OWNERSHIP: Alaska Dividend Plan for Iraq

["William B. Ryan" <william_b_ryan@hotmail.com>]

"...we believe that a method should be found to
assure that every citizen benefits from Iraq's oil
wealth. One possibility would be to pay social
benefits from a trust financed by oil revenues.
Another could be to pay an annual cash dividend
directly to each citizen from that trust."

Paul Bremer

http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/conflict/03071301.htm
This column by L. Paul Bremer III, who is the top
American administrator in Iraq, published in the New
York Times July 13, is in the public domain. No
republication restrictions.

The Road Ahead in Iraq -- and How to Navigate It
By L. PAUL BREMER III
THE NEW YORK TIMES July 13, 2003

BAGHDAD, Iraq

Americans can be proud of the role their fighting men
and women played in freeing Iraq of Saddam Hussein
and his cronies. The people of Iraq are now on the
road to political and economic independence.

The first official step in this political transition
at the national level occurs today, with the
convening of the Iraqi Governing Council. This is the
latest sign of progress. For the first time in
decades, Iraqis are truly free. More than 150
newspapers have been started since liberation. All
major cities and 85 percent of towns now have a
municipal council where Iraqis are increasingly
taking responsibility for management of local matters
like health care, water and electricity.

Iraqis are speaking out and demonstrating with a
vigor borne of 35 years of imposed silence. This is
not yet a full democracy, but freedom is on the
march, from north to south. Sadly, this progress is
despised by a narrow band of opponents. A small
minority of bitter-enders -- members of the former
regime's instruments of repression -- oppose such
freedom. They are joined by foreign terrorists,
extreme Islamists influenced by Iran and bands of
criminals. These people do not pose a strategic
threat to America or to a democratic Iraq. They enjoy
no support since their only vision is to reimpose the
dictatorship hated by Iraqis. Our military will hunt
them down and, as President Bush said, "They will
face ruin, just as surely as the regime they once
served."

These shadowy figures are killing brave Iraqis
working with us, attacking soldiers and civilians,
and trying to sabotage the fragile infrastructure.
The attacks have drawn concern worldwide. My
coalition colleagues and Iraqi friends have noticed
that the attacks are often aimed at successes in the
renewal of this nation. A week ago, an American
soldier was mixing with students at Baghdad
University, which reopened on May 17. Their presence
was testimony to the educational progress that is
blossoming here (public schools have also reopened).
But our enemies fear enlightenment, so one of them
killed the soldier.

The day before, 250 Iraqi police recruits graduated,
the latest success in re-staffing law enforcement.
Tens of thousands of Iraqi policemen are now on duty.
But the enemies of freedom correctly felt threatened
by the cooperation and professionalism the day
represented, so they set off a bomb that killed seven
new officers. Before the war, women had to travel
miles for propane. Now, local councils are
establishing distribution centers that make the gas
readily available to households. On June 18, one
American soldier was killed while guarding a center.
The June 24th explosion at an oil refinery in
Barwanah is another example of political sabotage on
Iraq's energy supply.

With these attacks on Iraq's new successes, citizens
of coalition nations ask how long we will remain in
Iraq -- and some Iraqis may doubt our ability to
improve their lives. As President Bush has made
clear, we are committed to establishing the
conditions for security, prosperity and democracy.
America has no designs on Iraq and its wealth. We
will finish our job here and stay not one day longer
than necessary.

We have a plan to support the establishment of this
government of, by and for Iraqis. After months of
consultations with Iraqis, we have taken the first
step in establishing an interim administration.
Today, the Governing Council of Iraq will meet. It
represents all the strands from Iraq's complicated
social structure -- Shiites, Sunnis, Arabs, Kurds,
men and women, Christians and Turkmens. The council
will immediately exercise real political power,
appointing interim ministers and working with the
coalition on policy and budgets.

At the same time, the council will establish
procedures to write Iraq's new constitution. Once it
is ratified by the people, elections can be held and
a sovereign Iraqi government will come into being. So
the question of how long the coalition will stay in
Iraq depends in part on how quickly the Iraqi people
can write and approve a constitution.

The coalition recognizes the urgency of marrying
economic well-being to political freedom. For 35
years, the country's assets were misappropriated or
stolen. We are pouring resources into re-establishing
basic services and creating jobs. Our economic reform
plan will entail a major shift of capital from the
value-destroying state sector to private firms. We
are also creating a social safety net for any
resulting disruptions. And we believe that a method
should be found to assure that every citizen benefits
from Iraq's oil wealth. One possibility would be to
pay social benefits from a trust financed by oil
revenues. Another could be to pay an annual cash
dividend directly to each citizen from that trust.

In all this, the coalition is working closely with
Iraqis who will eventually be responsible for their
country's well-being. For our three priorities --
security, politics and the economy -- the strategy
provides for the successful transition to a stable
and reformed Iraq. This does not mean that the road
ahead is without danger. The combination of a broken
infrastructure and acts of sabotage could mean a
rough summer. We will suffer casualties, as the
bitter-enders resort to violence. We are also braced
for an increase in terrorism by non-Iraqis, but no
one should doubt our determination to use our power
in the face of violent acts.

Once our work is over, the reward will be great: a
free, democratic and independent Iraq that stands not
as a threat to its neighbors or the world, but as a
beacon of freedom and justice.

L. Paul Bremer III is the top American administrator
in Iraq.

_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online  
http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

To subscribe to this or another of COG's discussion groups register at:
http://cog.kent.edu/register.html
To unsubscribe from this group send a message to majordomo@cog.kent.edu
with a single line in the body of the message that says:
unsubscribe ownership