Iraqi benefits for Bush pals

2003-10-30 17:15

Washington - Companies awarded $8bn in contracts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan have been major campaign donors to President George W Bush, and their executives have had important political and military connections, according to a study of more than 70 US companies and individual contractors.

The report was released by the Centre for Public Integrity, a Washington-based research organisation that produces investigative articles on special interests and ethics in government. Its staff includes journalists and researchers.

Major contracts for Iraq and Afghanistan were awarded by the Bush administration without competitive bids, because agencies said competition would have taken too much time to meet urgent needs in both countries.

"No single agency supervised the contracting process for the government," centre executive director Charles Lewis said. "This situation alone shows how susceptible the contracting system is to waste, fraud and cronyism."

The top contract recipient was the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, with more than $2.3bn awarded to support the US military and restore Iraq's oil industry.

Halliburton was headed by Vice President Dick Cheney before he resigned to run with Bush in 2000.

'Offended by criticism'

Halliburton's top executive, Dave Lesar, said on Wednesday he was offended by criticism of the company's Iraq work but believed it was "less about Halliburton and more about external political issues".

Bechtel was second with a $1bn capital construction contract involving Iraq's utilities, telecommunications, railroads, ports, schools, health care facilities, bridges, roads and airports.

The company's Internet site says, "We do engage in the political process, as do most companies in the United States. We have legitimate policy interests and positions on matters before Congress, and we express them in many ways, including support for elected officials who support those positions.

The centre's analysis of contractor political donations showed that 14 of the companies won contracts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those companies, combined, have given more than $23 million in political contributions since 1990.

Riley Bechtel, the chief executive officer, was named early this year to the President's Export Council, which advises the president on programmes to improve US trade.

Jack Sheehan, senior vice president in Bechtel's petroleum and chemicals business, served on the Defence Policy Board, which advises the defence secretary on a variety of issues.

The centre's findings are based, in part, on 73 Freedom of Information Act requests and an analysis of a federal contractor database.

On the Net:

Centre for Public Integrity

Bechtel

Halliburton

- AP