Put this in your Halliburton and smoke it.
Since we’ve discussed effective military strategy and the body count listed to the right of these entries is steadily rising, let’s move on to a much more important subject. That would be the rebuilding of Iraq after we’ve turned parts of it into smaller and smaller parts of rubble.
It’s a big issue. I mean, let’s take a look at Afghanistan. Here’s a country that had not even started rebuiliding from being bombed into the Stone Age by Russia before we started dropping bombs and turned their Stone Age to gravel. Now, we’re occasionally sweeping the fields for more terrorists while humanitarian aide trickles into the country – and the new government (that currently has our support) is shaping up to be even worse than the Taliban (whom we supported until they helped launch attacks against us).
So what awaits Iraq? A country that has never known humanitarian aide (aside from the U.N.’s multiple programs designed to help the civilians who had been hurt by trade sanctions, not to mention hurt by bombings and military actions). Well, that’s an interesting question. One that Molly Ivins has had a lot of fun answering for us.
Notice how there are countries out there who are not supporting any attempt to put the U.S. in charge of the rebuilding of Iraq? It’s not people just being contrary or not liking America. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the U.S. likes to sell things off in order to save them. And that’s exactly what the current Bush administration plans to do to rebuild Iraq. After all – our American corporations are doing such a great job rebuilding our flagging economy. We can surely depend on the economic friends of such sterling companies as Enron and its cronies.
Remember Bush saying that the oil wells belonged to the Iraqi people? And that they would be important to the rebuilding of Iraq? Well, how else is Halliburton supposed to justify accepting a government contract to its stockholders?
Yes, Halliburton – former corporate hideout of Dick Cheney – has been invited to bid on a reconstruction contract. That’s right. Invited. As in, these contracts are not open to public bid. They’re an “invitation only” affair.
It’s the benefit of being a wealthy, corporate sponsor of the Republican administration.