It's a simple story, that on a basic level describes people (animals) who are more than happy to come in and benefit or take over from the results of someone else's hard work.

In the case of Iraq, I intended this to apply to the U.N. and others who are demanding a role in both political power and financial influence after doing their damndest to make it almost impossible for us to get the job done in the first place.

The reconstruction contracts fall into this category, but are just one of many things that are involved in the big picture. Certainly, it is insane to assume that we started a war to get reconstruction contracts. We could have made scads more money by simply ignoring Saddam's crimes, recognizing him as a "normal" leader, and opening full trade relations with an oil-rich nation.

There may be more apt analogies, with a less "commercial" overtone, but one didn't occur to me.