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149 Comments
- Snuff99, on 10/10/2007, -10/+66That bastard Cheney should be put in jail for his part in KBR's gains! What a scumbag.
- nosecohn, on 10/10/2007, -2/+24There's one point that is obvious to some, but is generally missing from articles like this...
Ladies and gentlemen, those are YOUR tax dollars! YOU are paying for the war. The money that the government takes from your paycheck becomes revenue for these private companies. - swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -3/+21This article is lame. They should assess who is profiting PERSONALLY from the war, and which CEOs are connected to which other corporations and which are connected to the White House.
- swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14CUSTER BATTLES is accused of bilking the government out of $50 MILLION
Custer Battles billed the government nearly $10 MILLION when its actual costs were less than $4 MILLION, according to a government investigation.
Custer Battles over billed electricity costs by $326,000 - Actual electricity charges of $74,000 were billed at $400,000.
Custer Battles over billed for trucks that did not run by $572,000 – Actual purchase price of $228,000 for faulty trucks were billed to government for $800,000.
The two largest government contractors in Iraq -- Bechtel Corp. and Halliburton Co. -- have been fined several times in the past four years.
HALLIBURTON CO. averaged about $ 1 BILLION A MONTH from the government for work in Iraq in 2006, according to executives. The company took in $3.6 BILLION last year from contracts to serve U.S. troops and rebuild the oil industry in Iraq.
A pattern of fraud, waste, and corruption by Halliburton in Iraq emerged through news reports between December 2003 and May 2004. In December, a Pentagon investigation found evidence that Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had overcharged the U.S. government some $61 MILLION for fuel deliveries from Kuwait to Iraq. In January, Halliburton admitted to the Pentagon that two of its employees took up to $6 million in kickbacks for awarding a Kuwaiti-based company with work in Iraq. Then in early February it was reported that the company had agreed to repay the U.S. government some $27 million for meals that were never served to American troops.
Bills From Five-Star, Beachfront Hotel And Drivers Paid to Haul Empty Trucks - In May 2006, the Coalition Provisional Authority's inspector general started raising questions about the bills that Halliburton had racked up at a five-star beachfront hotel near Kuwait City. And 12 Halliburton truck drivers claimed they risked their lives driving empty trucks in Iraq while their employer billed the government for hauling absolutely nothing.
Investigation of Overcharging And Potential Connection to Nigeria Bribery Scheme - Federal authorities are also investigating whether Halliburton broke the law by using a subsidiary to do business in Iran, whether the company overcharged for work done for the Pentagon in the Balkans and whether it was involved in an alleged $180 million bribery scheme in Nigeria. The company admitted in 2003 that it improperly paid $2.4 million to a Nigerian tax official.
BECHTEL CORP. paid more than $110,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department in 2000 and 2001 to settle alleged safety and environmental violations. Bechtel has prime construction contracts in Iraq worth more than $2 billion.
Fines Exceeding $86 Million - Bechtel hired three subcontractors in Iraq that have been fined more than $86 million in the past four years, though none had been banned from getting new contracts.
Others Punished For Waste, Fraud and Abuse Of Govt. Contracts
American International Contractors Inc., paid $4.7 million in fines in 2000 after pleading guilty to bid rigging on a U.S.-funded water project in Egypt, according to published reports. AICI has part of a $325 million contract to rebuild Iraq's transportation systems, has a share of a $500 million contract for emergency construction needs in the Pentagon's Central Command region, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan, and is in a partnership that has a $70 million construction contract at Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, used to support troops in Iraq.
Fluor Corp., paid $8.5 million to the Defense Department in 2001 to settle charges it improperly billed the government for work benefiting its commercial clients, according to published reports. Fluor and AMEC created a joint venture that has $1.7 billion in contracts to rebuild Iraq's electricity, water, sewer and trash removal infrastructure.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., paid a $969,000 fine in 2002 for environmental damage in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, according to published reports. Bechtel awarded the company a subcontract to clear the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.
Northrop Grumman Corp., whose Vinnell Corp. subsidiary was awarded a $48 million contract to train the new Iraqi Army last year, according to published reports. Northrop Grumman has been penalized $191.7 million in the past four years, including $750,000 paid to the Pentagon in 2000 in a case involving allegations of providing faulty replacement parts for the JSTARS airborne surveillance system. http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200701/010407b.html#war - obliviousfool, on 10/10/2007, -4/+17Veritas (#2) owns DynCorp? DynCorp has been involved in a lot of nefarious activities over the years. They've been taken to court in a few countries for some really creepy stuff. But they're the good guys, honest.
