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Bechtel And Blood For Water:
War As An Excuse For Enlarging Corporate Rule
by Dr. Vandana Shiva
25 April 2003
Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology
* Non-transparency and corruption
* Add Water: a Recipe for Conflict
* Bechtel in Bolivia
* Bechtel in India
* Conclusion
Within a month of the start of the war against Iraq, the real
victor is emerging. With its $680 million contract for
"rebuilding" Iraq, Bechtel is the winner of this war.
The U.S. led war first bombed out Iraq's hospitals, bridges, water
works, and now U.S. corporations are harvesting profits from
"reconstructing" a society after its deliberate destruction. Blood
was not just shed for oil, but also for control over water and
other vital services. In a period of declining economic growth and
a slowing down of the globalization juggernaut, war has become a
convenient excuse for enlarging corporate rule. If W.T.O. is not
enough, use war.
This seems to be the underlying economic and political philosophy
of the neo-conservatives ruling the U.S. and trying to rule the
world. What the past month has revealed is the total and rotten
corruption on which the new world order is based.
As Bob Herbert states in "Ask Bechtel what war is good for"
(Herald Tribune, April 22, 2003, p6)
Somewhere George Shultz is smiling
Shultz, whose photo could appropriately appear next to
any definition of the military-industrial complex, was
secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan and has
been a perennial heavyweight with the powerful Bechtel
Group of San Francisco, where he previously reigned as
president and is now a board member and senior
counselor.
Under the headline "Act Now; The Danger Is Immediate,"
Shultz, in an op-ed article in The Washington Post last
September, wrote: "A strong foundation exists for
immediate military action against Hussein and for a
multilateral effort to rebuild Iraq after he is gone."
Gee, I wonder which company he thought might lead that
effort.
Last week Shultz's Bechtel Group was able to demonstrate
exactly what wars are good for. The Bush administration
gave it the first big Iraqi reconstruction contract, a
prized $680 million deal over 18 months that puts
Bechtel in the driver's seat for the long-term
reconstruction of the country, which could cost $100
billion or more.
Bechtel essentially was given a license to make money.
And that license was granted in a closed-door process
that was restricted to a handful of politically
connected U.S. companies.
Saddam's dictatorship is being replaced by U.S. corporate
dictatorship -- with little distinction left between those who sit
in board rooms and those who sit in the White House, Pentagon and
other institutions of government. Indeed, the distinction between
Saddam's dictatorship and the occupying US forces appears slimmer
by the day. On May 12, Patrick Tyler and Edmund Andrews of the New
York Times described "Teams of administrators have had to live in
isolation behind razor wire and machine-gun positions at Mr.
Hussein's Republican Palace. . . . Iraqis could not easily enter
the palace compound to meet with the Americans."
And the poster boy for the US corporate takeover is Bechtel.
Bechtel enterprises, a privately held firm, is the world's largest
construction company, having been involved heavily in the US's
construction boom in the post WWII period. They are responsible
for over 19,000 projects in 140 countries, with operations on all
continents (save Antarctica). Bechtel is involved in over 200
water and wastewater treatment plants around the world, in large
part through its subsidiaries and joint ventures such as
International Water (which is partnership of Bechtel, Edison of
Italy, and United Utilities in the UK).
The executives at Bechel have thirsted for control over the
ancient land of Iraq for over 20 years. It was in 1983 that Donald
Rumsfeld, as the "special Middle East envoy" of the Reagan
administration, met with Sadam Hussein to discuss a massive
pipeline project proposed by Bechtel. Saddam Hussein, who had a
habit of preferring French, German, and Russian companies,
eventually rejected the Bechtel proposal. Now again Donald
Rumsfeld has "taken care of business" for Bechtel. As Secretary of
Defense, he has overseen the war to remove the obstacle of Saddam
Hussein, and Bechtel is rolling in.
Non-transparency and corruption
China's non-transparency has been highlighted in the case of SARS.
The US' lack of transparency is highlighted by Bechtel. The way in
which Bechtel got the largest contract for Iraq's reconstruction
is a glaring example of how corporate rule is established. Whether
it is water privatization contracts in Bolivia or India, or
"reconstruction" contracts for Iraq, secrecy and lack of democracy
and transparency characterizes the methods for gaining markets and
profits.
In the case of the contract for rebuilding Iraq, US laws governing
agency procurement were suspended. The standard competitive
bidding process was ignored, and the US Agency for International
Development (USAID) hand picked a few select companies to bid on
the contract. Of these, only two actually bid, with Bechtel
emerging victorious.
