mimil
03-28-2003, 11:22 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030328/ts_alt_afp/iraq_war_britain_us_port_030328074452
"LONDON (AFP) - Sharp differences have emerged between the United States and Britain on who should rebuild the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr after the war, with the Americans giving the nod to a US company and the British insisting on returning it to Iraqi control, the British press reported.
The US Agency for International Development has already awarded a contract valued at 4.8 million dollars to rebuild the nation's only deep water port to Stevedoring Services of America, one of eight contracts for rebuilding valued altogether at some 900 million dollars.
The way the contracts are being awarded has been severely criticised, as non-US firms have been almost completely excluded from the tenders process. Several of the US firms involved also have close ties to high-ranking officials in the US government, among them Halliburton, which used to be run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Brian Burridge, chief commander of the British troops, said Thursday "the best outcome is that we find the people who ran it (Umm Qasr) before," the Guardian reported.
The paper on Friday also quoted an anonymous British army officer saying Britain's goal was not to impose a "pax Britannica."
"We don't want to conquer a second Mesopotamia. The ultimate goal is to hand everything over to the Iraqi people," he said.
The Independent meanwhile wrote that Britain "sees this as the first big test of the proclaimed Allied intention to ensure that Iraqi resources are used for the benefit of the Iraqi people."
Some companies here have been angered over the contract process, the paper reported, saying that the British company P and O had submitted a bid but was rejected. Several of the firms were concerned that American companies appeared to be receiving preferential treatment."
"LONDON (AFP) - Sharp differences have emerged between the United States and Britain on who should rebuild the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr after the war, with the Americans giving the nod to a US company and the British insisting on returning it to Iraqi control, the British press reported.
The US Agency for International Development has already awarded a contract valued at 4.8 million dollars to rebuild the nation's only deep water port to Stevedoring Services of America, one of eight contracts for rebuilding valued altogether at some 900 million dollars.
The way the contracts are being awarded has been severely criticised, as non-US firms have been almost completely excluded from the tenders process. Several of the US firms involved also have close ties to high-ranking officials in the US government, among them Halliburton, which used to be run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Brian Burridge, chief commander of the British troops, said Thursday "the best outcome is that we find the people who ran it (Umm Qasr) before," the Guardian reported.
The paper on Friday also quoted an anonymous British army officer saying Britain's goal was not to impose a "pax Britannica."
"We don't want to conquer a second Mesopotamia. The ultimate goal is to hand everything over to the Iraqi people," he said.
The Independent meanwhile wrote that Britain "sees this as the first big test of the proclaimed Allied intention to ensure that Iraqi resources are used for the benefit of the Iraqi people."
Some companies here have been angered over the contract process, the paper reported, saying that the British company P and O had submitted a bid but was rejected. Several of the firms were concerned that American companies appeared to be receiving preferential treatment."