U.S. Rejects Criticism on Awarding of Iraq Contracts

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

My Xxx, for once I agree with the Administrartion

------ Forwarded Message
From: dave () farber net
Reply-To: dave () farber net
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 17:22:51 -0500 (EST)
To: dave () farber net
Subject: NYTimes.com Article: U.S. Rejects Criticism on Awarding of Iraq
Contracts

This article from NYTimes.com
has been sent to you by dave () farber net.



U.S. Rejects Criticism on Awarding of Iraq Contracts

March 27, 2003 


By BRIAN KNOWLTON 
International Herald Tribune




 

WASHINGTON, March 27 - An American official has strongly
rejected European complaints that the United States was
unfairly awarding contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq
to American companies. The overriding United States
objective, he said today, was to provide the quickest
possible relief to the Iraqi people.

The official, Alan Larson, an under secretary of state,
said he was "surprised" by suggestions from European
companies and officials that the United States was unfairly
guarding the spoils of a highly controversial war by
awarding the first big reconstruction contracts to American
companies. 

But with estimates that reconstruction costs could
eventually total tens of billions of dollars, the debate,
featuring angry European suggestions of United States
arrogance and cronyism, is hardly academic.

American policy in awarding contracts, Mr. Larson said
after a meeting in Brussels with European Union officials,
"was about getting aid quickly and not about who will gain
in reconstruction," Reuters reported.

Mr. Larson said that giving American companies first-line
responsibilities was simply a matter of efficiency - "the
responsible thing to do," he said. Electricity supplies had
to be restored, ports opened, and safe water provided as
quickly as possible.

But European critics complain that the United States is
favoring politically well-connected American companies, and
looking to Iraq, in the word of one European government
spokesman, as a "protectorate."

The Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday that it had
granted the primary contract for extinguishing oil-well
fires in southern Iraq to a subsidiary of Halliburton, the
Houston-based company where Vice President Dick Cheney was
once the chief executive. (The value of the contract is
tied to how many fires have to be put out.)

Two other contracts, worth a total of nearly $12 million,
also went to United States companies. And other contracts,
worth several hundred million dollars, are soon to be
announced. They cover reconstruction or repairs to five
airports, railroads, schools, hospitals, irrigation systems
and other facilities.

Some of the companies best-placed to win contracts are, in
fact, among the politically best-connected in Washington:
the Fluor Corporation, which has ties to former Pentagon
procurement officials; the Bechtel Group, whose officials
include former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and
other former Republican cabinet members; and Halliburton,
where Mr. Cheney was chief executive from 1995 to 2000.

Company officials point out, however, that they are among
the few with extensive experience in the sort of difficult
and specialized work they seek.

Many in Europe found a comment Wednesday by Secretary of
State Colin L. Powell particularly rankling. He told
Congress, "We didn't take on this huge burden with our
coalition partners not to be able to have a significant
dominating control over how it unfolds."

Christos Protopapas, a Greek government spokesman,
responded tartly: "Iraq is not the protectorate of anyone
else. It does not belong to some who think they can manage
it as they like." 

Britain, the second-largest contributor of forces to the
United States-led coalition, also wants better treatment
for its companies in the bidding process.

British officials have lobbied the United States Agency for
International Development on behalf of the approximately
100 British companies that have registered an interest in
working in Iraq with a government trade-promoting agency,
Trade Partners U.K., Bloomberg News reported.

The American aid agency has said that "non-American firms
are not `excluded' from the U.S. government's procurement
process," but that for some early projects "we had a
sufficient number of American firms to compete." Bid
winners can select subcontractors from any country not on
the United States list of countries with terrorist links.

The aid agency has awarded a $7.1 million contract to the
Washington-based International Resources Group to provide
technical expertise, and a $4.8 million contract to
Seattle-based Stevedoring Services of America to manage Umm
Qasr, the Iraqi seaport, through which the bulk of
humanitarian aid is expected to flow.

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation, the largest
British sea-freight company, had vied unsuccessfully for
the latter contract.

As part of a nearly $75 billion emergency funding request
for the war and its aftermath, President Bush has asked
Congress for $8 billion to rebuild Iraq and help
neighboring countries.

Mr. Larson, who was in Brussels for regular European
Union-United States contacts, emphasized that the sides had
agreed on the need to fund humanitarian aid for Iraq.

He said that he hoped the United States and the European
Union would come together in rebuilding Iraq, following the
"pattern of cooperation" in postwar Afghanistan.

Asked about another hotly debated issue - who will manage
the enormous Iraqi oil reserves after the war - Mr. Larson
said that "it will be up to the new Iraqi government to
decide how to exploit this great resource."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/27/international/worldspecial/27CND-AWARD.htm
l?ex=1049803771&ei=1&en=36fa87b19b997358



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters
or other creative advertising opportunities with The
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales () nytimes com or visit our online media
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to
help () nytimes com.  

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company


------ End of Forwarded Message

-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com
To manage your subscription, go to
  http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/