People are already questioning the process USAID and the
Department of Defense used in awarding contracts for work in
Iraq. The US General Accounting Office has launched a sweeping
investigation, and a group of Senators have introduced a bill
requiring the agencies involved to disclose more details. As
examples from around the world show, this secretive collusion of
huge corporations and government bureaucrats is not an isolated
phenomenon.
"Free trade" is clearly totally unfree. It is coercive, corrupt,
deceitful and violent. Corporate rule is not an alternative to
Saddam style dictatorship. It is replacing one dictatorship with
another -- the dictatorship of corporations which have hijacked
state power and use military might to grab markets.
The intrinsic dishonesty and deceit of corporate dictatorship
seems to not be apparent to those who impose it in the name of
"operation Iraqi freedom". This seems to arise from a fundamental
confusion about freedom and creation.
When the artifacts of the 7000 year history of Mesopotamia were
destroyed in the presence of the U.S. military, Ronald Rumsfeld's
naïve and irresponsible comment was -
Free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes
and do bad things.
On this logic, the terrorists who crashed planes into the World
Trade Centre towers were exercising a legitimate freedom to
"commit crimes and do bad things". And on the same logic that made
the U.S. military presence a mute spectator allowing Baghdad and
its historical treasures to be looted, the U.S. had no right to
start a war against terror after 9/11.
Just as there is confusion about what human freedom entails among
those trying to create "freedom" for others through war, there is
confusion about reconstruction and "destruction". What happened in
Iraq was destruction. It is being referred to as reconstruction.
Innocent people were killed, thousands of years of a
civilization's history was destroyed and erased. Yet, Jay Garner
-- the retired U.S. General appointed unilaterally as head of
office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, talked
about "giving birth to a new system in Iraq".
Bombs do not give "birth" to society. They annihilate life. New
societies are not "born" by destroying the historical and cultural
legacy of ancient civilizations.
Maybe the choice to allow destruction of Iraq's historical legacy
was a pre-requisite for this illusion of giving "birth" to a new
society.
Maybe the rulers in U.S. do not perceive these violations because
their own society was built on the genocide of native Americans.
Annihilation of the "other" seems to be taken as "natural" by
those controlling power in the world's lone super power. Maybe the
perception of the deliberate destruction of a civilization and
thousands of innocent lives as a "birthing" process is an
expression of the western patriarchy's "illusion of creation"
which confuses destruction with creation and annihilation with
birthing. The "illusion of creation" identifies capital and
machines, including war machines as sources of "creation" and
nature and human societies, especially non-western societies as
either dead, inert, passive, or dangerous and cannibalistic. This
worldview creates the "white man's burden" for liberating nature
and our societies even with violence, and seeing it as the "birth"
of freedom.
Whatever the deeper roots of establishing an economy of loot and
violence in Iraq in the name of "re-construction", the
profiteering from war by corporations like Bechtel confirms that
war is globalisation by other means. For people worldwide the
challenge is to converge the energies of the anti-globalisation
movement, the peace movement and movements for real democracy.
Our challenge is to reclaim the real meaning of freedom, rescuing
it from the degradations it has been subjected to by the
doublespeak of "free trade" and the doublespeak of "operation
Iraqi Freedom". The "freedom" being sought through free trade
treaties and rules of W.T.O. and the "freedom" resulting from the
Iraq war is freedom of corporations to profit. This freedom is a
license to loot. And corporate loot and corporate freedom is
destroying democracy and freedom for people and societies.
The new freedom people seek worldwide is freedom from corporate
dictatorship facilitated and enabled by militarism and war.
This is as important for citizens of Iraq and other countries
invaded by global corporations under the protection of military or
"free trade" treaties, as it is for the citizens of the U.S.
Add Water: a Recipe for Conflict
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are a water lifeline in the arid
Middle East. The alluvial plain between the two rivers was the
cradle of ancient civilizations including Assyria, Babylonian, and
Sumer. Millions in the ancient land of Mesopotamia have been
supported by its waters. Today these rivers represent a precious
resource for the people of the region.
They are already in conflict over these two rivers. Turkey's
massive dam building projects, especially the GAP project, have
upset the riparian states of Syria and Iraq. With over half the
flow of both rivers generated in Turkey, the dams put the country
in a position to regulate river flow. Syria and Iraq have worried
that Turkish irrigation and electricity generation needs will
determine how much water flows to them, and have disputed Turkish
claims to guarantee a minimum flow. UNESCO recently announced at
the a body of scientific mediators would be formed to handle
international water disputes such as these.
