Iraq Contracts Harm U.S. ($500K donations=$8Billion in Contracts)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031126/NEWS/311260306/1036

Over the past two years, more than $500,000 of the contributions to President Bush's re-election campaign came from 70 companies or individuals who have since earned up to $8 billion in contracts for post-conflict Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Washingtonbased Center for Public Integrity, those donations surpass those to any other politician over the last 12 years.

The CPI report says: "Kellogg, Brown & Root, the subsidiary of Halliburton -- which Vice President Dick Cheney led prior to being chosen as Bush's running mate in Aug. 2000 -- was the top recipient of federal contracts for the two countries, with more than $2.3 billion awarded to the company. Bechtel Group, a major government contractor with similarly high-ranking ties, was second at around $1.03 billion.

"However, dozens of lower-profile, but well-connected companies shared in the reconstruction bounty. Their tasks ranged from rebuilding Iraq's government, police, military and media, to providing translators for use in interrogations and psychological operations. There are even contractors to evaluate the contractors.

"Nearly 60 percent of the companies had employees or board members who either served in or had close ties to the executive branch for Republican and Democratic administrations, for members of Congress of both parties or at the highest levels of the military," the CPI report said.
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[ima_sinnic]

1. for the complete unabridged version of this article,

with much more detail, see this:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/report.aspx?aid=65

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. Great link. Thanks. That's one that gets printed.

Sad and unbelievable that the blatancy even exists.