AND I thought that the Iraq war had been planned by Bush and his Neocons (good name for a rock band, eh?) in order to pillage the country through their corporations etc. What do you know:

European and Asian companies are beating their American rivals into Iraq now that security has improved the investment climate, Iraq and U.S. officials say.

"It's starting to turn … and the people who are getting in on the ground floor are not American," said Paul Brinkley, the Pentagon official who is leading U.S. efforts to help Iraq rebuild its economy. "It's ironic."

You bet it is.