The introduction of Bechtel, a company which has a history of
aggravating water conflict (see Bolivia below), into the situation
is a recipe for disaster. Its contract for rebuilding Iraq
includes, but is not limited to "municipal water systems and
sewage systems, major irrigation structures, and the dredging,
repair and upgrading of the Umm Qasr seaport." Bechtel's past
record of pushing the privatization of water has destabilized
local communities in other parts of the world. In the parched
middle-east, with an already seething international water dispute,
an attempt by a multinational water giant to grab this precious
resource could spark ongoing water wars.
Bechtel in Bolivia
The most famous tale of Bechtel's corporate greed over water is
the story of Cochabamba, Bolivia. In the semi-desert region, water
is scarce and precious. In 1999, the World Bank recommended
privatisation of Cochabamba's municipal water supply company
(SEMAPA) through a concession to International water, a subsidiary
of Bechtel. On October 1999, the Drinking Water and Sanitation Law
was passed, ending government subsidies and allowing
privatization.
In a city where the minimum wage is less than $100 a month water
bills reached $20 a month, nearly the cost of feeding a family of
five for two weeks. In January 2000, a citizen's alliance called
"La Coordinara" de Defense del Aqua y de la Vida (The Coalition in
Defense of Water and Life) was formed and it shut down the city
for 4 days through mass mobilisation. Between Jan and Feb 2000,
millions of Bolivians marched to Cochabamba, had a general strike
and stopped all transportation]. The government promised to
reverse the price hike but never did. In February 2000, La
Coordinara organised a peaceful march demanding the repeal of the
Drinking Water and Sanitation Law, the annulment of ordinances
allowing privatization, the termination of the water contract, and
the participation of citizens in drafting a water resource law.
The citizens' demands, which drove a stake at corporate interests,
were violently repressed. Coordinora's fundamental critique was
directed at the negation of water as a community property.
Protesters used slogans like "Water is God's gift and not a
merchandise" and "Water is life".
In April, 2000 the government tried to silence the water protests
through market law. Activists were arrested, protestors were
killed, and media was censored. Finally on April 10, 2000, the
people won. Aquas del Tunari and Bechtel left Bolivia. The
government was forced to revoke its hated water privatisation
legislation. The water company Servico Municipal del Aqua Potable
y Alcantarillado (SEMAPO) was handed over to the workers and the
people, along with the debts. In summer 2000, La Coordinadora
organised public hearings to establish democratic planning and
management. The people have taken on the challenge to establish a
water democracy, but the water dictators are trying their best to
subvert the process. Bechtel is suing Bolivians, and the Bolivian
government is harassing and threatening activists of La
Coordinadora.
If we go by the lessons from Bolivia, Bechtel will try and control
the water resources, not just the water works of Iraq. If the
international community and the Iraqis are not vigilant, Bechtel
could try and own the Tigris and Euphrates, as it tried to "own"
the wells of Bolivia.
Bechtel in India
In India Bechtel was involved with Enron in the infamous Dabhol
power plant project. This disastrous project involved the
suppression of local protests, circumventing environmental
regulations, and secret deals worth billions of dollars. The
parties in the state government elections even fought over this
issue, with the party opposed to the deal winning the election,
but then turning around and cutting a new contract for the power
plant anyway.
Bechtel is now involved in water privatisation of
Coimbatore/Tirrupur as part of a consortium with Mahindra and
Mahindra, United International North West Water. As with other
water privatisation contracts, the contract has not been made
public. Business that can only be carried out behind closed doors,
under secrecy, does not promote freedom. It extinguishes both
freedom and democracy.
Conclusion
War has been an excuse for profiteering in the past. Bechtel's
behavior in World War II helped inspire Ralph Casey of the US
General Accounting Office to state, "at no time in the history of
American business, whether in wartime or in peacetime, have so
many men made so much money with so little risk, and all at the
expense of the taxpayers, not only of this generation but of
generations to come."
The Bechtel contract, and the Iraq war which created the
opportunity for profits in "reconstruction," have thrown up issues
of lack of democracy transparency and accountability in the way
economic and political decisions are made by a U.S. administration
which has become indistinguishable from U.S. corporations. A
regime in which governments became instruments of corporate
interest is no longer a democracy. Instead of governance being "of
the people, by the people, for the people", governance becomes "of
the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations".
For democracy to thrive a "regime change" is urgently needed, in
the U.S., in Iraq, and in every country where corporate
dictatorship is getting entrenched.
Bechtel presence in various Description of work
Projects in India
Bechtel International Inc. High Pressure water jetting of steam
Dhabol Power Phase-II, Guhagar, service pipelines
Ratnagiri Dist.
