Investors remain wary of security in Iraq

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LONDON: An off-the-record meeting organized by a leading British company was held in London last week to discuss the increasing level of violence in Iraq and its impact on the rebuilding process.

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With violence continuing unabated throughout the country, the cost of security has presently been racked up to $5,000 a day for businesses. The Green Zone is generally more secure than the rest of Baghdad, although it still faces four to five mortar attacks a day, it was said. An upsurge of violence is also expected during Ramadan.

One participant, who specializes in providing risk consultancy to Western firms, said he saw "no effective counter-measures to tackle the insurgency," adding: "Killing the insurgents merely creates new ones."

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The decision by the coalition administration to disband the Iraqi Army following Saddam Hussein's ouster will "go down in history as the biggest single error" of the war, one insider said, adding that it left 400,000 potential allies disillusioned and turned them into potential enemies instead.

Daily Star