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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Hart who wrote (44797)	10/16/2003 4:46:26 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Iraq is and will be a rich nation, underground reserves are estimated to be second highest in the world, so far in last fifty years of squandered opportunities and filthy regimes Iraqi wealth was utilized to build palaces and vain armies, post liberation and emergence of new Iraq as we move forward Iraq would need to grow up and pay for its rebuilding through its own resources. The whole idea of rebuilding Iraq through 35 billion of US money does not add up with me, the Iraqis can pump 5-6 million barrels a day in 36 months, the entire financing can be obtained and there is no need to spend huge sums as blood money for liberation from Saddam. With two rivers Euphrates and Tigris, the fertile land of Iraq combine agrarian economy with that of oil a rarity in the Middle East, they should cough up the cost and the reserves, it is extremely foolish of US neocons to pay for rebuilding, the previous loans should be renounced by the authority post invasion and a new era be constructed with people welfare and tolerant version of cohabitation. Nations who cannot grow up and live together cannot be helped by billions of US dollars, the Iraqis need to grow up and they need to do it fast. I doubt on the authenticity of the news vis a vis natural gas, Qatar is near by and the last think Iraqi needs is to be subsidized by US for its natural resource needs, 60 percent of Iraqi population like my own country lives under severe conditions in rural enclaves and they do not need natural gas, the rural population can get by with the more subtle approaches. Throwing money at Iraq is not the solution it is important that the youth of Iraq be employed and a new direction of affluence shown to them through a mature leadership; I trust ability of Mr. Bremmer, he will pull Iraq out from the brink, a moderate Iraq and a productive Iraq is the future I am sure of, much as it is considered a optimistic view but it will happen sooner than later.

To: Michael Hart who wrote (44797)	10/16/2003 6:23:21 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Halliburton Allegedly Overcharges in Iraq Thu Oct 16, 2:23 AM ET Add Politics - U. S. Congress to My Yahoo! By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Two Democratic lawmakers say Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s former company, Halliburton, is gouging U.S. taxpayers while importing gasoline into Iraq (news - web sites). The Houston-based company contends it is paying the best price possible. Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John Dingell of Michigan complained to the Bush administration that Halliburton's KBR subsidiary is billing the Army between $1.62 and $1.70 per gallon, while the average price for Middle East gasoline is 71 cents. They also complained that Iraqis are charged between 4 cents and 15 cents at the pump for the imported gasoline. "Although Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, the U.S. taxpayer is, in effect, subsidizing over 90 percent of the cost of gasoline sold in Iraq," the lawmakers said in the latest Democratic attacks against the Houston company that received a no-bid contract. The charges cover the purchase and transportation of the petroleum from Kuwait and other countries. Halliburton, originally hired to extinguish oil fires, has received the expanded role of restoring Iraq's oil industry. The company has been paid $1.4 billion through September for its work. "KBR is not responsible for establishing the price Iraqi motorists pay for gasoline at the pump," Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said. She said the company negotiates "fair and competitive prices" with suppliers outside Iraq and must transport the gasoline in a hostile environment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which chose Halliburton, has received bids for a replacement contract that could be awarded this month. Corps spokesman Robert Faletti said he could not confirm the figures that Waxman and Dingell cited in a letter to Joshua Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget. He said, however, that the contract is being audited by Congress and the Army. In a further move against Halliburton, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., announced Wednesday he would propose barring the government from awarding Iraq reconstruction contracts to companies that maintain close financial ties to the president, vice president or members of the president's Cabinet. Lautenberg wants the measure added to an $87 billion reconstruction bill for Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Cheney receives deferred payments from Halliburton and also has stock options. Cheney's office has said the vice president had no role in the contract and that the deferred payments were for his services while he headed the company. He has said he would give the proceeds to charity should he profit from the exercise of stock options.