What's A Few No Bid Contracts Among Friends?

JB

Dick Cheney has long insisted that he has severed all connections with Halliburton, the company he formerly ran, the company which recieved no-bid contracts for the Iraqi occupation from the U.S. Government, and which, incidentally overcharged the military on several occaisions.

Apparently, however, not all connections were severed. According to Reuters, Cheney may have diverted business to his former firm.

A newly unearthed Pentagon e-mail about Halliburton contracts in Iraq prompted fresh calls on Capitol Hill on Tuesday for probes into whether Vice President Dick Cheney helped his old firm get the deals.

The e-mail, reported by Time magazine, provided "clear evidence" of a relationship between Cheney and multibillion-dollar contracts Halliburton has received for rebuilding Iraq, Sen. Patrick Leahy said.

"It totally contradicts the vice president's previous assertions of having no contact" with federal officials about Halliburton's Iraq deals, Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said in a conference call set up by John Kerry's presidential campaign. "It would be irresponsible not to hold hearings."

The March 2003 Pentagon e-mail says action on a no-bid Halliburton contract to rebuild Iraq's oil industry was "coordinated" with Cheney's office. Cheney was chief executive officer of the oilfield services giant from 1995 until he joined George W. Bush's presidential ticket in 2000.

But, so far, at least, the Republicans who control Congress don't want to hold hearings. Can you really blame them? After all, they've already had to deal with the 9-11 Commission's revelations of the Administration's incompetence in dealing with terrorism, as well as the revelations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. Calling attention to to possible financial corruption by the Vice-President is probably not going to make them any happier.

Nevertheless, Congress should hold hearings on this issue immediately. I've been quite concerned about the lack of attention paid to the question of profiteering during this war. Cushy contracts were offered to friends of the Administration without having to go through the usual competitive bidding rules, and those companies then proceeded to line their pockets with unnecessary charges while American soldiers were being shot and killed. It's enough to make any patriotic American's blood boil. When will Congressional leaders recognize that this is a serious matter?