corrente

And they fell for it! Rubes.

Mark Brzezinski and Mario Nicolini write in the Herald Trib:

Before and after the war, high-level meetings between top U.S. and Central European officials indicated a level of engagement that many Central European leaders presumed would carry over into the postwar reconstruction phase. Central European officials state categorically that real expectations were created.

In early March, the State Department invited representatives of more than 30 countries to discuss postwar reconstruction of Iraq.

That was the bait.

The Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, said he had conveyed to Secretary of State Colin Powell on that occasion his country's interest in participating in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq. On April 15, the spokesman for the Slovak president stated that Commerce Secretary Don Evans had given the Slovak minister of economy a list of sectors pertaining to Iraqi reconstruction in which Slovak companies could participate. The expectations of Central European leaders were clear.

Central European states' longtime links with Iraq have given them knowledge that could contribute to the country's reconstruction. During the cold war, much of Iraq's infrastructure, including power plants, airports and bridges, was built with the help of engineers from Poland, Hungary and Ukraine. But since the end of the war, not a single reconstruction contract has been awarded to a company from Central Europe, while the large American corporations Bechtel and Halliburton have been awarded contracts amounting to more than $3 billion.

That was the switch!

Another triumph for Bush diplomacy!