OP-ED: Liberate Iraq's Economy, By FRANK R. GUNTER, New York Times, November 15, 2009

The chief problems in Iraq's commercial code are its incredible complexity, long delays in processing requests for licenses and high cost. For example, registering a new business in Iraq costs almost $2,800 compared to $139 in Delaware. (However, a group of Iraqi businessmen assured me that if $600 in cash was given to the right person, a license would be available immediately and no further fees would be required.) The country could simply throw out its current commercial code and adopt a less restrictive, regionally acceptable one -- like Saudi Arabia's. Or, more realistically, it could make its code more user-friendly by, say, allowing business owners to work with one ministry -- as opposed to a dozen. The government could take other steps, too. With the exception of tax collection and international trade regulations, responsibility for regulating private businesses could be taken from the Baghdad ministries and delegated to the country's 18 provinces. Encouraging the provinces to compete for private-sector jobs would lead to friendlier regulatory environments around the country -- just as it has in the United States. But whatever is decided, the government of Iraq is running out of time.