KUWAIT CITY — When the first wave of U.S. forces secured Iraq's southern oil fields and ports, British, Australian and Polish soldiers were at their side, executing daring raids and taking heavy fire from Saddam Hussein's army.
Now it's payback time.
As Bechtel Group Inc., Halliburton Co. and other U.S.-based prime contractors award the first wave of subcontracts for the reconstruction of Iraq, British and Australian firms are among the early winners, and Polish companies are said to be on the short list for future deals.
Officially, the Bush administration and its private-sector collaborators say the competition for subcontracts is open to all comers, and awards will be made to the most qualified companies without respect to their country of origin.
But in corporate suites and foreign capitals -- and in the swank Kuwaiti hotels that have become the nerve centers of postwar reconstruction -- the word is making the rounds: When it comes to rebuilding Iraq, America's military partners are first among equals.
"We're certainly encouraging our contractors to hire coalition partners to do subcontract work," said one U.S. official directly involved in the reconstruction effort, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The government may not be dictating the choice of subcontractors, but a little encouragement can go a long way in contracting circles.
"The general hope is that companies whose countries fought in the war will be the ones who participate in the economic reconstruction," said Equity International Inc. President William Loiry, who is coaching would-be contractors on opportunities in Iraq. "I don't know what the definition of fair share would be, but I think they will wind up with the majority of contracts and subcontracts."
They have certainly fared well so far.
When the U.S. Agency for International Development picks a location for its reconstruction headquarters in Baghdad, the site preparation work will be turned over to Crown Agents, a British firm founded in 1833 to procure goods for colonial outposts. Crown was hired by International Resources Group, a U.S. consulting firm that won a $7-million prime contract to help USAID plan and manage reconstruction projects.
Other British firms are getting in on the postwar action, too.
