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18. Charter Forest Proposal Threatens Access to Public Land 18. Charter Forest Proposal Threatens Access to Public KBR is a subsidiary of Halliburton, the energy company former- Land ly headed by the now US Vice-President Dick Cheney. When he The Bush administration's Charter Forest Proposal is an attempt was Secretary of Defense for Bush, Sr, Cheney awarded to privatise and profit from public forestland. Under this proposal, Halliburton a $3.9 million contract to "study and then implement public land management will be transferred from public hands to the privatization of routine army functions". KBR was given a 10- local, privately controlled oversight boards. The plan is the year contract in 1992, the first under the Department of Defense's administration's attempt to further commodify and privatise the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). [Halliburton collective public domain of national forests by implementing ideas = KBR was also awarded a LOGCAP III 10-year contract in formulated by the American Recreation Coalition (ARC). December 2001. Ed.] This "cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-deliv- ARC represents resort developers and more than 100 motorised ery/indefinite-quantity service" is an open-ended mandate for pri- recreation industries. It touts the Walt Disney Corporation as its vatisation anywhere in the world. most prominent member. According to its own description, the It is significant that Cheney has directly benefited from these ARC "strives to catalyze public/private partnerships for outdoor contracts (he receives compensation of US$180,000 a year from recreation opportunities". Halliburton) and his staff continues to receive advice from the company. 19. US Dollar versus the Euro: Retired Admiral Joe Lopez, former Another Reason for the Invasion of Commander-in-Chief of US Forces in Iraq southern Europe as well as Cheney's aide President Richard Nixon removed US under the elder Bush, is now the Senior Vice- currency from the gold standard in 1971. President at KBR and responsible for Since then, the world's supply of oil has been military contracting. traded in US fiat dollars, making the dollar the dominant world reserve currency. 21. Third World Austerity Policies: Countries must provide the United States The euro has begun Coming Soon to a City Near You with goods and services for dollars—which Policies traditionally carried out overseas the United States can freely print. To to emerge as a by "international lending institutions" such as purchase energy and pay off any IMF debts, serious threat to the World Bank or International Monetary countries must hold vast dollar reserves. The Fund (IMF) are quickly becoming part of the dollar hegemony and US economic dominance. world is attached to a currency that one country can produce at will. This means that—in addition to controlling world trade—the United States is importing substantial quantities of goods and services for very low relative costs. The euro has begun to emerge as a serious threat to dollar hegemony and US economic dominance. The dollar may prevail throughout the Western Hemisphere, but the euro and dollar are clashing in the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. sumer purchase-power, and environ- In November 2000, Iraq became the mental degradation, while profit rates first OPEC nation to begin selling its oil for euros. Since then, the for multinational investors have been boosted. Small farmers, hav- value of the euro has increased 17 per cent, and the dollar has ing lost their subsidies and import protections, are driven off their egun to decline. One important reason for the invasion and land into overcrowded cities. installation of a US-dominated government in Iraq was to force the According to a number of economists, including the former country back to the dollar. Another reason for the invasion was to chief economist for the World Bank, as Western investment in the dissuade further OPEC momentum towards the euro, especially Third World increased throughout the 1990s so did poverty and from Iran—the second largest OPEC producer—which was active- social instability. ly discussing a switch to euros for its oil exports. US domestic economy. Privatisation, loss of social services, bifurcation of the economy and an overall decline in the lives of working people are an ongoing reality in the United States. Officially, IMF and World Bank measures were imposed to curb infla- tion, increase exports and strengthen the fiscal condition of debtor nations, allowing them to pay back their loans. In actuality, however, the common result of structural adjustments has been depressed wages, reduced con- 99 Ailalfnen Dafaem Lin fae Danith asi hese GGT AIA The Bush administration's Charter Forest Proposal is an attempt to privatise and profit from public forestland. Under this proposal, public land management will be transferred from public hands to local, privately controlled oversight boards. The plan is the administration's attempt to further commodify and privatise the collective public domain of national forests by implementing ideas formulated by the American Recreation Coalition (ARC). ARC represents resort developers and more than 100 motorised recreation industries. It touts the Walt Disney Corporation as its most prominent member. According to its own description, the ARC "strives to catalyze public/private partnerships for outdoor recreation opportunities". to emerge as a serious threat to dollar hegemony and US economic dominance. 22. Welfare Reform Up for Reauthorisation, but Still No Safety Net In 1996, US President Bill Clinton enacted legislation that ended 61 years of federal aid designed to lift families out of poverty and ushered in a commitment to lower welfare rolls and force recipi- ents to work. The 1996 law, entitled Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), is set to be reviewed in the summer of 2003. Poverty and unemployment are on the rise in the US, and the welfare safety net for needy children no longer meets basic needs. Yet the Bush Administration is seeking to reduce the safety net 20. Pentagon Increases Private Military Contracts War profiteering has risen to an all-time high under the Bush Administration. For the first time in history, one in 10 people deployed during a war was a private contractor. From building the tent cities to maintaining the fighter jets and training the troops in live-weapons fire, private companies have made a killing in the invasion of Iraq. Staffed largely by ex-military and Defense Department officials, private companies—such as Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), DynCorp, Cubic, ITT and MPRI—have been aggressively snatch- ing up government contracts. even more. NEXUS + 17 The euro has begun DECEMBER 2003 — JANUARY 2004 www.nexusmagazine.com