Editor's note: BBC investigative reporter Greg Palast is also the author of the recent bestseller "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," a look at the American political process. He is also one of two journalists who obtained a document from the administration of US President George Bush titled "Moving the Iraqi Economy from Recovery to Sustainable Growth," a confidential report of 101 pages from inside the US State Department and written prior to the invasion of Iraq. It outlines the plan for what it terms "the postconflict economy" and involves the mass privatization of virtually every Iraqi government asset. He decided to grant an interview to the [Baghdad] Bulletin because "you speak to some people in Iraq, and they ought to know what is planned for them."
Same old question: Was oil really the reason for war? The leaked document, which only Palast and a reporter from The Wall Street Journal have managed to obtain, contains plans of "private sector involvement in strategic sectors, including privatization, assets, sales, concessions, leases and management contracts -- especially in the oil and supporting industries." "Said more plainly; it is a plan to sell off the oil fields, the pipelines and the oil infrastructure of Iraq to private business and to turn what is left of Iraq into a freemarket paradise," Palast said. "The plan is obviously made to make it easier for the giant operators that could possibly afford to take over Iraq's oil wealth," he said. Palast's suggestion to what organizations would possibly take over the oil wealth included "two giant American operators, two British and one Russian operation." Needless to say, Palast's theory and the leaked document echoes the European and Middle Eastern claim that the reason to start the war was oil. The document does not only indicate that US is planning to privatize every economically beneficial asset, but also the very backbone of Iraq, its laws. "The plan contains details of how to rewrite Iraq's laws, including the nation's copyright laws, the nation's business regulations laws, taking over the banking sector and includes such strange things as writing for Iraq its application to join the World Trade Organization. On top of that, the plan includes a detailed rewriting of Iraq's tax code," Palast said. The plan in action Quoting the plan, Palast reads: the US government will, through a private contract: "Design fiscal regimes for petroleum, mining and transit pipelines, for para-legislations, implementing regulations and strategies for implementations and identify priorities of revenue tax reform. . If property tax regimes fit tax policy strategy; to provide support for regulation and implementing instructions and procedures and appropriate staffing and training of taxing personnel." Interestingly, the document also outlines plans to use the World Economic Forum, rather than the World Bank, which is designed for postwar reconstruction. The World Economic Forum is a private organization, controlled by multinational corporations with no experience or authority to take over a nation's economy. "By eliminating the World Bank, they indicate that there is no time for the World Bank's indirect methods. The grab for the assets has to be done before a government is elected, which would stop it -- any government is going to want to maintain some Iraqi ownership over Iraqi resources, which is not in the plan. It is a deliberate go-around around the World Bank." Though Palast himself is one of the most well-known critics of the World Bank, he said that: "Compared to Paul Bremer and the World Economic Forum, the World Bank is a wonderful agency. That is how bad this is." Complete article: http://www.baghdadbulletin.com/pageArticle.php?article_id=146&cat_id=1&PHPSE SSID=109971372ea5f9fa0bd3056d5a82f862
