Over on AlterNet, the ever-insightful Joshua Holland gives us a good look at how the Repubs lip-service to "free market" economics plays out in Iraq. In short, it plays out pretty much like it does at home, only even more so.
As Mr. Holland points out:
If you were to gather together the finest, most creative minds and ask them to come up with a plan to outsource the reconstruction of Iraq that would guarantee shoddy work, overcharges, unfinished projects and overt graft, they would probably devise a system very similar to what U.S. taxpayers have enjoyed -- to the tune of about $30 billion -- for the past three years.
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The reconstruction of Iraq has become a boondoggle of historic proportions, but make no mistake: It's a boondoggle by design.
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It's clear to anyone who has a basic understanding of both economics and US corporations that an honestly "free market" is the last thing corporatists want. Their rhetoric
sounds great, both because it still echoes with anti-communism and because there's a heavily-implied promise of class mobility. Most corporatists would probably starve in a real free market, but it's great PR.
How does a good Republican administration justify trashing the free market's competitive spirit when they spend so much time kowtowing to its wonders? They simply redefine "competition" ...
Competition, in this case, means that only those "qualified" get the contracts. "Qualified" in this case pretty much boils down to supporting the Admin and having good political connects, and any other specifications are designed to fit the thus-qualified subset of corporations that are targetted for the funds.
Actually fulfilling the contract is often optional. The so-called IQID contract ("Indefinite Quantity Indefinite Delivery") often allows the contractors to get paid without finishing the job.
Parsons, a firm that's worked in the Middle East for years, was contracted to build 150 primary health clinics (PHCs) in Iraq, a project the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Stuart Bowden, called "the most important program in the [country's] health sector."
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The inspector general noted that, while all the money had been paid, the remaining PHCs are half-built, and the equipment for all 150 clinics was delivered and is now sitting in a warehouse in Baghdad with questionable security. But there's no penalty built into the contract for unfinished work. The 130 half-finished clinics will simply be removed from the contract
And oversight? Of course there's oversight!
Some of the very few members of Congress who are troubled by all this released a report that points to the cherry on the sundae: In addition to hiring contractors to write the terms of future contracts -- which they're then allowed to bid on -- the government is now hiring war profiteers to oversee the performance of their fellow contractors, including firms that they've partnered with on past projects. [emphasis added]
And the Iraqis aren't stupid. They've noticed the gap between rhetoric and reality.
The inspector general says a "reconstruction gap" has developed between Iraqis' (and Americans') expectations and what's really getting done.
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It would be overstating the case to say that the reconstruction mess led directly to the insurgency, but it sure hasn't helped win any hearts and minds.