[Llewellyn] Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland. "The people need this kind of positive influence. It’s going to have a huge psychological impact," Mr Werner said.
(more after the fold.)
From the Times UK online:
The 50-acre (20 hectare) swath of land sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses Baghdad’s existing zoo, which was looted, left without power and abandoned after the American-led invasion in 2003. Only 35 of 700 animals survived – some starved, some were stolen and some were killed by Iraqis fearing food shortages.
In other words, an American company is now in charge the land that was Baghdad’s zoo, along with the surrounding Al-Zawra park. Another lovely example of what once belonged to Iraqis being sold off and privatized.
Mr Werner, who has been sold a 50-year lease on the site by the Mayor of Baghdad for an undisclosed sum, says that the time is ripe for the amusement park. "I think people will embrace it. They’ll see it as an opportunity for their children regardless if they’re Shia or Sunni. They’ll say their kids deserve a place to play and they’ll leave it alone."
An undisclosed sum, a 50 year lease. Yes, Mr. Werner, I’m sure that this shining example of western decadence by the hated American occupation will be embraced, and that the various insurgents will just leave it alone. By the way, have you ever heard of the Brooklyn Bridge? Well have I got a deal for you!
After Shock and Awe, Paul Bremer was tasked with the Iraq Extreme Makeover project. One of the first changes was to shut down over 200 state-run factories which produced everything from cement to washing machines. The neo-con plan was that with all of the "restrictions" on business now removed, investors would flock like mad to Iraq and these industries would soon be privately run, profitable and efficient. Unfortunately the investors never came. People with that kind of wealth inside Iraq would have been part of Saddam Hussein’s loyalists. Investors from the outside weren’t going to put a penny down until conditions stabilized, and because the industrial base had just been shattered with the swoop of a pen, leaving thousands without any means to support themselves, stability was not happening.
But the Iraqi government seems to have found a mark in Mr. Werner. It is as if he has never heard of the occuapation, the mass exodus of refugees or the fighting in Sadr City. His simplistic optimism, displayed in the Times article, is astonishing, as is his open, unabashed greed:
Under the terms of the lease, Mr Werner will retain exclusive rights to housing and hotel developments, which he says will be both culturally sensitive and enormously profitable. "I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t making money," he said. "I also have this wonderful sense that we’re doing the right thing – we’re going to employ thousands of Iraqis. But mostly everything here is for profit."
Mr. Werner, did anyone happen to mention to you that electricity in Baghdad is only available for a few hours a day, and those are the good days?
How about the problems with running water and plumbing, did they talk to you about that minor issue?
Or about the fact that there aren’t enough schools left standing to accommodate all of the children?
So what does the Iraqi government have to say about it?
Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Government, is equally optimistic: "There is a shortage of entertainment in the city. Cinemas can’t open. Playgrounds can’t open. The fun park is badly needed for Baghdad. Children don’t have any opportunities to enjoy their childhood." Mr al-Dabbagh added that entry to the park would be strictly controlled.
Not much else to say, is there?