Cronyism, Corruption and Calamity in Iraq

“Don’t Worry About Price”- Whistleblowers Sound the Alarm on Halliburton in Iraq

by Representatives Henry Waxman and John Dingell

In 2001, the Army awarded Halliburton the LOGCAP [Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program] global logistics contract, which currently is worth over $3.7 billion. About 90 percent of this total value is for work in Iraq. We are writing to bring to your attention reports from two whistleblowers that Halliburton has repeatedly and routinely overcharged the taxpayer under the LOGCAP contract.

These whistleblowers have come forward with detailed information about Halliburton's procurement activities under the LOGCAP contract. According to these whistleblowers, Halliburton engaged in the following improper practices MORE>>

Saddam’s Debt: The Emerging Conflict Over How to Deal With Saddam’s Devastating Economic Legacy

by Justin Alexander

International diplomats, financial analysts, Iraqi economists and international nongovernmental groups met in Berlin in March to seek out a solution to one of the most pressing issues facing Iraq: the vast debts and war reparations accumulated by Saddam Hussein.

The list of participants was impressive, but contained one notable omission: President Bush's Special Envoy on Iraqi Debt, James Baker III, declined the invitation to attend. It may have been the title of the conference that scared him away: "Iraq And Debt Relief: A Case for Implementing the Odious Debt Doctrine?" MORE>>

Hijacking Iraq’s Skies: The Secret Plans to Privatize Iraqi Airways

by Svetlana Tsalik, Isam al Khafaji and Julie McCarthy

Following Saddam Hussein's overthrow and the lifting of non-military UN sanctions on Iraq, many Iraqis expected that the flurry of reconstruction activities and opening up of the country would produce huge air traffic, providing opportunities for the revival of Iraq's aviation industry. Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) air industry consultants recently made the case themselves for increased investment in this burgeoning sector at the Middle East Aviation Finance Conference, arguing that with several million Iraqis abroad, strong traffic growth is foreseen.

Yet officially, the CPA and the Iraqi Governing Council have put the brakes on efforts to revive Iraq's air industry until a sovereign Iraqi government assumes power. Currently, the staffs of Iraq's civil aviation authority and Iraqi Airways sit idle, while the country's air industry is run by foreigners at Iraqis' expense. Iraqi Airways employees, who total over 2,400, in January staged riots in the streets of Baghdad, demanding that their airport be returned from foreign control and that they be put to work. MORE>>