[ARTICLE] Sikorski was right
Dec. 11th, 2003 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldA widely-syndicated article (excerptedhere from The Guardian) on meagre benefits from the war for non-American components of the coalition:
Postwar Payback Deemed Meager for Europe
Thursday December 11, 2003 7:01 PM
By BETH GARDINER
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - Countries that opposed the Iraq war complained when their companies were barred from seeking U.S. reconstruction contracts, but even Washington's European supporters have reaped few concrete rewards, analysts and officials across the continent say.
Many European leaders have had to settle for personal thank yous from President Bush and the intangible sense that they've earned a greater role on the world stage and warmer ties with the United States.
That beats the cold shoulder given to anti-war governments. The Bush administration on Tuesday said companies from countries that didn't make a military contribution in Iraq would not be allowed to bid for $18.6 billion of Iraqi reconstruction contracts.
But given the diplomatic pressure the United States exerted before the war, supportive leaders may have expected more. Poland, for instance, had hoped rebuilding contracts would boost its sluggish economy.
``I don't see much economic payback, or it is unproportional to our expectations and to the scale of our engagement in Iraq,'' said Daniel Passent of Polityka magazine.
Postwar Payback Deemed Meager for Europe
Thursday December 11, 2003 7:01 PM
By BETH GARDINER
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - Countries that opposed the Iraq war complained when their companies were barred from seeking U.S. reconstruction contracts, but even Washington's European supporters have reaped few concrete rewards, analysts and officials across the continent say.
Many European leaders have had to settle for personal thank yous from President Bush and the intangible sense that they've earned a greater role on the world stage and warmer ties with the United States.
That beats the cold shoulder given to anti-war governments. The Bush administration on Tuesday said companies from countries that didn't make a military contribution in Iraq would not be allowed to bid for $18.6 billion of Iraqi reconstruction contracts.
But given the diplomatic pressure the United States exerted before the war, supportive leaders may have expected more. Poland, for instance, had hoped rebuilding contracts would boost its sluggish economy.
``I don't see much economic payback, or it is unproportional to our expectations and to the scale of our engagement in Iraq,'' said Daniel Passent of Polityka magazine.
