Iraq paying reparations to multinational corporations

[liontamer]

Why is war-torn Iraq giving $190,000 to Toys R Us?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1328887,00.html

[Djinn]

1. fuzzy logic

Iraqis have to pay for "damages" caused by the Iraq/Kuwait war - started by a ruler they didn't vote for. This includes corp's who didn't make quite as much profit during that time as they normally would (so sad!)

US (under an "elected" government) invades Iraq destroying what was left of power/water infrastructure etc and Bush faffs on about how Iraqi oil will pay for the reconstruction?? :crazy:

[liontamer]

2. greed knows no boundaries

I don't understand how people can enjoy their money when they know people are actually suffering because of corporate greed

[Karenina]

3. Snippet...

"But the UNCC's corporate handouts only accelerated. Here is a small sample of who has been getting "reparation" awards from Iraq: Halliburton ($18m), Bechtel ($7m), Mobil ($2.3m), Shell ($1.6m), Nestlé ($2.6m), Pepsi ($3.8m), Philip Morris ($1.3m), Sheraton ($11m), Kentucky Fried Chicken ($321,000) and Toys R Us ($189,449). In the vast majority of cases, these corporations did not claim that Saddam's forces damaged their property in Kuwait - only that they "lost profits" or, in the case of American Express, experienced a "decline in business" because of the invasion and occupation of Kuwait. One of the biggest winners has been Texaco, which was awarded $505m in 1999. According to a UNCC spokesperson, only 12% of that reparation award has been paid, which means hundreds of millions more will have to come out of the coffers of post-Saddam Iraq."