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THE THINK-TANKS 

These are the right-wing foundations and intellectual powerhouses 
stuffed with Republican Party hacks which have successfully influenced 
Bush's Iraq policy since he took power.  

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

With its aims of informing Americans of the continued importance of 
American security, and of the need for an Israeli "victory" in the 
Middle East, Jinsa places itself firmly on the extreme right wing. 
It has repeatedly praised Israel for what it views as "remarkable 
restraint" in the face of a centrally-orchestrated campaign of terror 
from the Palestinian authorities, and its ranks include most of Bush's 
neo-cons. It also supports both Garner and Chalabi.  

The Project for a New American Century.

Founded by the likes of Rumsfeld and Cheney in 1997 to counter what it 
viewed as Clinton's drifting foreign and defence policy, this think-tank 
would come to form the nucleus of Team Bush. It has always lobbied for 
regime change in Iraq and for America to play a more permanent role in 
the Middle East. It also believes American foreign policy to be by 
definition, inherently "right". Many see it as the brains behind a 
US-controlled "new world order".  

The American Enterprise Institute.

One of America's biggest and most-established think-tanks, the 
American Enterprise Institute has been pushing its conservative 
agendas for over 50 years in both foreign and domestic policy. 
With 14 of its members in Bush's administration, it claims to be 
better represented than any other think tank in the current 
administration.  

The Bradley Foundation.

During the 15-year tenure of Michael Joyce heading up this charitable 
body, the century-old foundation increased its profile dramatically and 
can now claim to be cash-rich and very powerful. It even provided the 
money needed to set up the Project for a New American Century. The 
Republicans love it and some even call it the patron saint of hawkish 
causes, thanks to the considerable amounts of money it doles out to 
neo-con causes.  

THE BUSINESSES

Stevedoring Services Of America

This world-leading Seattle port company won the first USAid contract 
for Iraqi reconstruction - a $4.8m (u3m) deal to manage Iraq's strategic 
port, Umm Qasr. Known for its union-busting activities, it turns over 
around $1bn (u634m) a year and its president, John Hemingway, has 
made personal donations to Republican Party candidates. SSA's 
contract has angered the British government and army, and Trade 
Secretary Patricia Hewitt unsuccessfully called on Washington to 
intervene. The British shipping giant P&O is also angered about 
missing out and about not being told why they lost. EU commissioner 
Chris Patten called the US-exclusive bidding "exceptionally maladroit".  

Bechtel

Almost certain to win $900m (u573m) in contracts. The total amount of 
business from Iraqi reconstruction could total $100bn (u634m). Bechtel 
has donated $1.3m (u820,000) to political campaign funds since 1999, 
with the majority going to the republican Party. George Shultz (see 
power- brokers) is Bechtel's former CEO and is still on the board of 
directors. Other Republicans linked to the company include former 
Reagan defence secretary Caspar Weinberger. General Jack Sheehan, 
retired Marine corp general, is its senior vice president, he also 
sits on the Pentagon's influential Defence Policy Board. In the 1980s 
Bechtel proposed building an oil pipeline through Iraq with Rumsfeld 
as a intermediary for the company to Saddam.  

International Resources Group

The Washington-based company has won a $70m ([UKP]44m) contract to 
establish the humanitarian aid programme in Iraq. Obviously this 
involves an exceptionally close working relationship with USAid, 
which awards the contracts. Four of IRG's vice-presidents have all 
held senior posts with USAid, and 24 of the firm's 48 technical 
staff have worked for USAid.  

Other players tipped to win contracts include Washington Group 
International, bidding for the capital construction job, which gave 
$438,700 ([UKP]270,000) to the Republicans - along with a donation 
to Bush, and the Louis Berger Group which gave $26,300 to the 
republicans and is implementing the USAid Croatia development 
programme.  

Halliburton

This was Dick Cheney's old oil company until he joined Team Bush, 
walking out the door with a pay-off worth around $30m ([UKP]19m). 
There have been deferred payments of $180,000 ([UKP]120,000) a year.  

Halliburton's subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, was the first company 
to be awarded an Iraqi reconstruction contract by the Pentagon to cap 
burning oil wells, the deal is reportedly worth $500m ([UKP]320m). 
The contract was awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers without any 
open competitive bidding process thanks to federal laws allowing the 
negotiations to take place in secret in the interests of national 
security. KBR has won a string of lucrative contracts despite failing 
to control the cost of work in the Balkans and being fined $2m 
([UKP]1.3m) following claims of fraud at a military base. KBR is 
also one of two contractors chosen by the Defence Threat Reduction 
Agency to undertake the disposal of weapons of mass destruction - if 
they are ever found. Since 1999, Halliburton has given 95%, or just 
under $700,000, ([UKP]448,000) of its political donations to the 
Republican party. It also gave George Bush nearly $18,000 ([UKP]12,000). 
KBR has subcontracted some of the work to two Houston firms - Wild Wells, 
and Boots and Coots, which is close to bankruptcy. Boots and Coots have 
a capital deficit of $17m ([UKP]11m).  

