Josh White provides the Reason why American Involvement in Iraq will fail in this article. I refer to failure because that is what it will be, and probably a failure as extreme as Vietnam, though the Exit may, or may not, be as dramatic. The underlying Cause behind the expected Downfall resides in the original Bremer’s 100 Orders, where the avarice of American Multinationals was sanctified into Iraqi law. A closer look at the circumstances will be a Revelation.
Order No. 1 threw the Top Rank of Iraqi Civil Servants out of Power. This Management Class was tough, experienced, and had little Control over Iraqi Security forces. They had maintained the Iraqi economy, though, through two Wars and years of Sanctions placed upon Iraq. They literally knew where the bodies were buried, and where the Weapons were stored. They knew exactly how the Iraqi economy ran, and who had to be reached to accomplish any economic decision. Bremer, by issuance of Order No. 1, assured that the Iraqi Resistence would be excellently staffed by skilled Administrators, and that Those effectively able to run the Iraqi economy would be living comfortably somewhere Overseas.
Order No. 39, as pointed out by White, completed the destruction of Competition for American Business interests. The American Occupation assured that the foreign Competition could not get a Presence on the Ground to assess the Costs of fulfillment of Contracts. Iraqi Contractors, because of all Bremer’s Orders, were convicted of complicity with the Saddam regime if they simply made Kickbacks to the regime; a necessary compliance to keep the Security police from knocking on your door under Saddam. Order No. 39 simply assured any new entrepreneurs would not be given any advantage, with disadvantage of receiving mandatory American Security clearance prior to bidding Contracts. American multinationals were free to charge outrageous Costs for Services which could have been supplied with Native labor at One-Tenth the Price. lgl
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