As I put the finishing touches on this column, I am reminded that it is Veteran’s Day. On Nov. 6 President George W. Bush signed the emergency $87.5 billion spending package for Iraq. I’d like to think that some of that money might help some of the soldiers in Iraq – on both sides – live to be veterans. But I just can’t believe that it will.
If I thought the package would help, I might overlook some of the costs.
I might overlook that the spending package is 10 times the size of the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency, and over three times as large as Bush’s “no child left behind” education bill. I might overlook that it should push the federal deficit over $525 billion for the fiscal year that began Oct.1, or about 4.7 percent of our gross domestic product. I might overlook that a package “to rebuild Iraq” contains $65 billion to maintain the military presence, and only $18.6 billion into actually rebuilding the infrastructure.
However, under international law an occupying force cannot alter, change or remake the infrastructure of the country, and we’re demonstrating perfectly why this is the case.
According to the Washington Post, nearly a third of the $3.9 billion a month it costs to stay in Iraq goes to independent contractors, including Haliburton, previously headed by Vice President Dick Cheney. Haliburton has won contracts worth over $1.7 billion under Operation Iraqi Freedom. Reps. Henry Waxman, D – Ca., and John Dingell, D – Mich., pointed out last week that Haliburton charged the U.S. Army between $1.62 and $1.70 per gallon to import oil into Iraq for the rebuilding process, while the average price for Middle East gasoline is 71 cents.
That’s right, Haliburton over-charged for importing oil into Iraq.
Businesspeople linked with Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council who has close ties to senior Pentagon officials, also received large contracts.
Iraqi and U.S. businesspeople say that such apparent favoritism discourages foreign companies from making bids on contracts in Iraq.
Last spring the United States even shut out bids from France, Germany, Russia, Canada, Britain, and Australia.
Foreign leaders on the U.N. Security Council are reluctant to pledge help in terms of either money or lives while the United States still maintains so much control over both the contracts, and civilians’ lives. In particular, they mean the control used in handing out contracts to friends of the U.S. government.
That means the United States will have to stay there longer, and spend more.
That means more and more people our age will get shipped overseas.
During the first week of November alone, one Polish and 36 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq.
That’s 37 people who will never be veterans.
Time to write your representatives.