The Washington Post reports that the exclusive, no-bid contract glory days are over in Iraq for Halliburton (at least where the Army contracts are concerned).
The Army is discontinuing a controversial multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, a decision that could cut deeply into the firm’s dominance of government contracting in Iraq.
The choice comes after several years of attacks from critics who saw the contract as a symbol of politically connected corporations profiteering on the war.
Under the deal, Halliburton had exclusive rights to provide the military with a wide range of work that included keeping soldiers around the world fed, sheltered and in communication with friends and family back home. Government audits turned up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. Whistle-blowers told how the company charged $45 per case of soda, double-billed on meals and allowed troops to bathe in contaminated water….
We’ve been hearing all sorts of rumbles that there would be a troop draw down or pull out in advance of the elections this fall. And with that, the gravy train will be pulling out of the station.
That the Iraqi government might be able to employ their own people to help with reconstruction? Well, that is a step in the right direction. And I say, it’s about damn time.
UPDATE: Crooks and Liars has a great clip of Cafferty on a cranky rant on the state of sectarian violence in Iraq. It’s a good one.
Related posts:
- Report Confirms Poor Electrical Work by KBR Endangers US Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
- DPC to Continue Drive for Oversight, Accountability for Iraq and Afghanistan Contractors
- Doing it Right in Afghanistan: You and Whose Army?
- Electrocution Deaths: DOD IG Finds Multiple Failures by KBR, Military
- White House: We Can’t Fix Our Afghan Strategy Until the Afghan Problem Goes Away
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Don’t worry, Papa Dick will figure out a way to keep them in pizza and beer.
Fitz?!
It’s a big “Mission Accomplished” moment for the administration. Sucked it dry.
Now Halliburton can focus it’s efforts on sucking the Katrina relief fund dry.
Now Halliburton can focus it’s efforts on sucking the Katrina relief fund dry.
Dryer, that is.
After all the money has been stolen we cancel the contract. The Army has become a participant in the theft of goverment funds.
From the Post article:
Makes me think that the lobbyists have clients who are tired of Halliburton hogging all the gravy and want in on the action…and Halliburton can still bid – and win – contracts. Guess I”m feeling especially jaded an cynical this morning, but it also looks like cover, on the order of: “We put it out for bid and they won fair and square.”
Wonder which fox will be put in charge of the henhouse, and how many of the companies will turn out to be obscure subsidiaries of Halliburton?
Really jaded and cynical today…
A smart parasite leaves the host before the host dies or fights back.
Now they can keep the swag.
It’s about damn time?
It’s too damn late.
This clusterfuck of biblical proportions has Chimpco thinking they can save face by sucking everyone else into and increasing the size of his ME wargame playpen.
Does this mean Bunny Greenhouse can have her job back ?
I’m not sure if it was in “the war tapes” or elsewhere, but I recently saw film of soldiers talking about what a terrible job KBR has done and how a lot of their lives have been threatened because they have to provide security for KBR transporting food around Iraq, and they have to do it under orders with whatever minimal protection or lousy equipment is available. KBR has all kinds of protection and good transportation while the soldiers scavenge old stuff to strap onto their hummers for protection.
Just makes me ill.
Anne at 7 — I know. I just keep thinking abotu Bunnatine Greenhouse and all of her peers in the procurement office and the crap they have had to deal with the last five years. And I despair of it getting better any time soon. But stopping the exclusive gravy train on ALL Army contracts is a blow, prestige-wise, so it’s a start. (Better late than never, I suppose.) And I’m hearing rumbles that this isn’t the only thing coming down the pike. Guess we’ll see…
I think when we have a Dem Pres, we should do a write in campaign to get Bunny her job back. I don’t think she’d work for this admin again, but I could be wrong; she’s pretty tough, but I don’t think I would.