Tanda Thermal Power Station High pressure water jetting cleaning for
surface condenser for 4 x 110 mw plant
GAIL, Aurraiya Pipeline cleaning with Rotating Hose
Device Water Jetting
Consolidated fibres & Chemicals High pressure water jetting cleaning of
Ltd. Durgachak, Haldia, West Evaporator and Preheater tubes
Bengal
Indian Oil Corporation, Baruni High pressure water jetting cleaning of
Refinery, Baruni, Bihar heat exchangers
Supreme Petrochem Ltd. Nagothane Chemical cleaning of Heat exchanger and
Reactor
Toyo Engg. India Ltd. Pre-Commissioning Chemical Cleaning and
Nahta Furnaces/Steam Drums Exchangers and
Pipeline System At Haldia Petrochemical
Complex.
Reliance Petroleum Ltd. Non-conventional flushing of small dia &
large dia Pipeline with hydrojetting &
quick flush technology
Dhabol Power Corp. Ltd. Dhabhol, Pre Commissioning Chemical Cleaning,
Maharashtra Hydro jetting of condensate system.
GAIL UPPC Dist Aurya (U.P.) Chemical cleaning and passivation of
pipeline equipments at UPPC, PATA Auriya
ONGC, BPA BA Platform, South a) On line chemical cleaning of cooling
Bassein Field (Through Essar Oil water circuits of gas processing platform
Ltd.)
b) Chemical cleaning of plate heat
exchangers and cooling water receiving
console.
Reliance Industries Ltd. Naptha Pre-commissioning of cleaning services
cracker plant, Hazira using silent steam blowing, slug flush
and hydroblasting of captive power plant
and NGL/Naptha Cracker Plant.
Gas Authority of India Ltd. Pre-commission Chemical Cleaning of
Vijaipur, Guna, M.P. pipelines & vesselslinked with Propane
Refrigeration Compressor of PRU II
Naval Dockyard, Mumbai Chemical cleaning of Boiler
Mangalore Refineries & Chemical cleaning of Surface Condensers.
Petrochemicals Ltd. Mangalore
Indian Farmers Fertilizer Corp. Chemical cleaning of Syn-loop Boiler
Ltd., Aonia Unit, P.O. IFFCO, supplied by L & T
Township
Cyprus Petroleum Refinery Pre-commissioning Chemical of 4 Nos.
Nicosia, Cyprus Power Plant Boilers.
National Organic Chemical Chemical cleaning of Boiler, Heat
Industries Ltd. Mumbai Exchangers during shut down
Dubai Electricity Co. Post operational Chemical cleaning of 5
Nos. 500 M.W. Boilers.
Hindustan Fertilizers Chemcal cleaning of internal surface of
Cooperation Ltd. Namroop, Assam tube bundles for HFCL on behalf of L&T
using Citric Acid
Adarsh Chemicals & Fertilizer Chemical cleaning of Maleic/Anhydride
Reactor
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizer a) Pre-commissioning of Chemical Cleaning
Ltd. Methyl Amine Project of Deaerator, Waste Heat Boiler, Feed
Water System
b) Pre-commissioning of Chemical Cleaning
of Equipment And Heat Exchangers.
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizer Chemical cleaning of Boilers, Deaerator
Ltd - (Ammonia Rehabilitation and Boiler Feed Water System in Ammonia
Project) Rehabilitation Project & Methanol
Revamping Project
Enron Oil and Gas India Ltd. High pressure water jetting & corrosion
monitoring and specially chemicals.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Chemical cleaning
Sterlite Industries India Ltd. Carbon brick lining
Nestle Epoxy Grout
McDonalds Epoxy Grout
BHEL Structural Rehabilitation
ONGC Glass Flake Lining
Reliance Carbon brick lining
NDDB Epoxy Grout.
Bechtel Subsidiaries' Names
Subsidiary's Name Country
Aguas del Tunari Bolivia
Aqua Poland
Bechtel (UK) UK
Bechtel Ltd. UK
Bechtel Nevada USA
Bechtel Water Technology UK
Catchment UK
Catchment (Tay) UK
Dabhol Power India
EDS/Bechtel USA
Guayaquil Interagua Ecuador
Intergen UK
Intergen (China) China
Intergen (Colombia) Colombia
Intergen (Mexico) Mexico
Intergen (Philippines) Philippines
International Water UK
Manila Water Company Philippines
Samalayuca Power Mexico
Sofiiska Voda Bulgaria
Tallinn Water Estonia
US Water USA
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Copyright © 2003 Vandana Shiva
Copyright © 2003 Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology
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