Halliburton
Deal Includes
Operating Iraq Oil Fields
AFP
8 May, 2003
WASHINGTON - The US Army has revealed for the first time that a subsidiary
of Halliburton Co. has a contract encompassing the operation of Iraqi
oil fields, a senior US lawmaker said.
Previously, the US Army Corps
of Engineers had described the contract given to Halliburton -- run
by US Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000 -- as involving oil
well firefighting.
But in a May 2 letter replying
to questions from a senior Democratic lawmaker, Henry Waxman, the army
said the contract also included "operation of facilities and distribution
of products."
Waxman, the top-ranking Democrat
in the House of Representatives' committee on government reform, asked
for an explanation Tuesday.
"Your May 2 letter indicates
that the contract is considerably broader in scope than previously known,"
Waxman told Army Corps of Engineers military programs chief Lieutenant
General Robert Flowers.
"Prior descriptions
of the Halliburton contract had indicated that the contract was for
extinguishing fires at oil wells and for related repair activities,"
the lawmaker said, according to a copy of the letter.
"These new disclosures
are significant and they seem at odds with the administration's repeated
assurances that the Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqi people."
The Army Corps of Engineers
said the Halliburton contract was designed as a temporary bridge to
a contract that would be out to competitive tender. It expected the
replacement contract to be advertised by early summer and awarded at
the end of August.
The corps had already come
under fire Wednesday over its granting of the Iraqi oil contract on
March 8 to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) without
putting it out to tender.
Representative Henry Waxman
also said Halliburton's dealings with countries cited by Washington
as state sponsors of terrorism, or members of the so-called "axis
of evil", date back to the 1980s.
The dealings "appear
to have continued during the period between 1995 and 2000, when Vice
President Cheney headed the company; and they are apparently ongoing
even today," said Waxman, a frequent critic of President George
W. Bush's administration.
"Halliburton has recently
been awarded a leading -- and lucrative -- role in the US war against
terrorism," Waxman wrote.
"Yet there is also evidence
from press accounts and other sources that indicates that Halliburton
has profited from numerous business dealings with state sponsors of
terrorism, including two of the three members of President Bush's 'axis
of evil.'"
The "axis of evil"
first cited by Bush in early 2002 included Iraq, prior to the US-led
war, Iran and North Korea.
Waxman stopped short of saying
Halliburton's actions violated US laws that prohibit business dealings
in certain countries, but maintained that Halliburton "appears
to have sought to circumvent these restrictions by setting up subsidiaries
in foreign countries and territories such as the Cayman Islands."
Waxman said he was concerned
that the US government was awarding new contracts to Halliburton despite
its ties to certain countries.
He wrote to Rumsfeld, "I
would like to know what the Defense Department knows about these ties
and whether you think this should be a matter of concern to the Congress
and the American taxpayer.
"Rather than being criticized,
the company is rewarded with valuable government contracts."
Some of the involvement of
Halliburton is detailed in company documents including its annual reports.
Halliburton spokesman Wendy
Hall did not dispute the Waxman allegations, but said the company operates
within the law while trying to remain competitive with US and foreign
rivals.
"Putting politics aside,
we and our affiliates operate in countries, to the extent it is legally
permissible, where our customers are active as they expect us to provide
oilfield services support to their international operations," Hall
said in a written statement.
"Where the United States
government has mandated that United States companies refrain from commerce,
we comply, often to the advantage of our international competitors.
We do not always agree with policies or actions of governments in every
place that we do business and make no excuses for their behaviors."
As for the actions of Halliburton
offshore subsidiaries, Hall said, "The company believes that the
operations of its subsidiaries are in compliance with US laws. These
entities and activities are staffed and managed by non-US personnel."
Waxman has asked the General
Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to probe whether
the firm had received favorable treatment by the administration.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman
for Cheney, contacted about the letter, gave no immediate response.
But Citizen Works, a consumer
advocacy group founded by onetime presidential candidate Ralph Nader
, said Halliburton's treatment by the government was questionable.
"It's extremely troubling
that our government is using taxpayer money to deliver lucrative contracts
to companies like Halliburton that have used offshore subsidiaries to
maneuver around restrictions on doing business with state sponsors of
terrorism," said spokesman Charlie Cray.