And wait until you guys get to see more of Robert Greenwald’s film on war profiteering. You think you are disgusted now — you haven’t seen anything like the disgust and anger this is gonna stir up for everyone.
fyi – Byron Dorgan is the closest thing to champion Bunny has on the hill
Yes, as with everything else, it seems, just in time for the fall elections. The usual BS.
-An excellent little essay yesterday from a commenter on “The Oil Drum”
http://www.theoildrum.com/stor…../7683#more
Joule on Tuesday July 11, 2006 at 4:26 PM ESTb
By and large, the consensus here at TOD seems to be that the real reason the US is in Iraq is to secure a strategic outpost in the heart of the Middle East so as to be in a position to control the future flow of oil in a manner favorable to the US and unfavorable to our rivals (read China). I fully agree with that.
However, I no longer believe that creating a stable government is necessarily the Bush regime’s first priority in Iraq. Rather, I think the overriding goal is to establish a permanent, sustainable military presence of sufficient size so as to deter any other country’s involvement in Iraq and to eventually secure the oil production infrastructure. The former is probably easier than the latter.
The very nature, size, and expense of these military bases as well as the grotesquely huge ‘embassy’ in the Green Zone clearly puts the lie to Bush regime claims that we will only stay in Iraq as long as it takes to get the job done. The Bush regime plans for us to be there for good, come hell or high water.
Now, there is the little problem of trying to reduce US casualties down to an ‘acceptable’ level and to reduce the steady erosion of men and matriel. So, it appears that the US is trying to reduce its presence in ‘the street’, so to speak and to stay more in the background. Where military force is required, air power seems to be the preferred method of choice despite the inconvenience of civilian casualties. A main priority is to create the perception among the American public that things are winding down as far as American military involvement. Therefore it’s essential that American casualties show a decline, particularly in the run-up to the November congressional elections. Sort of a holding pattern.
So, I am beginning to think that maybe Bush-Chenney-Rumsfeld actually feel a certain amount of relief that Sunnis are fighting Shiites instead of both strongly united against the occupation.
It is sort of a modern version of the British colonial attitude during the Victorian period: ‘Let the bloody wogs kill each other; makes it easier for us!’ I think it has already been taken into account that Iraq will be chaos for many years, but as long as a US garrison can hunker down in its various ‘Fort Apaches’ in a reasonable stable manner and not incur too many casualties, Bush et al are willing to be in it for the long haul.
That’s my read on the situation. Now, I’ll be the first to say that I don’t believe it will work. It is very difficult and extremely expensive to maintain a permanent garrison in a country that is overtly hostile. Whereas insurgents might lack military might, they can be extremely resourceful when it comes to making life miserable for the occupiers.
However, while all this chaos is taking place, I don’t see a chance of Iraq’s oil production infrastructure being built up. Who is going to be crazy enough to invest billions in an active war zone? Who’s going to want to work in Iraq? But I don’t think that bothers the Bush regime, as they probably view Iraq’s oil as good as money in the bank, a vast asset that can be tapped at some later date when things eventually settle into some semblence of stability, be it a decade from now, or even two.
As I said, this is not about oil now; it’s about oil well into the future. It is also about a critical move in our ongoing chess game with China. The US has landed a rook on a critical square and is going to play it for all it’s worth.
For these reasons, I don’t think there is the slightest possibility that the US will leave Iraq. We might draw down our troop strength, but we are going to be planted there for better or worse. (It will be for worse.)
zennurse – i think it’s a diff film and i have been googling trying to find it. I remember the trailer, they had former hallib truck drivers saying how they had no protection, no maps.
here’s the war tapes trailer:
http://www.thewartapes.com/trailer/
now to find the other movie
I was thinking about that this am, Christy, listening to very early morning BBC talking about the “change in tactic” of the admin on the detainees. I still think all of this is a political game to Bush et al, part of their campaigning every day style. So they change their tactic on a few things, it’s not ever about it being the right thing to do, it’s because there’s an election on the horizon.
ps, the text messages and emails on BBC from around the world about the ME and the train bombing are just heartbreaking and infuriating. So many average people totally get it, but are at the mercy of their governments’ pissing contests.
