Allegations of War Profiteering Leveled Against Halliburton and Other Companies With Close Ties to White House

Interview with Charlie Cray, corporate reform campaigner at Citizen Works, conducted by Scott Harris

Well before the Bush administration launched its war against Baghdad, U.S. corporations were lining up to win lucrative contracts for the rebuilding of Iraq, a nation devastated by war and 12 years of economic sanctions. But because companies with close ties to the White House, such as Halliburton, Bechtel, and the Carlyle Group have been awarded multi-million dollar contracts in postwar Iraq, questions are now being raised about the appearance of ethical impropriety and conflicts of interest.

The revolving door between big business and government is easily illustrated in the Bush White House. Richard Perle, a key architect of the Iraq war, resigned his chairmanship of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board in March after press reports revealed he was acting as a highly paid consultant for companies hoping to profit from conflicts in Iraq and North Korea. And before becoming Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld sat on the board of a Swiss company which had signed a 0 million dollar contract with North Korea in 1999 to design and build components for two light water nuclear reactors there.

But the most disturbing example of possible conflicts of interest in the Bush administration are seen in Vice President Dick Cheney's association with Halliburton, an oil services and construction company that regularly does business with the Pentagon. Halliburton, where Cheney served as CEO from 1995 to 2000, was awarded a no-bid contract in March to put out oil fires in postwar Iraq -- and as revealed by the U.S. Army in May -- to operate Iraq's oil fields and distribute its petroleum products. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Charlie Cray, corporate reform campaigner with Citizen Works, who examines the charges of war profiteering leveled against Halliburton and other companies with close ties to the White House.

Contact Citizen Works by calling (202) 265-6164 or visit their Web site at: www.citizenworks.org

Related links

"Kick Their Ass and Take Their Gas: Democracy Comes to Iraq," by Jacob Levich, www.commondreams.org,

May 13, 2003 "Cheney, Halliburton and the Spoils of War," by Lee Drutman and Charlie Cray, www.corpwatch.org "U.S. says Halliburton Deal Includes Operating Iraq Oil Fields,"Agence France Presse, May 7, 2003

"Bush Ally Set to Profit from War on Terror" by Antony Barnett and Solomon Hughes, The Observer, May 11, 2003

"Consulting and Policy Overlap," Advisor Richard Perle has given seminars on ways to profit from possible conflicts discussed by defense board he sits on, by Ken Silverstein and Chuck Neubauer, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2003

"Halliburton's Cash Registers Ring in Iraq," by Lisa Myers and the NBC News Investigative Team MSNBC.com, May 3, 2003 "American to oversee Iraqi oil industry," by David Teather, The Guardian, April 26, 2003

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