US businesses bracing for war repercussions
2003-03-14 09:30
Washington - High-profile US companies that could become magnets for anger and violence in the event of a war in Iraq are growing increasingly concerned about protecting their foreign holdings, business consultants say.
First in the line of fire are businesses "that are much more representative of the US culture," said Lawrence McNaughton, president of the CoreBrand marketing firm.
"The icons of America, like McDonald's, Coca-Cola or Ford - those sorts of products (that) are clearly representative of American business and the American way of life - those would be the products that would be the most vulnerable," he said.
The major risk for such high-profile firms is a boycott of US products, both in largely anti-war Europe and in the Middle East, where the prospects of war could cause a flare-up of anti-American sentiment.
The Middle East has already heard calls to boycott US products, especially since the start of the second anti-Israeli uprising in the West Bank and Gaza.
In Malaysia, Coca-Cola was placed under a boycott in December to protest Western interference in the Muslim nation under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
But few US companies are as much of a potential target as McDonald's, with its 30 000 fast-food restaurants in 118 countries. It "would be a very visible, high-profile target that everybody knows. And people would think they can make a significant statement by avoiding those particular products", McNaughton said.
Investing in security
Besides the boycott, McDonald's has been a regular target of violent attacks. On Monday, a Molotov cocktail was hurled at a McDonald's establishment in the Chilean capital of Santiago. Twenty-four hours earlier, a similar attack was carried out against the US embassy in that country.
In late February, three Saudi citizens were arrested after trying to set a McDonald's restaurant in their country on fire.
"The more visible the company is, the more visible the products are, the more prone (they are) to violent attacks by crazy people," McNaughton stressed.
Such businesses, the consultant added, "have all had a slightly different approach" since the September 11, 2001 attacks, and have decided to invest in security.
"A majority of multinationals are examining ways of affording protection for their employees," said Jim Francis, deputy security department president for the consulting firm Kroll.
The measures include giving "good advice to their personnel to remain away from any demonstrations ... (and) minimize travel to potentially dangerous areas." They also include instructing employees on how to abandon a dangerous area, how to behave as a hostage and how to "essentially be as inconspicuous as possible."
Risk factor fairly high
The security measures cost anywhere from 50 dollars to thousands of dollars, Francis said, but he noted that "a rising number" of firms have decided to sink part of their budget to feel safer.
He said the risk factor was fairly high at present, and that it would go higher still in the event of war.
"We know that we have disfavor among al-Qaeda and terrorist groups and their followers, and certainly they would be looking at American targets," he said.
But he noted that the risk of anti-American violence also looms in Europe.
"Not everybody in Europe is fond of what we're doing," Francis said, stressing that he had seen anti-war demonstrations turn violent in the past.