Who has earned a piece of the pie? Not Europe, not yet

The hue and cry of France, Germany and Russia over being denied access to the first $18 billion in Iraqi reconstruction contracts reminds us of the childhood story of the Little Red Hen. When she asked the other animals to help her plant the wheat or harvest it or mill it, they all declined. But when her loaf of bread came out of the oven, they all wanted a piece.
France, Germany, Russia and other countries that declined to join or that actively opposed U.S. intervention in Iraq are going to have to do a little bit of the work before they get to enjoy the fruits of others' labor.
That said, an accommodation must be reached between the United States and its presently estranged allies, for a couple of reasons.
Looming debt
For one thing, Russia, France and Germany hold one of the keys to Iraq's financial reconstruction because they rank No. 2, 3 and 4 as holders of billions of dollars of Iraqi debt (Japan is No. 1).
This week, President Bush's envoy, James Baker, is in Europe trying to work out the restructuring of about $20 billion in Iraq's debt. Half of that is held by Russia, France and Germany.
A happy accommodation in the area of Iraq's debt would go a long way toward moving European nations up the line for subcontracting jobs in rebuilding Iraq now and prime contractor jobs later. The capture over the weekend of Saddam Hussein went a long way toward making Europe see that the United States and its allies already on the ground are clearly the force to be reckoned with in the early days of rebuilding Iraq.
Beyond renegotiating Iraq's debt, unless the United States wants to continue to carry 90 percent of the military load (and suffer 90 percent of the casualties) for years to come, an agreement is going to have to be reached to bring NATO forces into Iraq. And NATO isn't going to commit blood, sweat and tears to an enterprise where the United States is determining who gets which contract to rebuild roads, buildings, utilities and the oil industry infrastructure.
Tax slackers
U.S. officials made their point regarding the initial contracts. Now it's time to start talking about what everyone can do in the future to help rebuild Iraq physically and politically and bring it back into the community of nations.
While arguing for the U.S. right to control the contract process, administration spokesmen made an interesting point that merits study beyond its implications for European nations. The American taxpayers who are footing the bill are not inclined to give their money to nations that didn't help carry the load, it was said.
True enough. We have to wonder, though -- how willing are the American taxpayers to see their money go to contractors such as Halliburton and Bechtel, which, in recent years, have aggressively restructured themselves to avoid being U.S. taxpayers?
If countries that chose not to help the United States fight in Iraq are not entitled to contracts, U.S. companies that funnel their income through offshore dodges to avoid paying U.S. taxes shouldn't be enjoying the spoils either.