Halliburton's Gig Is Up

We now have a clear admission of guilt from Halliburton that the company knowingly defrauded the American people in its handling of post-war Iraqi reconstruction efforts. After months of accusing critics of trying to score political points with Halliburton, the public learned that it was the vice president’s former company that has been scoring more than just political advantage from the country – Halliburton recently admitted that two employees received $6 million kickbacks in return for awarding a Kuwaiti-based company with lucrative work supplying U.S. troops in Iraq.

• Halliburton has continually ripped off the American public= The kickback scheme comes on top of the company’s repeated efforts to bilk American taxpayers and corner billions in reconstruction grants. From no-bid contracts with little scrutiny to allegedly manipulated gasoline prices, Halliburton’s largely secretive and unchecked rein over post-war Iraq has been anything but above board.
• The administration’s claims about Halliburton should be heavily scrutinized given its track record with the truth in Iraq. Vice President Cheney said last week, that despite Halliburton’s admission of guilt, "allegations of corruption stem from 'desperate' political opponents who 'can't find any legitimate policy differences' to debate." The vice president also asserted last week, "We've found a couple of semi-trailers at this point which we believe were in fact part of [a WMD] program. I would deem that conclusive evidence, if you will, that he did in fact have programs for weapons of mass destruction," – a claim former CIA weapons inspector David Kay called "premature and embarrassing." Given the vice president’s on-going ties to his former company and his pattern of deception with Iraq, the public should remain highly vigilant in monitoring the administration’s comments on Halliburton.
• Congress should follow the lead of Rep. Henry Waxman who has called for a full investigation of Halliburton’s role in Iraq. Given the rapid time table in Iraq, taxpayers must be assured that they are not being forced to pay a company that willfully violates American laws and undermines confidence in our reconstruction efforts. If a full investigation turns up additional evidence of fraud and collusion from Halliburton, the company’s monolithic hold on reconstruction grants should be broken up and distributed to competitors who can keep our trust.

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