Repay Iraq!

In the wake of the invasion of Iraq, the Bush Administration used reconstruction contracts to reward its cronies. Billions of dollars was forked over to Bush-friendly companies - notably Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton - for the rebuilding of schools, bridges, electricity and oil infrastructure. Frequently, this was done by bypassing the usual tendering rules, and instead issuing a "no-bid" contract to a preferred company. The result was obvious: overcharging and underperformance. In just one example, Halliburton charged the CPA US$2.64 a gallon for petrol it was importing from Kuwait - more than twice the price it cost the US military to do the same job. The estimated profit from this overcharging was US$150 million.

This would be enough of a scandal if it was US money and US taxpayers who were footing the bill for Halliburton's corruption. But it wasn't American money - it was Iraqi money, sourced from oil revenues and donated reconstruction funds, and controlled by the US as the occupying force. The Bush Administration was ripping off the Iraqi people in order to pay off its corrupt cronies.

But now, it looks like the party is coming to an end. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board, set up by the UN to oversee Iraq's oil revenues, has issued a report on some of the contracts - and found that Halliburton overcharged the Iraqi government by US$208 million. More importantly, it has recommended that the money be paid back. It will be interesting to see whether the US government enforces this recommendation, or whether it stands on its "right" to rip off the very people who were supposed to benefit from its invasion...