Army to penalize Halliburton, it says, then changes its mind

[question everything]

By Jim Landers and Richard Whittle
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

August 18, 2004

WASHINGTON – The Army got tough with Halliburton Co. over its multibillion-dollar contracts in Iraq yesterday – for a few hours.

At the end of a day of odd announcements and reversals, the Army Field Support Command said it has yet to make up its mind whether it will give Halliburton more time to justify expenses or start withholding as much as $60 million a month from the company.

Halliburton, saying it had gotten oral assurances from senior Pentagon representatives, announced Monday that it was in the clear. Yesterday morning, the Army said it would start withholding.

Halliburton then said it would sue, and the Army appeared to back down.

More..

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040818/news_1n18halli.html

[Wilber_Stool]

1. They know who's boss.___n/t

[Poiuyt]

2. Gee, do you think somebody got a phone call?

[TankLV]

3. Do ya think someone could get the phone records from the Naval Observatory

nt

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. "oral assurances"?

hmmm

[aquart]

5. What? You were expecting an evidence trail?

[gratuitous]

6. I'm sure it's just a coincidence

After all, if there was something that even appeared crooked, you know, like if a high governmental official was the former CEO at Halliburton and was still drawing a paycheck from them (a big one, you know, six figures, not some piddly pension of a couple hundred a month), then our bulldogs in the media would be all over it. I mean, it'd be easier to throw a pork chop past a hungry Doberman than try to put one over on the librul media!

So I'm sure there's nothing to see here, and teevee will tell me that soon. Or ignore it completely.

[JDPriestly]

7. This shows the danger of privatizing military functions.

Halliburton is so vital to the Iraq campaign that our military cannot function without their support. Think about it. Ultimately, the people that feed the army decide when and where it marches. If Halliburton gets mad and goes home, our soldiers don't eat. Halliburton has the power to blackmail the country into doing what Halliburton wants.

Our military should be owned and run and fed and clothed by the American people's government. Halliburton should not be involved at all. What would happen if a foreign nation or power got a majority or influential stock position in Halliburton? Could they use our military to do their bidding?

Does anyone disagree with me on this?

[NeoConsSuck]

9. Anytime you outsource..

you are going to have this issue. What about the trillions of lines of software code that was sent to Bangalore, India and other cheaper venues?

India is a loyal ally now. That could change.

[struggle4progress]

8. kick for Bushistas saying one thing, doing another

:kick: