Who is Paul Bremer?

Top Five Quotes from his definitive assessment of the New World Order, entitled, “New Risks in International Business. (2001)”

1. “Today there are clear signs that anti-globalization forces are retargeting actions from multilateral financial institutions toward multinational companies. Moreover, there are indications that, like the anti-war movement in the late 1960s, the anti-globalization movement is spawning terrorist groups at its margins.”

I get it. If I get sore that Oracle exports my good-paying programming job to India, I'm part of the vast terrorist conspiracy to undermine Halliburton’s revitalized earnings. What an anti-capitalist swine I am.

Single-handedly, Dick Cheney is masterfully orchestrating a strategy that will let his chums free Iraq and boost the fortune of the U.S. investor. In fact, Iraq could be a goldmine, if only I could see the big picture.

2. “A local reaction to economic modernization in emerging markets could be changing ‘the rules of the game’ for foreign investors – after their investments have been made. Politicians can revoke investment incentives or renege on contracts – for example, power purchase agreements or telecom licenses. Or they might institute discriminatory tax regimes or impose new import or export duties. Even democracies can act this way, as India has recently shown.
“Petroleum and mining projects, with their large fixed costs and heavy debt, have long been susceptible to this kind of risk.”

He cleverly calls this “creeping expropriation.” What it actually means is that after giant companies cook their books and work bum deals with their foreign subsidiaries, they then hold a gun to the head of these foreign countries, their citizens and the workers in their own foreign firms.

Pay us the debts we amassed when we ran your companies in cahoots with some corrupt government we did business with. (How did Iraq wind up owing all that money to a bunch of multinationals, French banks, etc.—as well as our new best friends the Ruskies?) Otherwise, we call you expropriators and send in the troops to trash your country.

3. “Given the opaque and politicized nature of business practices in many countries, it is essential that foreign investors use rigorous due diligence on local partners. To serve its clients better, Marsh recently announced an agreement with the British firm Control Risks Group LLC. This partnership will provide clients with a full range of political risk services and due diligence expertise when they contemplate doing business in emerging markets.”

For example, actual elected officials in these governments take bribes. This is not to be confused with campaign financing. It is savage and unforgivable to think that a politician might take money from an interested party and stick it into his own pocket. What political savagery! How undemocratic!

Everyone knows that in a free country, like ours, you don't give money directly to politicians. Above reproach and all that. You give the dough to the party, a campaign war chest or a PAC. And you do this willingly, as a true son of our democratic founding fathers. Without giving more than a passing thought to the benefits you might reap.

4. “For some time, insurance underwriters have understood the evolution of political risk away from straight-out expropriation and developed new products to mitigate these risks. Firms can now insure against “creeping expropriation” and against the breach of contract by governmental or quasi-governmental organizations. They can also insure against currency inconvertibility, civil wars, or political violence and terrorism.”

Nice to know there's money to be made encouraging private sector firms to risk investing abroad. First you provide insurance, so it doesn’t cost them anything if the deal goes bad. When it does, you call in the Marines. Then you hire multinationals with taxpayer money to rebuild the place.

Bremer estimates is will take nearly $40 billion to rebuild power and water systems in Iraq. That's in addition to the $50 billion a year it costs to keep boots on the ground there, by the Administration's current estimates.

Sure there were other reasons for going to Iraq—to depose a tyrant we helped prop up for years, among others. I just wish they were putting that kind of money into my neighborhood.

5. “Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III is chairman of Marsh’s Crisis Consulting Practice, which provides integrated and comprehensive crisis solutions covering all aspects of a business’s operations.”

His calming influence, and extensive experience in diplomacy is welcome to all. Certainly, I send all my hopes and best wishes for success to him as stabilizes Iraq, rebuilds it for the benefit of its suffering people and gets our brave troops home, and out of harm’s way, as soon as possible.

The soldiers, after all, make little from this noble effort to bring freedom and prosperity to the Middle East. In fact, they recently had their hazardous duty pay slashed in half by the Administration.

But that is another matter entirely. Bremer’s old colleagues at Marsh, too, must welcome his Iraq involvement. His success should greatly encourage U.S. companies to do business in Iraq, all the while anteing up for the type of risk insurance sold by firms like theirs.

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