- Albionshores, on 10/10/2007, -2/+15When it comes to foreign countries; politicians, contractors and soldiers are like playing 'paper, rock, scissors'. When it comes to free trade politicians shouldn't get involved - a free market is a market free of government subsidy. Contractors beat politicians. But when it comes to contractors and soldiers, soldiers should win everytime. If a place is deemed worthy of needing a military presence then soldiers should never be forced to serve next to contractors from their own country. A soldier fights a war to end it so the politicians can come in to broker a peace - to a contractor war is profit and it is not in his interest to see an end to hostilities.
When a politician sends a contractor alongside a soldier you know three things; (1)that a free market does not exist (2) War profiteering is taking place (3) That the military has been betrayed and the intent is not to broker a preace. - juttman, on 10/10/2007, -3/+13Body bag manufacturers
- supermanred, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11And meanwhile Osama Bin Laden is chilling right now watching CNN is his mansion. Cave my ass.
Prescott Bush > Helping to fund Nazis before WW2
George Bush (both) > Helping ship bajillions of dollars to the Saudis before 911
Pigs all of them. ***** up your country and using you for their evil gains. May they burn in hell if hell exists. - izzybr, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11I wish I lived in a country where this was more shocking.
- gothsquirrel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Watch the Documentary "Why We Fight"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436971/ - swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12JamesSpaza isn't worried about how his tax dollars are spent. JamesSpaza's tax dollars could be used to build abortion clinics in rural Utah or shipped to Sadr City on a palette, and JamesSpaza wouldn't care to know about it. JamesSpaza isn't worried about war profiteering. JamesSpaza thinks that it is enough that profit is being made from war, without having to know who profits. Ayatollah Khomeini could be profiting from no-bid contracts to sell the Army platinum hummer rims, and JamesSpaza would not care to know. How the government uses JamesSpaza's money is none of his concern, as long as it isn't being used to help Americans. Because that would be communism.
- MaTT2011, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11You would make the blow hards over at FauxNews proud, another idiot has been brain washed into thinking every issue in America is a matter of "Liberals vs. Conservatives"
Sadly, however, you are missing the WHOLE picture. Life isnt black and white and you cant group every individual into groups whose criteria is "Those who agree with me" and "Those who don't" So please, think before posting next time. A brain is a wonderful thing, so stop wasting yours. - bl00dy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Blackwater USA is.
- billm317, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10Stay focused. We're talking about who is profiting from THIS war and how are tax dollars are spent now. The "Johnny come lately" argument is obviously flawed. Regardless of what's happened in the past, are you not worried about the current state of the country? You're calling out a group who only "cries" when a particular party is at fault. Read over what you wrote... see any irony?
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8I looked at some of the other stories you commented on JamesSpaza. About 95% of your comments contain the word liberal.
- swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11Here you go JamesSpaza. Kucinich's resolutions of impeachment along with supporting documentation for each resolution. http://kucinich.house.gov/SpotlightIssues/documents.htm Are you going to blame liberals for your being too lazy to read this?
- JD52, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10Most clearly an ethical one. It's called war profiteering. Although it is in a round about way that is simply what it is. Makes him a *****. Also makes you a ***** for trying to act like it's ok.
Putting the President in Perspective ---> http://overlyrandom.com/?p=31 - billm317, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8"Because it'd be foolish to leave now!!!" (says the idiots who lied to us in the first place)
- WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Monopoly Men...is an excellent video about exactly this point...who is it that orchestrates all the wars for profit, as well as controlling the US monetary system ( federal reserve), and choosing US presidents (I bet you thought they were actually elected by the voters.)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7065177340464808778 - swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7as far as the conflict of interest thing I think it's US CODE: Title 18208 § 208. Acts affecting a personal financial interest
- DangerCollie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6A better question is why contractors have MWRAPS and all the first class gear and our Marines are just getting some of that now? How is it possible to be cheaper to pay contractors and fit them with first class gear than supply our own soldiers.
But 30% of the population still thinks Bush is doing a good job. Dirtbags. Waive the flag and wear support our troops stickers on their car while supporting the people leaving them ill-equiped in a war zone. How can we keep sharing a country with scumbags like that? - MaTT2011, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Because in America when someone steps in ***** we keep our foot there , "Until the job is done" ......even if we don't know what the job IS!
Fat. Stupid. Consumers. They will buy anything if they like the package and this war was wrapped, falsely, in the shroud of "Lets get them turrrrists that done blown up them buildings! They is in Iraq!" the rest is history....idiotic history. - WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6There's also this video, about the small group of moneyed, anti-human manipulators who determine pretty much all the wars that happen...and presidents...and the amount of fiat money that is put in circulation (thus determining the value of the dollars you already have), etc.
('Monopoly Men')
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7065177340464808778 - clark24, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Hmm.. I don't like social spending programs OR lining the pockets of Cheney and his buddies. Oh *****! There goes your entire argument!
