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"The Pentagon has barred French, German and Russian companies from competing for $18.6 billion in contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq, saying it was acting to protect 'the essential security interests of the United States.'"

More PR from the Bubba administration. Try to isolate your "enemies", hope to win more friends. But in the end, the international community is no dupe to these schoolyard tactics. Rather than protecting US interests, this sort of move further tarnishes the image of the US.