As the war with Iraq has drawn to a close, the future of Iraq’s economy rests in the hands of political factors and the United States.

“The key is the politics,” said Miguel Checa, research administration personnel from the office of sponsored projects. “If the organization of their politics is not done in a smart way, then ethnic rivalries are going to continue and we might go back to a similar situation.”

The rebuilding process will cost an estimated $100 to $200 billion dollars according to the White House, economics professor Khan Mohabbat said.

The oil income alone will not be adequate, as the oil prices will fall because Iraq owes a tremendous amount of foreign debt and its economy is devastated, Mohabbat said.

“To keep the cost at a minimum, it would have to be through an open market competition,” Mohabbat said.

Checa concurred with Mohabbat’s sentiment of Iraq having free trade.

“If they manage to find a good niche, they’re going to reap the benefits of being there early,” Checa said.

Many countries want a part of the action in Iraq, but the United States is trying to exclude countries like Germany and France because they did not support the war, said Rosemary Feurer, an assistant history professor.

“The best and quickest way of getting rid of Iraqi poverty is to lift the [United Nations] sanctions,” Feurer said. “That’s what caused poverty more than the brutality of Saddam Hussein.”