US defends Iraqi contract ban
2003-12-10 20:35
Washington - The White House on Wednesday defended its decision to bar France, Germany, Russia and Canada from lucrative rebuilding contracts in Iraq, saying that the projects are financed with US taxpayers' money and it was "appropriate" that countries which did not support the war will not benefit.
"It is appropriate and reasonable to expect that prime contracts for reconstruction funded by US taxpayers' 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," spokesperson Scott McClellan told reporters.
McClellan said the decision announced by the Pentagon on Tuesday had already been expressed at two international trade conventions, one in the eastern US state of Virginia and the other in London in November.
The four countries reacted strongly to the news.
The Pentagon memorandum said Washington has barred firms from France, Germany, Russia, Canada and other nations opposed to the war on Iraq from tendering for billions of dollars in prime rebuilding projects.
Funding for the contracts comes from the $18.6bn in supplemental spending approved by the US Congress last month to underwrite reconstruction in Iraq.
The projects include the provision of equipment for the Iraqi army, oil installations, roads and water and electricity supplies.