$45 for a case of soda? Sounds like the concessions stand at most major league baseball games!
My personal favorite from the article is this:
Kind of like “no one could have imagined the levees failing” in New Orleans, except, of course, for the folks who did imagine just such an eventuality.
The Pentagon is filled with people who are paid to imagine, and many of them do it quite well. There’s a difference, though, between imagining what might happen in the real world and living in an imaginary one. That’s the problem: those at the top – the political neocon cabal – don’t want anything that doesn’t fit into their narrow imaginary vision of life.
zennurse at 18 — has there been any group that has claimed responsibility on the bombings as yet? I heard on NPR this morning that both major Kashmiri independence groups have said it was not them.
We have family that will be moving to India soon, and I’ve been trying to track down some solid information for them on this. If anyone has found a good source of info. on it, and can pass along a link or two, it would be much appreciated.
So the crooks and liars have been sensing the outrage about war profiteering and have decided to pick up their toys and hide in the shadows for a couple of days. I wish I could believe that someone is doing the right thing, but I cannot even imagine that Halliburton thinks it’s made enough money yet. Why would the Army actually do something about this? When it comes to this stuff, I’m completely cynical. It’s either a head fake or a foreshadowing of the other election winning strategy to reduce troops a bit until after the election. I really hope I’m completely wrong and someone who has some sense has taken over the wheel, but I don’t trust DOD or Cheney when it comes to saying they’re going to clean up waste and fraud. They invented it.
Oh, and also, apparently the readers of Powerline have been sending a “library” of books to our soldiers in Iraq. Anyone who would like to send a more progressive book to this unit of soldiers can do so at the following address:
SGT Dave Thul
Weapons Company 1-133
APO AE
09333-0000
I’m sure that any Democrats who serve with this guy would appreciate knowing that people in the US still hold opposing views to Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity. I’m just saying…
Christy, I’m listening now and they say no more information, and repeating that the two groups have said they were not involved. As they carry on with the investigation they may find more clues.
OT and fyi– Ben Cohen is on cspan 1 right now.
Why would anybody want to be remembered as a crooked, greedy, lying bastard ? As though all that matters in life is how much money they pile up. I believe in Karma, not the instant destiny thing, but more of reap what you sow or what goes around comes around. People carry a vibe of what they are, who they are and if one individual has ugly karma it eventually catches up with them. Bush has ugly Karma, so does Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz etc. Cheneys’ karma is absolutely hideous. When I heard that Ken Lay had died (somebody show me the body) I turned to my wife and we both said in unison, “karma”. Bad things are going to happen to these people, bad, bad things.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5171864.stm has the latest info on the Mumbai bombings … perps still unidentified
starting salary for US soldier – 15 to 27 K per year
starting salary for KBR Driver – 120 – 250 K per year
Thanks, zen — that’s about what I was getting as well. Was hoping maybe the Beeb was plugged into something more solid — guess it’s going to be touch and go for a few days.
btw, how are you feeling? Hope the headaches have eased a bit. Meant to mention that I friend of mine had some success taking feverfew supplements to lessen her migraines. Might be worth checking out with your doc…
Christy, here’s a passage from The Independent’s lede story:
Dang, forgot to close that block — maybe *ilson’s saved my fanny . . .
twolf1 @ 6:37 am
starting salary for US soldier – 15 to 27 K per year
starting salary for KBR Driver – 120 – 250 K per year
—–
OMG, twolf1, do you have a source for that? That needs to be front page news everywhere. Absolute obscenity.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes…..740205.cms
another source for India News – also include denials from Kashmiri groups
lotus at 30 — I got it. :)
Thanks Christy, but I can’t take many supplements or herbs because of the fibromyalgia; the cause exacerbations. I appreciate everyone’s concern so much. The headaches are pretty much gone this week, unless I spend too much time online. ;-)
Thanks, CHS. Btw, The Indy has several more Mumbai stories linked there.
