Greed

in the early morning on Wednesday, the 10th of December 2003 by Chad

Reuters says it all:

Exclusions for Iraq contracts unacceptable
Wed 10 December, 2003 12:53 BERLIN (Reuters) - A German government spokesman says it will be unacceptable for the United States to bar firms from countries which opposed the war in Iraq from competing for prime contracts to rebuild the country.
In a policy document released on Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said he was limiting competition for 26 reconstruction contracts worth up to $18.6 billion that will be advertised in coming days.
He cited national security reasons for the exclusion of firms from countries that opposed the war including France and Germany. They may bid for sub-contracts.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s chief spokesman Bela Anda said on Wednesday that if the reports of such an exclusion were true:
“That would not be acceptable for the German government. And it wouldn’t be in line with the spirit of looking to the future together and not into the past.” He declined at a news conference to comment on what action the government would take.

The Canadian government is also crying. I hope at least the French stand up for thier principles. So, OK, lets see if I got this straight from their perspective.

We are against what the US is doing.
We don’t want any part of it.
We’re going to try to stop it.
Our people are protesting what happened on a daily basis.
Bush is evil, blah blah blah.

OK, its all but over now, but we still think that the US was wrong.
Wait a second, there is now money to be made after the war instead of just selling arms before the war!
Stop everything, we demand our full rights to bid for work from the US Government.
Whaddaya mean we aren’t allowed to?
You mean the US is actually going to reward those that helped them instead of us who hindered? That is so not fair!!!
WAAAAHH.

OK, time to act like a grown up country. Even though all your respective governments are so much younger than the US gov. ;)
One. You have no rights to anything from the US except what was given to you in a formal treaty with the US.
Two. The US has the right to do whatever it wants with its funds otherwise.
Three. The US is the most generous country in history. Our debates in the US aren’t about how we don’t give enough money to XYZ, but that we give away so much money to other countries, shouldn’t we keep a little for our own benefit?
Four. We will always help those who help us.
Five. We usually help those that can’t help us because they have nothing to give. Just don’t shoot at us. That would piss us off. Kids in the US grow up, go to summer camp, and spend the entire time squishing icky bugs. It’s good training for the future.
Six. We usually help those that don’t help us anyways. Most of the time.
Canada and Germany aren’t shut out of these Iraqi contracts. They can be subcontractors. But for the big ticket, for the publicity, they can’t. Hell, from what I read the Iraqis don’t want collaborators in their country anyway.
Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. V for Victory Look at Japan. They are prevented from actively fighting in a war by their Constitution. They have an ongoing internal debate over what to do. They just sent a lot of cash in the last war, and were criticized for “buying their way out” of things. That experience, along with wanting a much greater place in world affairs for the second greatest economy in the world, led them to send troops to help with the reconstruction effort. It was not an easy decision for them to make by any means. As little as one combat or terrorist death now could take down their government. But looking at the situation they made the hard decision to stand up and help the Iraqi people. Their troops will be targets for the terrorists. This will be a test for their country. Will they quickly retreat back home, scared of the bad world out there? Or will they draw upon the strength of their past. Being a strong people does not necessarily mean you will go out conquering territory. That is only one direction to take. You can still be strong and a force for good in the world. Their SDF (Self Defence Forces) aren’t up to the level of the Marines, or the Army Rangers and Special Forces, etc. Their training and purpose is different. But one that I think is appropriate to the mission at hand.

**UPDATE**
Via Fox News:

“This totally gratuitous slap does nothing to protect our security interests and everything to alienate countries we need with us in Iraq,” Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
“At the very time the secretary of state and secretary of defense were at NATO requesting greater allied participation in Iraq and Afghanistan, we stick a finger in the eye of those whose help we are seeking ? It’s long past time we stop treating Iraq like a prize and start acting in the interests of the United States,” Biden said.

Biden. You friggin weasel. You really disgust me. Gratuitous slap? You know, its time to start thinking about our interests and not the rest of the world’s. What do we truly have to gain from letting these contracts go to those who actively seek to block our intentions? Do you honestly think that this will turn them around, make them think that since we give them a piece of the pie that they will suddenly come over to our side? Ummm… No. You are teaching them that they can do what they want and no matter what, they will be rewarded by the likes of you.
Ever hear of positive and negative reinforcement? Its basic psychology. You reward behavior that you find appropriate. You don’t reward behavior that doesn’t. We are in this whole mess because we were easy on terrorists, and gave them what they wanted. They decided we were soft, easy prey. Then they attacked. While I doubt that Germany will attack us militarily, you will be rewarding behavior that does not benefit US interests.
Or are you just afraid that excluding our “allies” we will offend them further? I’m sorry, but this is only $19 billion dollars. It is not going to make or break any relationships. They’re going to whine and complain. Each country has to look out for their own self-interest. Including ours. It does not mean that we have to grovel before the world. Somehow I doubt that when these countries were taking their positions a large part of them said, “Hey, we might offend the US. We should just do whatever they want.” No, each country made their decision based on what they believe in. Which is just fine. But you make your decisions based on what the everyone other country will think of you. Guess what, they don’t vote for you. You willingly give away our security and our freedoms at every turn just to be liked by visiting dignitaries. Your job is to represent the interests in the people of Delaware and the United States. In case you’ve forgotten.