October 25, 2003 6:14 AM

Hmm...Halliburton...I've heard that name somewhere before....

Internal Email Reveals Halliburton's Strategy to Combat Accusations of Overcharging the Government

Negative publicity from the Bush Administration's award of a $7 billion no-bid contract to a Halliburton subsidiary with a history of overcharging the government has led Halliburton CEO David Lesar to direct his employees to counter with a letter-writing campaign, according to an internal company e-mail provided to The Daily MisLead.

The negative publicity has also embarrassed the administration, given President Bush's pledge in the wake of earlier corporate scandals that "corporate leaders who violate the public trust should never be given that trust again."

The Halliburton subsidiary, previously known as Brown & Root, was cited at least twice in the past six years by the General Accounting Office for inflating costs -- for example, by providing more staffers and services than necessary. Brown & Root also paid $2 million last year to settle a criminal charge for overbilling the government.

The subsidiary, which became Kellogg, Brown & Root with the 1998 Halliburton purchase of Dresser Industries, was given the no-bid contract to put out oil fires, import fuel and operate oil facilities in Iraq.

One of the talking points in Lesar's memo, sent last Friday, was that "Halliburton makes our troops more comfortable in a difficult environment by bringing shelter, supplies, clean uniforms and mail from home." According to published reports, however, as few as 20 percent of American soldiers in Iraq have access to purified water and entire units are suffering from dysentery. One senior military commander wrote that soldiers were "using hoses from an Iraqi latrine stall to get water enough to maintain their hygienic needs.

And Bush and Cheney's rich supporters grow yet richer. So what is this about, really? Halliburton's bottom line or the welfare of our troops in Iraq. Well, if it was really about the welfare of our troops, would they be having to use water from a latrine hose to take a shower?

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on October 25, 2003 6:14 AM.

I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for was the previous entry in this blog.

For my next trick, I'll drink the blood of young children is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12