I didn’t realize until last night that Mumbai is the new Bombay.
but, but, but Haliburton pays taxes on all those profits, right ?!?!? I mean they’re not like some unpatriotic companies that park all that cash in the Caymans, right ?!?!?
ZenNurse
I got on top of my Fibromyalgia several years ago using Guafenicin – - readily available now as Musinex.
Read about it in a book on Fibromyalgia – - can’t remember the name, but the cover is pale green.
I still have flareups, but they are blessedly rare.
zen, it’s always so great to see you here, and also good to realize that you take such good care of yourself. The one big lesson I’ve learned in the last year is – rest is important!
Yes, little dog, but I wonder whether anyone here recalls when/why the change. Surely it wasn’t because of the ___ Bicycle Company taking-in-vain.
“According to Cheney’s 2001 financial disclosure report, the vice president’s Halliburton benefits include three batches of stock options comprising 433,333 shares. He also has a 401(k) retirement account valued at between $1,001 and $15,000 dollars.
His deferred compensation account was valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and generated income of $50,000 to $100,000.
In 2002, Cheney’s total assets were valued at between $19.1 million and $86.4 million.”
–CBS News
Meta – sadly my source sux – the comments section on youtube ;)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zji…..search=kbr truck driver
but — after a little google action:
http://www.inthesetimes.com/th…..s_or_ruin/
http://www.rense.com/general46/hal.html
Meta – some links for you are currently in moderation
This is off topic abit, but emblematic.
Gay marraige became legel in Oure Faire Commomwealthe about 2 years ago. A petition initiative resulted which places a state Constitutional amendment banning same on ballot. TOday, a Constitutional Convention is meeting on Beacon Hill. Both Houses as one. 20 items on agenda, including Gay Marriage. Needs 50 votes in 2 consecutive sessions to make it onto ‘08 ballot. Globe has article:
http://www.boston.com/news/loc…..e_balance/
The last graphs are pure RW (Goldwater movement…)
…”Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute and a leading advocate for the ballot initiative, said he hopes that lawmakers take up the issue today.
“But if we have to gear up again for a later date, so be it,” he said. “We’re in this thing for the long haul. They’re not going to wear us down.”"
—–
I suggest we take heed, no matter what the issue. As Ghostman and others put it:ATTACK! FIGHT!
The more I think about it, the more I think, “change of tactic, my ass.” This has the look and feel of “maybe if we say we’ve always been abiding by the spirit of Geneva, they’ll stop looking at us and we can go back to business as usual.” I think these people are terrified of the war crimes implications, have realized they have painted themselves into a corner and will say and do anything to make the whole thing go away until the paint dries and they can flee the scene of the crime.
Not getting much improvement on the “jaded and cynical” thing, and sarcasm threatens to overtake me…help!
twolf1, thanks so much. I want to float this story around.
Doesn’t amaze me at 69 yrs. age I remenber being told as a young boy that the RATS who know before any one else when it is time to LEAVE a SINKING SHIP (IRAQ )
You know what I’d really like to see happen to Cheney? A heart attack that totally incapacitates him but doesn’t kill him — so he has to sit in a wheelchair for many years, unable to enjoy life but also unable to get shut of the ignominy of everything he ever concocted coming down around his ears in flitters.
So the Army’s going to “cut and run” on Halliburton? Another shameful chapter…
meta – http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..ent-185205
JEEZus.
Looked up at muted CNN just now, just long enough to catch the end of an ad:
“Restore your manhood . . .
HUMMER”
The Washingto Post has a good article about LIEberman today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01204.html
funny, hilliburton doesnt list the heavy truck driver’s salary on their employment page:
http://kbrcareers.webrecruiter…..03BA74E87F
What lotus says.
Or maybe his vascular disease could require amputation and he gets severe phantom pains that never go away and lives a long, long life. That one’s a beaut. Let him know the suffering he’s orchestrated for too many.
