In the middle of a heated presidential campaign and financial turmoil worldwide, progress in Iraq has become a forgotten story.
However, it will likely be one of the first priorities faced by our country’s new leader. And I have some good news for the next President: When you take office you won’t be dealing with a war zone, because when we weren’t looking, Iraq began developing its economic power.
I saw it first hand when fellow Texas Congressman Kenny Marchant and I went there. Whether we were talking to citizens of Baghdad or being briefed by high level military and economic leaders, the message was that terrorism and bombings are being replaced by a business boom.
The Iraqi government is inviting companies from around the globe to invest in their nation and their future, and it’s beginning to look like plenty of companies are giving Iraq serious consideration. The sense of calm and dramatically increased safety that allows business to grow is, of course, due to American military, our Allies and diplomatic efforts, but perversely, it is American businesses that have been slow to join the party, with many citing “security concerns.”
Maybe Baghdad is never going to be Paris in the spring, but it is evident that we are winning the peace in much of Iraq to such a degree that I can honestly say no matter how you define victory, we have won the war. We have routed Al Qaeda and the terrorists.
Life in Iraq is returning to normal and free enterprise is growing. Street markets bustle with shoppers, cars crowd the roads and construction on several projects is moving full-steam ahead. Mr. Marchant and I toured a power plant that used to be a target for terrorists. Now it reliably produces electricity for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
Iraq has money to spend – some estimate the nation’s budget surplus now tops $80 billion – and the people are using it to rebuild their country. They have a very long way to go, but they appear to have the economic muscle to get there and, in the course of doing so, to bring real jobs with real futures to the millions of poor people whose hunger can breed terrorism.
I’m optimistic about Iraq’s future, and that’s why I am concerned that an excess of caution exercised by U.S. companies is leaving the door open for others to profit from the new peace that is on the rise there. Nations like France, Russia, Turkey and China never sent troops to Iraq, but are now benefiting from Iraq’s new economic growth.
Mr. Marchant and I came home committed to calling attention to the changing situation in Iraq. There is a real market there for U.S. goods and services that range from military equipment to commercial construction. Our next move is to assemble a trade mission to show American companies what we just saw – Iraq can be a safe, profitable place to do business. We also need to bring Iraqi leaders to the U.S. and show them everything we have to offer.
If Iraq’s economy is to become self-sustaining, Iraqi citizens there need to get involved. We witnessed a real desire to learn new trade skills and become more independent. The U.S. can grow both the Iraqi economy and Iraqi democracy by allowing its citizens to more easily train in our tech schools, learn from our agriculture experts and attend our colleges.
We have freed a country from a totalitarian régime and new democracy has been born. And the coup de grace is that not only does a free Iraq help the U.S. diplomatically and strategically, it can also benefit us economically. Practicing economic freedom with the same intensity that we preach political freedom is what America does better than anybody in the world, and I hope we can begin doing it soon in Iraq.
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