http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1559232

Jeremy_Scahill - Blackwater:The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

Being in Iraq for two tours, I can tell you that any civilian service is costing us big bucks.

I can't imaging how much we are paying for merceneries. I mean you have bus drivers (who just drive on the base) making in close to 6 figures.

The dining facilities are all catered. The laundry is drop off service. Everything is done for the military except the fighting, but that seems to be changing..

Wars benefit corporations more than anything. The money they make is sickening!

not just what you said but what about the harts and minds we was trying to win over? do you think they give a rats ass about the people in iraq or the money they are going to pull in? here is some food for thought!


Halliburton Moves Its Headquarters Abroad
Critics Pounce on News of War Contractor's Planned Move From Houston to Dubai

By SONYA CRAWFORD
March 11, 2007

The much-maligned defense contractor Halliburton is moving its corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. "The Eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities," said CEO Dave Lesar at an energy conference in nearby Bahrain. "And growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio."


The draw is obvious. Dubai's friendly tax laws will add to Halliburton's bottom line. Last year, it earned $2.3 billion in profits.


Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-N.H., called the company's move "corporate greed at its worst." He added, "This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years. At the same time they'll be avoiding U.S. taxes, I'm sure they won't stop insisting on taking their profits in cold hard U.S. cash."


Fellow Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has investigated contractor fraud, is planning to hold a hearing.


"This is a surprising development," he said. "I want to understand the ramifications for U.S. taxpayers and national security."


Waxman's committee estimates that Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Cheney, has received contracts valued at an estimated $25.7 billion for its work in Iraq.

Among the company's low points are said to be serving troops spoiled food, exposing troops to contaminated water from the Euphrates River and failing to adequately protect its contractors.

Last month, the government's special inspector general for Iraq found Halliburton overcharged the U.S. government $2.7 billion, a finding the company is still contesting.


"This is part and parcel of the way they do business," said Robert Greenwald, the man behind the film, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," which documented Halliburton's excesses. "I hope it increases the number of investigations and subpoenas that they will be subjected to."


Halliburton will maintain a corporate office in Houston.

thanks for the money, so long suckers!

Iraq For Sale

What do you make of this?
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Does_tshirt_...ng_on_0804.html

Did this dude just pick the wrong t-shirt to wear that day? Or are we outsourcing the drug war? If so...is this a good thing..."privatization" and all that?

I wonder if they cost taxpayers less (or more?). I am sure the Blackwater people would have lobbyists pushing a move like this by the govt. if they thought they had any chance of success


as an avid reader of SOF in the 80's, I couldn't imagine what a 'legitimized' corporation would have done in the world back then..........

God bless Erik Prince for utilizing his industrious talents to make a buck, but the scope of operations his company is capable of is a bit troubling.


Although this article may not be a great launch point to discuss the issue (since nothing was confirmed about Blackwater involvement and the nearly the entire article was based off of speculation), it may be worth exploring the trend of pushing towards privitization of services when it appears that government bureaucracy has failed.

Blackwater has acknowledged that it is TRYING desperately to get out of its role in Iraq (to explore more profitable endeavors stateside) and push heavily into developing its INTELLIGENCE operation...........

ahem! (what was it that sold the Iraq invasion?)


The problems that arise with privitization? As it stands now, they garner all the power and none of the accountability. They are a for-profit organization, so ultimately each decision and business move is geared toward the bottom line. What would prevent an agency such as this from using selective intel to paint a different picture of a competitor, or individual(s) that are affecting/influencing their bottom line?

Does Sarbanes-Oxley apply to these 'consulting' firms?

Mississippi moon won't you keep on shining on me...