Originally posted by Raider179
Here are some facts for you then.
1)Charging US $1.70/gallon for gas in the middle east.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100202,00.html
Two Democratic lawmakers say Vice President Dick Cheney's (search) former company, Halliburton (search), is gouging U.S. taxpayers while importing gasoline into Iraq. The Houston-based company contends it is paying the best price possible.
Reps. Henry Waxman (search) of California and John Dingell (search) of Michigan complained to the Bush administration that Halliburton's KBR subsidiary is billing the Army between $1.62 and $1.70 per gallon, while the average price for Middle East gasoline is 71 cents.
They also complained that Iraqis are charged between 4 cents and 15 cents at the pump for the imported gasoline.
2)Operating inside of Countries known to have US sanctions against them.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7119752/
Yet, in January, Halliburton won a contract to drill at a huge Iranian gas field called Pars, which an Iranian government spokesman said "served the interests" of Iran.
"I am baffled that any American company would want to have employees operating in Iran," says Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "I would think they'd be ashamed."
Still, Halliburton stands out because its operations in Iran are now under a federal criminal investigation. Government sources say the focus is on whether the company set out to illegally evade the sanctions imposed ten years ago.
3)And finally bribery...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4163810/
The Justice Department has opened up an inquiry into whether Halliburton Co. was involved in the payment of $180 million in possible kickbacks to obtain contracts to build a natural gas plant in Nigeria during a period in the late 1990’s when Vice President Dick Cheney was chairman of the company, Newsweek has learned.
These are Facts, and they cause suspicion as to why a company that screws over its clients repeatedly, keeps on winning bids.
Interesting quotes you LEFT OUT of your posts.
There is no evidence that Cheney was aware of the payments in question and an aide said today the vice president has not been contacted about the probe. A Justice Department official confirmed to NEWSWEEK today that prosecutors have been seeking information from Halliburton related to the Nigerian contract and that the company was cooperating. But the official said the company’s reference to being asked for “a report” by Justice was “not accurate.” Rather than a report, Justice has sought documents from the company—and Halliburton has been turning them over, the official said. Another Justice official described the inquiry as a review of documents supplied by Halliburton and said it was still in its early stages. By the way, the above inquiry was going on while Ashcroft was still the AG, AND no one has been proven to have done anything wrong yet. Innocent until proven guilty.Halliburton says the operation — videotaped by NBC News — is entirely legal. It's run by a subsidiary called "Halliburton Products and Services Limited," based outside the U.S. In fact, the law allows foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations to do business in Iran under strict conditions.
Other U.S. oil services companies, like Weatherford and Baker Hughes, also are in Iran. And foreign subsidiaries of NBC's parent company, General Electric, have sold equipment to Iran, though the company says it will make no more sales. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)
Halliburton says it is unfairly targeted because of politics, but recently announced it is pulling out of Iran because the business environment "is not conducive to our overall strategies and objectives." So, while they aren't doing anything different than other companies, they too are going to get out. They are a for profit corporation, like any other for profit corporation. Is it good that they are there? No. Should they be there? No. Is the fact that the company that reported this was also doing business there NEWS? No! Does that make it right? No. But the only reason Halliburton is NEWS is because it MIGHT make the current administration look bad. The best they can offer is that the subsidiary won't answer questions. There's a big surprise. Considering the continual investigations, an official at a subsidiary doesn't want to answer questions. Sounds like the subsidiary is practicing CYA."Although Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, the U.S. taxpayer is, in effect, subsidizing over 90 percent of the cost of gasoline sold in Iraq," the lawmakers said in the latest Democratic attacks against the Houston company that received a no-bid contract.
The charges cover the purchase and transportation of the petroleum from Kuwait and other countries.A little side note on this. Published reports show that both Kuwait and Qatar charged Halliburton prices for the products that were higher than the average local prices, because Halliburton was not an average local consumer. At least one report shows that Halliburton didn't charge an excessive markup on petroleum products purchased from Kuwait and Qatar and sold to the military.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which chose Halliburton, has received bids for a replacement contract that could be awarded this month.
Corps spokesman Robert Faletti said he could not confirm the figures that Waxman and Dingell cited in a letter to Joshua Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget.
He said, however, that the contract is being audited by Congress and the Army.And finally:
In a further move against Halliburton, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., announced Wednesday he would propose barring the government from awarding Iraq reconstruction contracts to companies that maintain close financial ties to the president, vice president or members of the president's Cabinet.
Lautenberg wants the measure added to an $87 billion reconstruction bill for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cheney receives deferred payments from Halliburton and also has stock options.
Cheney's office has said the vice president had no role in the contract and that the deferred payments were for his services while he headed the company. He has said he would give the proceeds to charity should he profit from the exercise of stock options.A special law to apply ONLY to companies that MIGHT have ties to the current administration, added to another piece of legislation. It conveniently enough is not a law that would apply to ANYONE, like other government officials, but ONLY to the CURRENT ADMINSTRATION, and ONLY to Iraq rebuilding.
Oh, and 90% of what you are quoting from is OLD news, some from at least 2-3 years ago. Evidently, nothing has come of it in 2-3 years, but it is still news, still a scandal, and still fodder for a mudslinging contest.
