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This article by Warren Vieth of the LA TIMES discusses the potential economic future of Iraq.
Optimists see an opportunity to turn Iraq into a showpiece of First World economic policy, a place where oil revenue and foreign capital are deployed wisely to revitalize old industries and germinate new ones, from travel and tourism to telecommunications. For a typical Iraqi—whose annual income was estimated by the World Bank at less than $1,200 in 2001—the payoff could take the form of new jobs, better pay, checking accounts, charge cards, home mortgages, cars, computers, cell phones.“I think Iraq has the potential of becoming probably the most advanced and the wealthiest country in the region,” said Hasan Alkhatib, a computer engineer who fled the nation in 1976 and later founded IP Dynamics, a software firm in San Jose.
Alkhatib said Iraq could revitalize its agricultural production, revive failed industries and create new products and services. Iraq’s archeological riches make it a potential magnet for tourism, he said. Its location makes it a logical transportation hub, and its antiquated telecommunication and information systems are ripe for technological innovation.
“I would give it maybe 20 years,” said Alkhatib, a member of the State Department’s Future of Iraq project. “I’d bet you that Iraq, if it has a democracy, will match the successful European countries in its economy.”
