<HTML>Having failed miserably at home, telecom equipment makers think a war in Iraq would boost their performance. Among them, the evil Lucent. Nomi February 17, 2003 Looking Beyond a War in Iraq New York Times By SIMON ROMERO The telecommunications equipment industry is quietly pinning its hopes on a quick Iraqi war that would be followed by an American-led effort to rebuild the country after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Iraq, whose communications networks were heavily damaged in the 1991 gulf war, is sorely in need of an entirely new and modern telecommunications system for its civilian population. And if a pro-American government were to emerge in Iraq, telecommunications equipment analysts say American companies like <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=LU">Lucent Technologies</A> and <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=MEU">Motorola</A> could gain an edge over competitors from France and China that have won relatively modest contracts in recent years to help Iraq improve its communications network. An important precedent, these analysts say, came after the gulf war when Saudi Arabia awarded Lucent at least $4.5 billion of contracts to overhaul its telephone system. That deal, among the largest government awards to any equipment manufacturer in the last decade, was widely associated with an effort by allies in the region to favor American companies after the war. <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/technology/17NECO.html?pagewanted=print&position=top">http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/technology/17NECO.html?pagewanted=print&position=top</A> </HTML>