OT–This is making me feel sick way down deep– I see nothing good coming from any of this. Can we say conflagration?
>>>>>>>>>>>
Lebanese guerrillas have captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, triggering the first Israeli incursion into the country since 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5171616.stm
lotus 51 – was that the ad where one soccer mom bullies another so the bullied one goes and buys a hummer so she can fight back? That commercial pisses me off – it’s so Hummer
i direct you here:
http://www.fuh2.com/
Lotus : their entire new Hummer campaign is based on sexism — you chicks are covered too! I saw an ad for the H3 targeted especially to you girls …
Yes, and Israel is getting ready to invade Lebanon and bomb them back 20 years. OMFG
Anne, I’m in the same boat. I’m the kind of person that gets up every morning hoping for the best. One the whole, I’m a very good natured person with a positive outlook on life. I always put my best foot forward and believe that kindness is important in our daily lives. But this government has changed everything about our quality of life for the worse. It’s not only the war, the fraud, the waste, the lying – although that would be quite enough, wouldn’t it? It’s also the economy they’ve created and the suppression of free speech and de-valuation of the arts and the spying and the lack of civility and the total abdication of responsibility and the ruin of our reputation in the eyes of our friends around the world and the affront on all the things that make this country great. So it takes an extra effort to stay positive. But I am a fighter and I know there will be a karma for these people. I just want it now. These people are exhausting.
meta, little dog-
Thanks so much, I did try guaifenesin a few years ago, but I also have a history of depression and it doesn’t work so well for me. I do best with regular exercise and changed from my 50 hour/week work schedule to two 12’s so I have more time to rest and have some joy. I do as well as anyone with fibromaylgia, I guess. Don’t mean to make such a deal of it here, but the support I get really helps a lot, so thanks again.
lotus and Prarie,
your wishes for Cheney are so much more civil and humane than this little rabid lamb
mine involve the ‘incapacitation’ of his enablers (in order of importance) before his monstrous eyes, and just as I turn my venomous gaze towards him, I set fire to all $800 million . . .
Naw, twolf, it was this guy in a grocery-store checkout line, looking down at somebody else’s rack of baby-backs, looking up in inspiration, and running off to buy a Hummer — which he drives into that text I quoted.
Guess they finally decided it’s time to make their always-implicit pitch explicit (now that their sales are as flaccid as Rush’s) . . .
Nate C–Last night I posted a nightcap about the column and lots of other people have commented as well. Hopefully this will stir the pot more among the archaic media.
Desperation’s building for LIE-berman… Dodd shilling for him on Imus this morning, he’ll be on tomorrow. Wonder if Imus will actually look into why people are working so hard for Lamont? Joey AWOL from his constituents too long–wonder if he ever got back to that district chair who contacted him back in Feb.
Looking at the arrogance of power J-LIE and others have demonstrated, I’m all the more grateful for our wonderful Congressional team–Dorgan, Conrad, and Pomeroy on the House side. They do ND proud.
lotus – oh, i haven’t seen that one… and i’m glad.
Fun website that, twolf. Heh.
the husband had Imus on this morning – coulda sworn I heard Imus call him a “weenie” for his independent gambit . . .
What an unwrapped rack of baby-backs lying on a checkout conveyor belt has to do with anything, I must leave to your surmise.
twolf1 – thanks for the links. I guess I could’ve Googled too!
cbl, your Cheney fate does have a wholesome appeal, yezindeedy.
You start to wonder after a while if all these guys don’t have puppy-torture back in their childhoods. There’s a lot of the serial killer psyche in the macro of Bushco–think Ted Bundy and what a charmer he was…Ann Rule’s writing about him still creeps me out.
Zen, hugs for the health issues. One of my best friends copes with fibromyalgia. Exercise is a good thing.