They were recently given a $1m ([UKP]634,000) loan from a 
Panama-registered investment company, Checkpoint, run by Texas 
oilmen. It claims Boots and Coots defaulted and wants it to file 
for bankruptcy.  

Best of the rest

Fluor Corp, which donated $275,000 (u175,000) to the Republicans and 
$3500 ([UKP]2200) personally to George Bush, has ties to a number of 
intelligence and defence procurement officials. These include Kenneth 
J Oscar, former acting assistant secretary of the army and Bobby R 
Inman a retired admiral, former NSA director and CIA deputy director.  

Also in the running is Parsons Corp, which donated $152,000 ([UKP]96,000) 
to the Republican party and $2000 ([UKP]1800) to Bush. It has helped 
reconstruct Kosovo and Bosnia and built the Saudi "military city" of 
Yanbu. Bush's labour secretary Elaine Chao served on its board before 
joining the cabinet. It has got a chance of $900m ([UKP]570m) of 
reconstruction contracts and works closely with Halliburton. Chao's 
husband, assistant majority leader and majority whip Mitch McConnell 
has links to defence contractor Northrop Grumman. He has also 
received donations from, among others, Halliburton and arms firm 
Lockheed Martin .  

California congressman, Darrell Issa, wants firms such as Lucent 
Technologies and Qualcomm to rebuild Iraq's decrepit telecoms system 
- a deal worth around $1bn ([UKP]634m). Pentagon under-secretary, 
Douglas Feith, has up to $500,000 ([UKP]317,000) invested in Lucent; 
and Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, has shares in Qualcomm.  

Raytheon Corp alongside KBR is another company apparently chosen 
by the Defence Threat Reduction Agency to deal with WMD. Libby also 
has shares in this company.  

THE DEFENCE PLAYERS

The business players inextricably tied to the reconstructors:

SY Coleman

It is a key company connected to the US Patriot missile system. The 
fact that the company is headed by Lt Gen Jay Garner, the so-called 
Sheriff of Baghdad, has caused consternation among both aid agencies 
and the UN.  

Northrop Grumman

One of the biggest winners under Bush's increases in defence spending, 
they won $8.5 billion in contracts last year. It has links with Jinsa 
and the AEI and key Bush administration hawks. The company planned a 
merger with Lockheed Martin, another defence giant who had Dick Cheney's 
wife Lynne on the board.  

DynCorp

Linked to former CIA director James Woolsey. It provides security 
in world trouble spots where America has had to act as the policeman. 
Woolsey's DynCorp links tally with his intellectual inclinations - both 
he and Richard Perle sit on the Foundation for the Defence of Democracy, 
a pro-military think-tank  

The Defence Policy Board

This is the massively influential Pentagon advisory group, headed by 
Richard Perle until forced to resign over a conflict of interests. 
Currying favour with the DPB is the key to getting a Pentagon contract. 
Eight other DPB members have links to firms that have won defence 
contracts including Northrop Grumman, Bechtel and Rand Corp, which 
is linked to Lewis Libby and Zalmay Khalilzad. DPB members include 
General Jack Sheehan, who is connected to Bechtel, the CIA's James 
Woolsey and former Republican secretary of defence James Schlesinger.  

THE ARABS

Ahmed Chalabi

Leader of the London-based Iraqi National Congress (INC), Chalabi's 
supporters include Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld, who are 
pushing for him to be the interim leader of the post-war Iraq. He is 
backed by the think-tank Jinsa and linked to the American Enterprise 
Institute.  

Convicted in absentia in Jordan for his part in an massive embezzlement 
scandal, Chalabi received up to $12 million from Washington after the 
first Gulf war.  

He will be working with Reilly (see power-brokers) on broadcasting and 
communications in the new Iraq. Often referred to as "Cheney's 
prot?g?", he is unpopular in Iraq and loathed by Colin Powell's state 
department. He has also fallen out of favour with the CIA, which in the 
early 1990s funded the INC to the tune of $325,000 a month. However, 
in a recent trip to Israel, organised by Jinsa, he tried to warm up 
relations regarding Iraq's post-regime change. Other Iraqis involved 
in a future government - at the behest of Wolfowitz - include INC members 
Salem Chalabi (Chalabi's nephew) and Aras Habib. Habib's cousin, Dr 
Ali Yassin Karim, a former medic with the CIA, was nearly kicked out 
of the agency but was saved by the CIA's James Woolsey. Wolfowitz also 
wants jobs to go to Chalabi's friends Tamara Daghestani and Goran 
Talebani.  

Zalmay Khalilzad

Afghanistan-born Khalilzad is Bush's special envoy to Afghanistan and 
Iraq and has a wide variety of oil interests. He co-wrote an article 
on Saddam, entitled Overthrow Him, with Wolfowitz, his former boss. A 
consultant with the oil company Unocal, he was pushing for a natural 
gas pipeline in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, and worked under 
Condoleezza Rice when she served as director of Chevron. He is also a 
close associate of George Shultz, and encouraged Schultz to use Iran 
to help topple Saddam. He is a former Rand Corp employee and a  
charter member of the PNAC.

                             -==-

Source: Information Clearinghouse ...
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3117.htm


Cheers, Steve..

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