Consulting Firm with Bush Ties Set Up in Iraq-NYT

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=716&e=12&u=/nm/20030930/ts_nm/services_iraq_report_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A consulting firm that specializes in advising clients on doing business in Iraq is staffed by some people with close ties to President Bush, his family or his administration, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Joe M. Allbaugh heads New Bridge Strategies, the Times said. Allbaugh had been Bush's campaign manager in 2000 and had directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency until March, according to the paper.

The Times mentioned other directors, including Edward M. Rogers Jr. and Lanny Griffith, both of whom had been assistants to the first President George Bush.

The firm's launch comes at a time President Bush has called for $20.3 billion to help rebuild Iraq after the U.S.-led war to depose former leader Saddam Hussein, said the daily.

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[R Hickey]

1. Bush's 2000 campaign manager heads the Consulting firm

Sweetheart deals for Bushovic party hacks.

[xchrom]

2. and the beat goes on...

oh yes repukes indicate once again how much they think about economic diversity.
why do mr and mrs 6 pak still think repukes mean well for them?
yes, i know -- it was rhetorical.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Maybe we can get ALL the Republican Bush cronies to

transfer to Iraq -- then leave them there.

[ET Awful]

9. Yes, but then someone would . . .

want to invade them to look for their weapons of mass destruction :)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Once again...

Josh Marshall was so far out in front of this story, you would need the USS Enterprise to measure the distance.

[Maeve]

5. Crony capitalism strikes again!

Krugman's column today hits the topic, too, if not the same example:
Who's Sordid Now?

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. I don't even want to imagine where we would be today without Krugman

His entire article is worth reading, but I'll just post the conclusion:

"There's a moral here: optimists who expect the administration to get its Iraq policy on track are kidding themselves. Think about it: the cost of the occupation is exploding, and military experts warn that our army is dangerously overcommitted. Yet officials are still allowing Iraqi reconstruction to languish, and the disaffection of the Iraqi public to grow, while they steer choice contracts to their friends. What makes you think they will ever change their ways?"

[thebigidea]

6. the asshole with the Heinrich Himmler look?

what a creep

[Name removed]

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[Maeve]

10. Kick

[Name removed]

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[underpants]

14. What do you think "diplomat" Bremmer did before he went to Iraq?

He was a consultant to firms (security primarily) to assist them in making the most money off of 9/11. He was sent there to help our no-bid contractors to make the most money they could.

[lazarus]

15. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=139288

Sorry about the confusion, everyone. We're human. Well, mostly.