’s] activities will seek to expedite the creation of free and fair markets and new economic growth in Iraq, consistent with the policies of the Bush Administration.”
Did I miss something? Is the Bush Administration in charge of Iraq now? I thought the United States of America was the sovereign power overseeing Iraq’s reconstruction. Do you get the sense that Iraq may not be the only country occupied by the Bush Administration?
Comments
I love it when I beat the NY Times to the punch. Today's issue includes a story by Douglas Jehl entitled, "Washington Insiders' New Firm Consults on Contracts in Iraq". The story begins:
"A group of businessmen linked by their close ties to President Bush, his family and his administration have set up a consulting firm to advise companies that want to do business in Iraq, including those seeking pieces of taxpayer-financed reconstruction projects."
In the same edition, op-ed writer Paul Krugman discusses the issue of cronyism in his piece "Who's Sordid Now?" Krugman's piece discusses New Bridge along with a variety of other questionable contracts related to the Iraqi reconstruction. To quote Krugman:
"Iraq's reconstruction, by contrast, remains firmly under White House control. And this is an administration of, by and for crony capitalists; to match this White House's blithe lack of concern about conflicts of interest, you have to go back to the Harding administration. That giant, no-bid contract given to Halliburton, the company that made Dick Cheney rich, was just what you'd expect."
It's good to see these things being brought into the light.
Posted by: Bob Baxley on Sun Sep 28, 03