Since the occupation of Iraq started in April 2003, multinationals have made huge amounts of money in contracts to supply the occuption and 'rebuild' Iraq. At the same time, the Coalition Provisional Authority, followed by the Interim government, have passed a variety of laws which the Economist magazine has refered to collectively as 'a capitalist dream'.
Below we present some resources on this 'corporate takeover', which is what the brutal military occupation is holding in place.
Articles
SpOILs of War: The neo-liberal carve up of Iraq
Yasmin Khan examines the corporate takeover of post-Saddam Iraq, set in the context of a violent expansion of neo-liberalism and argues why it is crucial that activists in the UK take up the issue in the run up to the G8.
Line of Defence
Ewa Jasiewicz reports on her visit to Basra to further solidarity work with the General Union of Oil Employees, who are at the forefront of fighting the corporate invasion in the oil industry.
The 'Corporate Pirates' unveil a Free Market Map of Iraq on a protest against Windrush Communications in April 2005
Web resources
Corporate Carve Up of Iraq
In March 2006, Corporate Watch, with The Independent, produced a report into the impact of UK corporations in post-Saddam Iraq. The UK has had £1.16bn worth of UK corporate contracts and investment since March 2003.
Crude Designs - The rip-off of Iraq's Oil Wealth
Production Sharing Agreements with western oil corporations are threatening to rob Iraq of a significant portion of virtually its only export. This report, published by social and ecological justice organisation Platform, shows how an oil policy with its origins in the US State Department is on its way to being adopted in Iraq with virtually no public debate.
IOF factsheet: The Corporate Invasion of Iraq (pdf)
This factsheet from Iraq Occupation Focus is a useful introduction to the subject in just two A4 sides, covering the easy profits US and UK corporations have made out of the occupation, and the new laws that were passed by Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority.
Baghdad Year Zero: Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia
Naomi Klein has written a number of excellent articles on aspects of the corporate invasion of Iraq, which can be found across the internet with the aid of a search engine. This longer piece, originally published in November 2004, is an excellent overview of the neo-conservative agenda for Iraq, and highlights the way in which invading Iraq was not simply as war for oil, but part of a serious attempt by sections of the US ruling class to remake the world in its own image. Essential and illuminating reading.
Silent War: The USA's Economic and Ideological Occupation of Iraq (pdf)
Published by radical NGO Focus on the Global South, this is perhaps the most in-depth and systematic account so far of the corporate invasion. Chapters cover the reconstruction and privatisation of Iraq, the new patent laws, the role of USAID (the United States' international development agency), and the ideological reconstruction of Iraqi society. At 54 pages, its not the first thing you should read, but its worth it if you want a deeper understanding of what the neo-cons have been trying to do with Iraq.
Snouts in the trough: Protests outside the Iraq Procurement Conference, 2004
Links
WarProfiteers.com
Maintained by CorpWatch, a US organisation opposed to corporate-led globalization, and carries lots of useful info about the involvement of US corporations in Iraq.
Iraq Occupation Focus
IOF's regular email newsletter covers all aspects of the occuption, including the corporate invasion, and also has information about events which are being organised to oppose it in the UK.
Voices in the Wilderness UK
Organised the Iraq War Fat Cat Tour in 2004. Useful information about this and the facts of the corporate invasion across the site.
Focus on the Global South
Radical research organisation based in Bangkok which regularly carries coverage of Iraq, including interviews, analyses and strategy pieces for activists.