'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

War Profiteering Hall of Infamy

"One well-stocked 7-11 could knock out 30 Iraqi stores; a WalMart could take over the country," exults one of the partners in New Bridge Strategies in a good round-up article in yesterday's Washington Post.

NBS is the "consulting" firm hastily put together by well-connected Republican lobbyists. Their website promises that:

The opportunities evolving in Iraq today are of such an unprecedented nature and scope that no other existing firm has the necessary skills and experience to be effective both in the United States and on the ground in Iraq.

Well, as I said in the handy how-to guide I put into a post here a few days ago, on how to run a successful colonial empire, Step 2 included: "Pauperize the 'native' population as fast as you can by destroying their 'native' economy."

Seems NBS is doing well, following my simple 5-step program. I think "knocking out 30 Iraqi stores" for each 7-11 foisted onto the native population would count as part of Step 2, don't you?

The WP piece, by Thomas B. Edsall and Juliet Eilperin, notes that many NSB principals are also involved in a security company called Diligence -Iraq that provides physical protection for "companies and for corporate leaders visiting the country." Amazing, Diligence is already reporting turning a profit...

How does that work again?

The general state of insecurity in public spaces throughout much of the country is so grave that women dare not go out of their homes for fear of being abducted, raped, or otherwise harrassed. Much of the country's public space is still like the OK-Corrall. Under the Geneva Conventions, the "occupying power"-- that is, the aptly named USUK coalition--has the responsibility for ensuring public order... But the Bush administration, which is so hand-in-glove with all these people in NSB and Diligence, decided it could get along with "occupation lite" and didn't put nearly enough boots on the ground to meet their obligations re public security...

So in steps "Diligence"! Does it provide pro-bono services so that Iraqi women can go to school, to their jobs, or to the market? You gotta be kidding! They provide highly-priced services to corporate exex who are eager to visit to go and scout out prospects for those 7-11s and those WalMarts...

So there are two nominations for the Hall of Infamy. Paul Krugman, in one of his recent, excellent columns in the NYT, recalled that when the Truman Administration set aside some very huge amounts of $$ to invest in the Marshall Plan in Europe, he was at great pains to ensure that there was no possibility of political favoritism being employed in the awarding of the contracts. (Plus, I seem to recall, much of the thrust then was to empower European companies to pull themselves back together and do much of the work.)

Well, that was then and now is now. It's sick, it's disgusting, and it signals a massive collapse in public morals in this country.