26 março 2003

ECO-TERROR
Bush urges Congress to approve spending bill for war: Figure covers 30 days of combat
Calling on Congress to "act quickly and responsibly," President Bush on Tuesday outlined a $74.7 billion emergency spending request that he called "directly related to winning this war." [São 74,7 mil milhões de dólares para um mês de guerra!!!...]
The estimate for the supplemental includes nearly $63 billion for military operations, based on a Pentagon estimate of 30 days of combat, according to administration and congressional sources.
It also includes:
• About $8 billion for assistance to countries affected by the war, including $2.5 billion for relief and reconstruction of Iraq. Countries that would receive aid include Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Colombia. [Filipinas e Colômbia afectadas pela guerra?...]
• Roughly $4 billion for homeland security.
Congressional aides and lawmakers said the administration's request will likely be the first of several.
Secret Bids: Weeks before the first bombs dropped in Iraq, the Bush administration began rebuilding plans. [...]
Normally, USAID puts out contracts on the Internet, and any company can bid. But to move this through quickly, the agency said it went to firms with track records and security clearances. It asked seven - about half the number that normally would have sought the business - to bid.
Among the companies believed to be bidding are Bechtel, Fluor, Parsons, the Washington Group and Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's old firm.
All are experienced. But in addition, all are generous political donors - principally to Republicans. [...]
British troops are serving alongside U.S. troops in Iraq. But the closed process blocked British companies, as well as any foreign firm, from bidding.
USAID: Reconstruction Activities in Iraq: The U.S. Agency for International Development has issued eight solicitations to date for reconstruction activities in Iraq.
Portugal disponível para participar na reconstrução do Iraque: O primeiro-ministro Durão Barroso afirmou ontem à noite que Portugal está disponível para participar na reconstrução do Iraque, no âmbito da ONU, e no esforço de ajuda humanitária.
Durão Barroso disse que "não está nada decidido nessa matéria", adiantando que Portugal terá direito a participar no processo de reconstrução dada a sua condição de membro das Nações Unidas.
O primeiro-ministro falava no final de uma cerimónia promovida pela Câmara de Comércio e Indústria Luso-Alemã
Rewiring and Upgrading Iraq: While fighting continues to rage in Iraq, the race for the post-war spoils already is entering a frenzied pace. When Saddam Hussein's regime is removed from power, the entirety of Iraq's economic infrastructure - from communications systems to public works projects to oil fields - will need some level of reconstruction, and firms worldwide are hawking their services.
Study: War could crimp IT spending: The survey of 100 CIOs - 75 in the United States and 25 in Europe - suggests that the roadblocks to tech spending are "structural problems in the economy and technology" rather than the instability caused by war.
France Seeks Big Role in Post-War Iraq: Worried it could be shut out of business deals in postwar Iraq, France is drawing up plans to win French companies access to lucrative oil and reconstruction contracts, officials said Tuesday.
The government is determined that French companies will be part of rebuilding Iraq, despite President Jacques Chirac's vigorous opposition to the war, a Finance Ministry official said.