The U.S. has "persuaded" the interim Iraqi government to cut social subsidies, reconsider past oil deals with France and Russia and allow U.S. companies full access to the nation's oil reserves.

All this is part of a neo-liberal economic restructuring plan that emphasizes privatization of government entities, cuts to social spending and would prove a windfall for U.S. corporations. The interim Iraqi government is now considering privatizing the Iraqi National Oil Company, and will pass a new law that will open Iraq's huge oil reserves to foreign companies. "U.S. firms are expected to gain the lion's share of access in a process estimated to be worth billions of dollars."

In October, Iraq signed an agreement with the IMF that forces Iraqi leaders to abolish a public subsidy system that kept millions of Iraqis from starvation during the U.S. and UK-backed sanctions.

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