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

["David Quarter" <davidquarter@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

  How does this guy live with himself?



From:                   "Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>


>
> 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."
>