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| | Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Democracy and robbery |
 | | On March 4 last year, with the military campaign just 15 days away, the United States agency for international development asked three American firms to bid for a unique job; after Iraq had been invaded and occupied, one company would be charged with setting up 180 local and provincial town councils in the rubble. |
 | | This was newly imperial territory for firms that were more accustomed to the friendly NGO-speak of "public-private partnerships", and two of the three companies decided not to apply. |
 | | The "local governance" contract, worth $167.9m in the first year and up to $466m in total, went to the Research Triangle Institute (RTI), a private non-profit-making body best known for its drug research. |
| www.guardian.co.uk /comment/story/0,3604,1144705,00.html (1119 words) |
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