- feckineejit, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5toolbag
- supermanred, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6So Haliburton can receive BILLIONS of your hard earned tax dollars in return for *****-all or almost *****-all.
So Dick Cheney can remain the richest evil vampire in existence, shipping his money and Haliburton to Dubai. (What a ***** patriot, eh?)
I only wish there were true vampire hunters like Buffy or The Doctor who could remove this bane from our existence. - mirzar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6for me profitting off the deaths of thousands of people (both innocent civilians and soldiers) is just immoral. There are better ways of making money than this.
- WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Does anyone remember that huge number of millions of dollars that "simply disappeared', and couldn't be accounted for? (Anyhow, that is what the corporate-controlled phony-news media reported, instead of doing their jobs as investigative reporters and finding out what happened.)
Where did THAT money go?
It's no secret...obviously...the international criminals in the Bush and Cheney families, and Rumsfeld and all the other treasonous anti-constitution monsters, and pretty much anybody from the Rockefeller and Rothschild families. - swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5In December, a Pentagon investigation found evidence that Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had overcharged the U.S. government some $61 MILLION for fuel deliveries from Kuwait to Iraq. In January, Halliburton admitted to the Pentagon that two of its employees took up to $6 million in kickbacks for awarding a Kuwaiti-based company with work in Iraq. Then in early February it was reported that the company had agreed to repay the U.S. government some $27 million for meals that were never served to American troops.
- Albionshores, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4He responded like that because you're JamesSpaza. JamesSpaza isn't worried about how his tax dollars are spent. JamesSpaza's tax dollars could be used to build abortion clinics in rural Utah....
- ButterBuddha, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The Central Banks of the world.....but the "Federal" Reserve gets first dibs....
- swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5WOW what a useful ***** of "leftist" charity organizations connected by grey lines! And it only takes 2-5 minutes to load! Good find TJATL!
- diggerydood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Add in also the missing $2.3 TRILLION that Rumsfeld announced as missing on the day before 9/11 http://blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=3619.
- parkerconrad, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The Wikinvest article on the same topic -- interesting read: http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/Iraq_War
- nmapper, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Oil and making Halliburton / Dick Cheney rich apparenty...
- spyd3rweb, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5its a war FOR profit, not a war of self defense.
- swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4the source is a documentary.
- gwolf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4If you want confessions we will be needing the water board. Luckily the president has made that official government policy as means to get information from enemies of the American People.
- MaTT2011, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Way to miss the point there, bub.
- swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Among the miles and miles of devastated houses, rubble still there today in New Orleans, we found dry, beautiful homes. But their residents were told by guys dressed like Ninjas wearing “Blackwater” badges: “Try to go into your home and we’ll arrest you.”
http://www.gregpalast.com/%e2%80%9cthey-wanted-them-poor-*****-out-of-there%e2%80%9d/#more-1843 - swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4We should always wait for a confession before charging someone with a crime.
- OneAndOnlySnob, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Let's do a little math, just for fun. We paid defense contractors $1,174,700,000,000 (yes, $1.1 trillion) on this war. There are 302,340,000 people in the USA. I have no idea what percentage is old enough to have a job and pay taxes. But we'll pretend it's 2/3. So, about 200 million. That would mean that each person, on average, has paid $5,873.50 for the Iraq War. So, what do you think? Did you get your money's worth? Well, if you're reading this, you got a good deal. Some people paid with their lives.
- nick111, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Anyone who attempts to use the label "liberal" in a Bill-O'Reilly way automatically labels themselves as a former Bush voter... someone with demonstrably poor judgement.
- gwolf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Don't drink the Koolaid any more it's rotting your brain and killing us.
- nosecohn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Yeah, I was surprised they didn't make the list, or even get a mention in the article.
- gwolf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Exactly when the the mighty and expensive U.S. Military lose the ability to take care of it's self in the field. Why exactly do we need mercenaries like Blackwater to perform missions the military should be doing. When did our military become so incompetent and mismanaged?
Think we could have won world war 2 like this? - enki25, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3JamesSparza, you're no different than any of the other got-people-in-the-basement brand of modern conservative thinker nowadays. I think you have to mix things up, throw something in about the Illuminati everyone once in a while.
- pauliusuza, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3you mean... we see that on our cable and you guys don't?... what's that about freedom of speech again?
- woofers07, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I understand your argument by pointing out Clinton's involvement but that in no way disproves or contradicts my statement. Haliburton's a giant corporation run by people the likes of our great VP, do you honestly think there are any other companies that are going to outbid them in regards to military supplies? Come on now.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3that is not true haliburton has been around since vietnam... maybe it was kenndy or LBJ or nixon
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