looking back

posted March 13, 2003 2:30 pm

Preoccupying Iraq

...For a clearer view of the occupation, there's a recent piece in the Guardian, Cheney is still paid by Pentagon contractor, in which Julian Borger and Robert Bryce report that our VP is still receiving annual payments of "deferred compensation" of up to $ 1 million a year from Haliburton, the Texas company he ran, whose subsidiary, Kellog, Brown & Root just received a contract from the Pentagon to control oil fires, should Saddam Hussein order the Iraqi oil fields to be burned. They go on to say,

"Halliburton is one of five large US corporations - the others are the Bechtel Group, Fluor Corp, Parsons Corp, and the Louis Berger Group - invited to bid for contracts in what may turn out to be the biggest reconstruction project since the Second World War. It is estimated to be worth up to $900m for the preliminary work alone, such as rebuilding Iraq's hospitals, ports, airports and schools.

"The contract winners will be able to establish a presence in post-Saddam Iraq that should give them an invaluable edge in winning future contracts. The defence department contract awarded to the Halliburton subsidiary, Kellog, Brown & Root (KBR), to control oil fires… will put the company in an excellent position to bid for huge contracts when Iraq's oil industry is rehabilitated."

The Los Angeles Times similarly reported yesterday (see below) on oil industry expectations that in the wake of a successful Iraqi war, the Iraqi "playing field" will be "leveled" for US and British oil firms (though the Brits have taken note of the fact that only large US firms have been invited to bid on the "reconstruction" of Iraq)...

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/482/preoccupying_iraq