I couldn’t agree more, meta, I’ve not seen that word used before but that’s it, they are exhausting. I have, for the last 20 years, been politically aware and concerned, but not until the last 6 years have I felt politically alarmed. I used to accept that it was something I did that others just weren’t interested in, but now I feel more and more infuriated that so many Americans are just too lazy to care, or too selfish to act. , especially in the face of the criminal Bush administration.
meta – no biggie. I felt bad for using such a crappy source — I felt like a Fox News reporter– reporting as fact something from a youtube comment section. What a hack i am ;)
Hummer has Schwarzennegar as their poster boy. I rest my case.
Zennurse, I highly recommend Omega 3 (cod liver oil,Flax seed oil, Salmon) It kicks ass on headaches and depression. It also is great for your cardio-vascular system, actually eroding built up plaque in your veins and arteries ( of course I’m only a musician, but I am a healer ).
Halliburton and Cheney have made their billions and don’t hand over more if more were to be had. “Change in tactic” of the admin on the detainees, With a lack of conscience as to the importance of and what proper treatment even is, this administration will only say one thing and do another. The only hope for meaningful change in this administration is to kick them out. After this is all over, if it ever is, there are a few names I never want to hear again and Lieberman is sure among them.
Just heard Borzu Daraghi on NPR, says it is much worse in Baghdad and he fears for the young Iraqis who work for the press who don’t want to go home at the end of the day because they are so likely never to return.
“As night fell, police and witnesses said militiamen continued to maraud through west Baghdad, clashing with armed men near a Sunni mosque. Police said there were multiple casualties but ambulances were unable to evacuate them.
The violence rose despite the deployment of 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and 8,000 U.S. troops as part of a Baghdad security plan implemented nearly a month ago by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. Lawmakers noted Tuesday that the violence had kept many of their colleagues from reaching the parliament.”
LA times
Got a call this am from the DCCC, very pushy, told them I preferred to contribut to individual candidates and got an earful. Politely said, I have your website, thanks very much byebye.
Thanks, steve, doing Flaxseed and cod capsules, those seem to be ok and have family cardiac history. Very sweet of you.
SUV city:
http://www.suvcitythefilm.com/…..film3.html
Who said “Balderdash” in the hearings yesterday?
I can’t recognize his voice on the radio.
Yesterday, Josh featured this quote from Hoekstra: “More frequently than what we would like, we find out that the intelligence community has been penetrated, not necessarily by al Qaeda, but by other nations or organizations. I don’t have any evidence. But from my perspective, when you have information that is leaked that is clearly helpful to our enemy, you cannot discount that possibility.”
Now Josh says, “Following up on [that,] apparently [Hoekstra]’s now actually accusing members of the US intel community of working with and/or for al Qaida, just as his quote … suggests. I hear there’s a big article on this about to pop. So I guess we’ll be hearing more very soon.”
I highlighted this Halliburton story on late night. It broke on Reuters at 12:10 am EST.They didn’t have a lot of details. I called it like Christy. The end of the gravy train.
SOMEBODY is up to something hinky with this.I don’t know what it is yet,but, You can feel it in your gut.The horrible performance reviews they have had are almost criminal. Somebody’s trying to hide some stink here.
zen, we are probably of the same ilk. I began my political activism when Viet Nam was claiming all my classmate’s lives. I took to the streets and also dealt with the violence of civil rights activism. I’m Latina and was also involved in the California struggle to see that Chavez made his mark. I feel the need to do something and I do it.
I was at a party the other night, having fun talking to a very handsome man. I was feeling it. First time in a while I actually felt like I met someone I could actually go out with and have some fun. Smart, funny, self-aware, articulate. After a while I started to talk about how I’m becoming more politically active again, and he looked very surprised. Although he is to the left of center, it hadn’t occurred to him that he could join in and do something about it, that we could contribute to some sort of change in all this. That’s what we’re facing.
Sorry … http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com
meta, you’ll be a great power of example for him, go for it.
What a nice development, meta 83 — hope it goes well for you.
Steve Clark – musicians are definitely healers.
OT:
Just found this website that has some documentary information on developments under the “Patriot” Act:
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/a…..t_act.html
C’mon gang!
