American Administration Outlaws Germany, France, Russia

The post-war situation in Iraq gets more actual for world leaders

Allied troops get closer and closer to Baghdad, which spurs intrigues about the restoration of the Iraqi capital after the war is over.  The war is not going to end soon, although the American administration does not have any doubts  about the coming victory of the anti-Iraqi coalition. They discuss other problems already – how much money to allocate, where, and for which purposes.

A session took place at the US Congress yesterday regarding the additional funding of the army campaign in Iraq. American officials discussed both the funding of the war and the funding of restoration works. Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy submitted an amendment, which prohibited allocating funds from the American budget to French, German, Russian and Syrian companies, if they wished to get a contract. The House of Representatives approved the amendment. However, there was a hope left for those “outlawed” countries. The US Senate rejected the mentioned amendment. As the Washington Post wrote, this was done on account of the White House’s pressure. The White House does not want to incite conflicts with any country, which might do something in Iraq after the war is over (to conduct restoration works, to render humanitarian help, to participate in peacemaking operations). Kennedy’s amendment, the newspaper said, could be left out under certain conditions. It was added that the amendment would most likely vanish in the process of coordination between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Well, that was an unambiguous sign from Washington: if you do not acknowledge that the American army brought freedom to the people of Iraq, you will have to blame yourself for that, so to speak. To all appearances, the discrepancy between the post-war organization of Iraq will become a bone of contention between the United States of America and the rest of the world. At least, Washington is definitely not going to give up its leading role in the process to anyone: either to UN, or to European, Arab countries. It does not go about Russia at all, although Russian politicians have already released certain conciliatory statements. Vladimir Putin said that Russia does not want the USA to experience a military debacle in Iraq. Russian officials pay more of their attention to the humanitarian situation in Iraq. Time will show, if there is any effect from that. The war continues so far, while all the talks pertaining to the post-war situation in Iraq look like dividing up the bearskin before the bear is shot.

Vasily Bubnov
PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov