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back to article Microsoft invades Iraq, installs first distributor

Microsoft is officially open for business in Iraq, reportedly opening its first local distributor. The world’s largest software company has named Baghdad-based Legend Lands (Beqaa Al-Estora) as its partner for the war-torn country. Microsoft manager of business development for emerging markets, Rajai el-Khadem, reportedly …

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  1. hplasm
    Windows

    How evil!

    So much for hearts and minds- that's just low.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Excellent...

    ...especially because the Flame virus is targeting middle eastern Windows installations.

    Do Microsoft know that they have death penalty in most of the middle eastern countries ?

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  3. The BigYin

    Ah, what a way to bring freedom

    By placing the country under the heel of one of the most anti-freedom companies on Earth.

    Of course, the Iraq war was never about freedom or protecting the populace from the USA's old ally Saddam. It was about the oil and the chance to make billions in rebuilding the country. Just ask Dick Cheney.

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    1. h4rm0ny
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      Re: Ah, what a way to bring freedom

      "anti-freedom companies on Earth."

      Oh come on! Microsoft as one of the most anti-freedom companies on Earth? Blackwater supplied mercenaries to kill Iraqi opponents whilst avoiding legal entanglements that the actual army would have faced. Haliburton (along with others) pillaged Iraq of oil, forcing them to agree to deals at sub-market rates. Bechtel has received billions of dollars (paid for by Iraqi reconstruction funds) for rebuilding of Iraqi infrastructure whilst local Iraqi construction companies and workers were literally turned away. Ditto for Parsons Corporation. Symbion Power is another one. The list of corporations that financially benefitted from the Iraq war is long and shameful and I haven't even touched the "defence" companies yet. But MS selling products to the Iraqi government in 2012? Not really leading the pack of "most anti-freedom". The hyperbole where MS is concerned is getting ridiculous.

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  4. Dana W
    Unhappy

    Ow.

    Talk about kicking them when they are down.

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  5. Ross K Silver badge
    Linux

    Yaaay!

    Everybody get your snout in the trough!

    USA! USA! USA!

    Penguin because a war-ravaged country needs premium-priced software instead of Linux and OpenOffice...

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    1. The BigYin
      Reply Icon

      Re: Yaaay!

      Of course it does, how else can the rich nations (and primarily the rich within said nations) gouge the poor and vulnerable?

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      1. Ross K Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Yaaay!

        @The BigYin: Well, you either sell them overpriced goods and services they don't need, or you can buy their natural resources at preferential rates.

        Speaking of oil, The US is selling drones to Iraq to help protect their oil assets from those Godless Iranians :

        http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-05-20/iraq-oil-drones/55099590/1

        Isn't democracy great?

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        1. The BigYin
          Reply Icon

          Re: Yaaay!

          @Ross K That's what I love about religion, from the Iranian viewpoint it's the USA who are the godless.

          The world would be such a better place without the sky-fairies.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yaaay!

      The USA never one to disappoint, the western banks have a whole clutch of third-world countries by the short'n'curlies, now with USA leading the charge they have a chance to really act like some Blaxploitation style Pimp and "Bust dat bitch ass wide open!".

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    3. h4rm0ny
      Reply Icon

      Re: Yaaay!

      It's not only that this will cost them more. In the grand-scheme of things, that's not a big cost compared to everything else. If they went with Linux and Open Office, it would be a chance to start building a local development and support community around those that other countries just don't have. They could become one of the leaders in Open Source if they wanted to. In most governments, MS is too entrenched to shift easily. In Iraq, less so.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is what really means to be unfortunate

    First they got US bombs and now they are getting Microsoft Windows.

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another way to LOCK DOWN the iraqi people.

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  8. samlebon23

    Imagine B2 bombers dropping loads of Windows 8 on the iraqi populace.

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  9. Mr_Pitiful
    WTF?

    Hmmm

    Windows for Oil!

    Perhaps there is a market out there after all.

    Now if only they could afford the hardware to run it on!

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    1. Ross K Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Hmmm

      "Now if only they could afford the hardware to run it on!"

      I don't think there's any problem there. I'd be very surprised if Dell or HP haven't got their greasy paws on some filthy lucre.

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  10. Goat Jam
    Trollface

    Hold On

    I thought we were on their side?

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  11. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Coat

    Poor people

    Now they have to worry about IE as well as IEDs

    Sorry, couldn't resist, given all the trouble IE6 (aargh!) and 7 (less so) gave with our conference web site, which worked fine with Opera, Safari, Firefox, and passed W3C compliance tests.

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