Halliburton Tells Pentagon Workers Took Kickbacks Award Projects in Iraq

[demdave]

(Title edited because the writer gets paid by the word.)


WASHINGTON -- Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL - News) has told the Pentagon (news - web sites) that two employees took kickbacks valued at up to $6 million in return for awarding a Kuwaiti-based company with lucrative work supplying U.S. troops in Iraq (news - web sites), Friday's Wall Street Journal reported.

The disclosure is the first firm indication of corruption involving U.S.- funded projects in Iraq and raises new questions about Halliburton's dealings there. The company's work already is being scrutinized because of accusations that the U.S. government was overcharged for gasoline under another controversial contract.


Halliburton has strenuously defended its Iraq work as fairly priced and free of taint. A discovery of kickbacks could expose the company to hefty fines and other punishments such as potential fraud charges. At the least, contracting experts say, Halliburton will be required to reimburse the money.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=808&ncid=808&e=6&u=/dowjones/20040123/bs_dowjones/200401230032000013

[gardenista]

1. Sting!

"At the least, contracting experts say, Halliburton will be required to reimburse the money."

My bet is that that is the most that will happen. But, God, I hope I'm wrong.

I wonder if this is simiar to the charges France is making against Cheney?

[aquart]

2. Any chance they'll destroy each other?

[POed_Ex_Repub]

3. Ouch

Starting to really hit the fan over there... Everyone make sure to rate this story a 5 on Yahoo ;)

[Cocoa]

4. Bush will make them give the money back

there's a quote of him saying that. Not prosecuted, just give the money back.

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. This is just the beginning

Enron is trivial compared to what must be going on in Iraq .

[amber dog democrat]

6. "and did I tell you the name of the game,son ?"

"They call it riding the gravey train "

Pink Floyd.
Damn, where's mine?

[LeftHander]

7. kickbacks SOP

When one gets uncovered expect dozens more to surface.

6 million...though...wow.

[truthspeaker]

8. can you say "fall guys"?

I knew you could.

Now Halliburton can say, sure, there was some corruption, and we took care of it internally, so go ahead and award us more contracts.

[Just Me]

13. "Patsies" was my first thought, too,...

,...we can't have the corporation be held accountable. Corporations are legally treated as a person mostly for the sake of privileges, not substantively for purposes of responsibility.

Pin the bill on a couple of "patsies", and the mascarade can continue.

[indepat]

9. Padded no-bid contracts and kickbacks: aren't those what it's all about?

[nixonwasbetterthanW]

10. wondering whether Cheney took them on board ...

It would be noteworthy to find out at what point the sleazy kickbackers were hired by Halliburton. If it was during Cheney's tenure at the company, it's just one more indication that ethics is, and always has been, a foreign word to the vice president.

[alcuno]

11. This was so obvious when I first heard about it.

Hmmm. Why would someone pay like $2.50/gallon for Kuwaiti oil? And the media in this country just continues to furrow their brow in puzzlement.

[Gin]

12. the contract will be negated..and then be awarded to a Halliburton

subsidiary...and so the plan unfolds.

[KansDem]

14. With each passing day, Bush looks more and more like Al Capone...

...and the world more and more like 1920s Chicago.

[VolcanoJen]

15. Kick!

:dem:

[tridim]

16. This is much worse than theft...

It's government sponsored theft from every American taxpayer with guaranteed protection from prosecution because the boss is also the VP of the government. It's much worse than the mafia.

I've noticed that the good Yahoo news stories as of late are all rated very high even before DU starts voting. That's really good news, people are waking up in a big way.