Newswise — WHO'S BEING BLAMED for failure in Iraq? The list is long. George Bush. Dick Cheney. Donald Rumsfeld. Colin Powell. Paul Bremer. An assortment of generals and diplomats. Europeans. Iraqis. Other Arab leaders. And let's not forget Saddam Hussein, without whose lunatic regime none of this would have been possible.
There is one other important group which rarely gets blame, but deserves it just as much. Like the administration, the military and the diplomatic service, the American business community had no effective plan to implement post-war reconstruction in Iraq.
The above provides a brief introduction to a provocative essay written for Barron's by Robert Adams, CEO of New Global Initiatives, Inc., a contracting company that working on a number of development projects in Iraq. Mr. Adams has 37 years of professional experience in more than thirty nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Having worked in nations such as Liberia, Haiti, Somalia, and Iraq, he is no stranger to failed states and conflict. A noted commentator on global affairs and the challenges facing the international business community, Mr. Adams has been published in journals ranging from Barron's to the Asia Times. Mr. Adams is available for interviews.
The full report can be read at
http://webreprints.djreprints.com/1016461117307.html
About New Global Initiatives
New Global Initiatives was incorporated in January of 2003 by individuals with decades of experience in professional economic development activities in "developing nations", both for businesses and for non-profit agencies. Board members include people with substantial experience living and working in the 1990's in the northern region of Iraq overseen by the UN and over-flown by US aircraft.
Shortly after its incorporation, New Global Initiatives received a sub-contract from the United States Agency for International Development. The project provides grants, generally ranging from $2,000 to $250,000, to indigenous Iraqi institutions and agencies committed to the creation of a free and democratic society. Over 700 projects have already been initiated, ranging from the provision of a town council building in Umm Qasr to the rehabilitation of a firehouse in Kirkuk to providing computers and satellite Internet connections to the University of Mosul.
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