Just means Cheney and Co., spin up a new name, new company and start the same game again!
DO you REALLY THINK they’ll STOP?
They’re benefitting now from bloodshed of AMERICAN men and women who do uphold the Constitution, and innocent Iraqi women and children.
C’MON. GET REAL.
Somebody’s trying to hide some stink here.
has USAF awarded any big contracts lately ?
btw, as ghastly and insensitive as it sounds on the surface, do the math, Cheney’s net worth has realized gain of $294,500 per US KIA in Iraq and THAT is exactly how I’d frame it
(net gain of $745.6M since 2002, div by KIA) which is plenty more than bereavement payments to the families left with permanent holes in their hearts – many of which have yet to receive those payments
meta says @ #87:
July 12th, 2006 at 7:27 am: “Steve Clark – musicians are definitely healers.”
Yet some are also heels.
new thread
And also these additional links on privacy (http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/cat_patriot_act.html) and civil liberties (http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/cat_civil_liberties.html)
These sites track developments that I have not seen reported widely elsewhere.
cspan3 house hearings on Hamdan. Retired Navy JAG speaking now.
Ed Teller – Hahahaaaaa. I’m talking about the music!
ToL thinks,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/a…..17,00.html
cbl, that is compelling information and it’s the truth. When it’s framed that way, it just boggles and pains to face that fact.
Can someone please explain why it appears nobody in our government is working on the Israel/Palestine/now Lebanon problem?
the silence is deafening to me.
One more indication that the GOP is terrified (they should be) of their opposition mounting a political campaign focused heavily on accountability. If the Dems start pounding the tables on the issue of America’s stolen treasure and have the spine to get nasty and negative on this theme right out of the gate, the GOP will have a real fight on their hands.
it’s nice to say that they are going to open the contracts up to competitive bidding, but the truth is that there aren’t that many companies geared up or even capable of providing servicies on the scale the military needs. who do you think is going to end up with the lowest bid (even with some graft figured in), a company who has to factor in all the start-up costs of an operation this size, or one that is already running one. they may say they are going to split up the work, but don’t be surprised when down the line they just quitely decide that it wasn’t as “cost effective” to do it that way, and helliburton ends up still doing everything.
angie 98, it’s probably one or both of these silencers:
a) Anything Israel does is just-all-right with the neocons
and/or
b) They’re so overwhelmed with Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and NKorea, they don’t have an eye left to cast upon Israel vs. Hamas/Hezbollah.
Well, then there’s c) too:
They’re too out-of-ideas to lift their heads above the parapet. Running and hiding seems more prudent to the clueless.
The vultures are abandoning the carcass.
Not much meat left when that happens.
thanks, lotus. The entire region is turning into hell.
This No More Halliburton No-bid Contracts pr is just part of the Republican election bullshit. They think it would fit in nicely with some kind of fake withdrawal plan, as Christy suggests.
The thing that bothered me about the Cafferty clip was Wolfie chiming in:
Yes, it seems as though they are “teetering” on the verge of civil war now.”
Mark my words this is the new meme to temper the perception. Iraq IS in a civil war and now for months and will be for months the pundits will say “on the verge of a civil war” They’ll never come out and say it.
The KBR contract referenced in the article, LOGCAP, was a COMPETIVELY awarded (single-award) contract.
Haliburton a public company and the parent of KBR routinely reveals in their public audited disclosures that their government business is the lowest margin business they have.
Just the facts-
How are other companies going to help out? I thought the reason for the no-bid contracts was because Halliburton was the only company that was able to do the job. If I had to take a very wild guess I would say that something big is about to come down. The movie wrt Halliburton could be just the beginning. Think Enron.
Halliburton from Yahoo:
Prev Close: 75.58
Open: 74.61
Last Trade: 74.42
The shaking of the canes soon?
Wow the Geneva Convention and no more Haliburton all in one week. One would thing the White House is trying to appear moderate.
Don’t let them fool you.