It wasn't just about the oil... [Part II]

["Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I now learn that the New York Times is reporting the same story, but with a
different twist:

SHUMEH, Jordan, June 22 ? L. Paul Bremer III, the chief United States
administrator in Iraq, vowed today to dismantle that country's state-run
economy by selling off government-owned companies and writing new laws to
encourage foreign investment.

Taken together, Mr. Bremer's comments amounted to a blueprint for turning
Iraq into a Middle East model of free trade and deregulation.

He made it clear that he wanted to start privatizing more than 40
government-owned companies that make products ranging from packaged foods to
steel. Many of those companies, he acknowledged, would not be able to
survive in the face of real competition.

"A fundamental component of this process will be to force state-owned
enterprises to face hard budget constraints by reducing subsidies and
special deals," he said. "Iraq will no doubt find that opening its borders
to trade and investment will increase competitive pressure on its domestic
firms and thereby raise productivity."

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