Iraq

Operation Corporate Freedom: The IMF and World Bank in Iraq

5 April 2006

While the three-year U.S. occupation of Iraq faces a quagmire in operations, the economic forces of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are moving full speed ahead implementing various economic reforms that will cause U.S.-based corporations - Bechtel, Halliburton, and others - to proclaim, "Mission Accomplished!" As the Bush administration touts its rhetoric of freedom and liberation, the IMF and World Bank are busily "liberating" Iraq’s resources - oil and labor - and (...)

U.S. Forgives Iraq Debt To Clear Way for IMF Reforms

21 December 2004

While Washington pats itself on the back for forgiving Iraqi debt owed since the 1980s, critics say the relief comes with dangerous strings attached and argue that the debt should have been null and void. The NewStandard, Dec 19 - In a move that took a full step beyond expectations, the US Departments of State and Treasury announced yesterday the dissolution of all outstanding debt they previously claimed Iraq owed Washington. Consistent with a plan arranged last month at a meeting of top (...)

World Bank Brings Market Fundamentalism to Iraq

6 November 2004

The World Bank has forced dozens of countries to put their economies in the hands of the “free market” - achieved by eliminating regulations and taxes and granting maximum flexibility to businesses and investors. Its insistence on limiting the reach of government and creating new ways to apply free- market principles to economies unaccustomed to unbridled competition has moved many observers to label it a leading advocate of “market fundamentalism” - the ideological belief that all (...)

Why is war-torn Iraq giving $190,000 to Toys R Us?

21 October 2004

Iraqis are still being forced to pay for crimes committed by Saddam Next week, something will happen that will unmask the upside-down morality of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. On October 21, Iraq will pay $200m in war reparations to some of the richest countries and corporations in the world. If that seems backwards, it’s because it is. Iraqis have never been awarded reparations for any of the crimes they suffered under Saddam, or the brutal sanctions regime that claimed the lives (...)

A Special Investigation

Iraq - James Baker’s Double Life

18 October 2004

When President Bush appointed former Secretary of State James Baker III as his envoy on Iraq’s debt on December 5, 2003, he called Baker’s job "a noble mission." At the time, there was widespread concern about whether Baker’s extensive business dealings in the Middle East would compromise that mission, which is to meet with heads of state and persuade them to forgive the debts owed to them by Iraq. Of particular concern was his relationship with merchant bank and defense contractor the Carlyle (...)

G8 fails Iraqis on Saddam’s odious debt

16 June 2004

There has been intense speculation that the G8 summit will see a dramatic move on Saddam’s $120bn debt, but the G8 countries have not even put the issue on the official agenda. Their recent statements make it clear they are ignoring their guilt in financing Saddam and will instead use the debt to control Iraq economically. Justin Alexander, Jubilee Iraq’s international coordinator says: “All of the G8 countries supported Saddam in the 1980s with sizable loans which they knew were financing (...)

Iraq

Hold Bush to His Lie

13 February 2004

Iraq's occupiers just negotiated an $850 million loan from the International Monetary Fund, giving the lender its usual leverage to extract future economic "adjustments."

Not Neo-con, Just Plain Greed

The Iraqi debt and the US administration

5 January 2004

Contrary to all predictions, the heavy doors of Old Europe weren't slammed in James Baker's face as he asked forgiveness for Iraq's foreign debt. France and Germany appear to have signed on, and Russia is softening its line.

The odious iraqui debt

25 September 2003

For 20 years the big powers have avoided putting the issue of odious debt into the spotlight, whilst the governments of the indebted countries didn’t contest their odious debt. Suddenly in April 2003, the idea of odious debt appears in the speeches of the Bush administration. In these, they demand that France, Germany and Russia (who had been against the war on Iraq) should drop their claims on Iraq.

Iraq, War, Debt and the G8

26 April 2003

Some days after the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, George W Bush gave an estimate to Congress that the cost of the war for the US Treasury would reach 80 billion dollars. According to the UNDP and UNICEF, that is precisely the annual sum needed to guarantee for the whole planet universal access to drinking water, basic education, primary health care, a decent food supply and gynaecological and obstetric treatment for all women.