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http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20031209230309990001WASHINGTON (Dec. 10) - The White House, defending a new policy barring companies from nations that opposed the Iraq war from bidding on $18.6 billion in reconstruction contracts, said Wednesday that countries wanting a slice of that lucrative pie must participate militarily in the postwar effort.
''Prime contracts for reconstruction funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars should go to the Iraqi people and those countries who are working with the United States on the difficult task of helping to build a free, democratic and prosperous Iraq,'' McClellan said.
The Pentagon policy prevents companies from countries that opposed war from bidding on reconstruction contracts because their governments opposed the American-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein's regime.
McClellan said that other nations that want to be eligible for a slice of the $18.6 billion, money that Congress approved last month after a special budget request by President Bush, can do so by participating militarily, McClellan said. They can also vie for contracts being financed by a separate international fund that the White House estimates will be worth $13 billion, he said.
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