More non-denials
Dec. 23rd, 2003 02:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
libertango...this time from the private crony sector of society.
A subsidiary of Halliburton has the contract to supply our soldiers in Iraq with bunches and bunches of services. Housing, food, even gasoline. And the company has been accused of overcharging the government for this gasoline -- in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, of all places -- to the tune of $60+ million. Even Jorge, in his infinite wisdom, thinks Halliburton should repay any overages.
Of course, the reason Halliburton ended up with this contract, most likely, is because VP-in-an-undisclosed-location Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton before he took on the job of running the country.
OK. So, today NPR began a three day series of reports on this sweetheart deal.
Chuck Domini, a Halliburton spokesperson, had this to say in response to the subject of overcharges:
"You know you've done the best possible job. And for somebody to say that somehow we are price gouging, or for somebody to say that somehow we are trying to benefit from the, uh, vagaries of this war... Those are very, very pejorative terms, and they bother people that know they're being highly professional about what they're doing."
So... does he deny the overcharging?
No.
Does he deny Halliburton's opportunism?
No.
He just thinks those are, "very, very pejorative terms."
Presumably, he thinks "price gouging" is something un-professionals do. Professionals call it, "Cost-plus contracts drawn up by our buddy Dick, where we make the costs as high as we possibly can, knowing we'll get a profit anyway. So there. Nyah."
Or something.
But then, dig this other quote from the story, this time from Jim Moorman, president of Taxpayers Against Fraud:
"You might think of Columbia/HCA or you might think of Lockheed-Martin, but you're not going to think of Brown & Root, and certainly not Halliburton," Moorman says. "I mean, they don't have to commit fraud. If you've got a sweetheart contract, why do you have to cheat?"
And he's right. They don't have to. And Halliburton, pre-Cheney becoming Veep, was certainly an obscure company, so one wouldn't necessarily think of them.
But you'll note he doesn't say they aren't cheating. Just that they don't have to.
And these are Halliburton's friends.
A subsidiary of Halliburton has the contract to supply our soldiers in Iraq with bunches and bunches of services. Housing, food, even gasoline. And the company has been accused of overcharging the government for this gasoline -- in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, of all places -- to the tune of $60+ million. Even Jorge, in his infinite wisdom, thinks Halliburton should repay any overages.
Of course, the reason Halliburton ended up with this contract, most likely, is because VP-in-an-undisclosed-location Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton before he took on the job of running the country.
OK. So, today NPR began a three day series of reports on this sweetheart deal.
Chuck Domini, a Halliburton spokesperson, had this to say in response to the subject of overcharges:
"You know you've done the best possible job. And for somebody to say that somehow we are price gouging, or for somebody to say that somehow we are trying to benefit from the, uh, vagaries of this war... Those are very, very pejorative terms, and they bother people that know they're being highly professional about what they're doing."
So... does he deny the overcharging?
No.
Does he deny Halliburton's opportunism?
No.
He just thinks those are, "very, very pejorative terms."
Presumably, he thinks "price gouging" is something un-professionals do. Professionals call it, "Cost-plus contracts drawn up by our buddy Dick, where we make the costs as high as we possibly can, knowing we'll get a profit anyway. So there. Nyah."
Or something.
But then, dig this other quote from the story, this time from Jim Moorman, president of Taxpayers Against Fraud:
"You might think of Columbia/HCA or you might think of Lockheed-Martin, but you're not going to think of Brown & Root, and certainly not Halliburton," Moorman says. "I mean, they don't have to commit fraud. If you've got a sweetheart contract, why do you have to cheat?"
And he's right. They don't have to. And Halliburton, pre-Cheney becoming Veep, was certainly an obscure company, so one wouldn't necessarily think of them.
But you'll note he doesn't say they aren't cheating. Just that they don't have to.
And these are Halliburton's friends.
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no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 02:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-24 01:48 pm (UTC)It's worse than it looks.
A few years ago (IIRC) Halliburton (this may have been while Cheney was still involved) was fined (under Clinton) for massive overcharges on DoD related contracts.
Plus ca meme chose....
TK