The Halliburton Agenda: The Politics of Oil and Money - Hardcover

Briody, Dan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471638609 ISBN 13: 9780471638605

Publisher: Wiley, 2004

Synopsis

The author of the bestseller The Iron Triangle untangles a web of political back scratching in one of the world's most powerful companies
Halliburton-a Texas oil-field company Dick Cheney ran before he became Vice President-has courted controversy for the better part of the twentieth century, but only recently has it received intense media scrutiny. In The Halliburton Agenda, Halliburton and its subsidiaries form the foundation of a fascinating story of influence peddling and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering that has only increased in momentum over the last decade-culminating in a firestorm of problems arising as soon as Cheney took office.
This intriguing book shows readers where Halliburton has been doing business and with whom-topping the list so far are Iran, Iraq, and Libya. It also reveals how this juggernaut of a corporation has engaged in a cycle of profits that begins by selling products and services to potential terrorist states, contracting with the federal government during times of war against those states, then gaining valuable rebuilding contracts to help repair those states. It will also show how a Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, has become an indispensable part of the U.S. military, so much so that the two are indistinguishable at times.
Halliburton is one of the first American companies to recognize the importance of aligning itself with powerful politicians, heavily contributing to campaigns, then cashing in on lucrative government contracts. Engaging and informative, The Halliburton Agenda carefully explores the arc of the company's success, its use of political affiliation, and the scope of its international business.

About this title

About the Author

DAN BRIODY is the author of the national bestseller The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group (Wiley). Briody is an expert on the commingling of business and politics, particularly as it pertains to the war on terrorism and the so-called "military-industrial complex." An award-winning business journalist, Briody has written for Forbes, Wired, Red Herring, and The Industry Standard. He has been a guest on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, and a host of other television and radio programs.

From the Back Cover

"Having been a lifelong public servant with no business experience, Cheney was hired by Halliburton in 1995 because of his understanding of the nation’s political tendencies and his extensive contacts both on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon. And he delivered on that expectation. . . . [Halliburton] is the embodiment of the Iron Triangle, the nexus of the government, military, and big business that President Eisenhower warned America about in his farewell speech. . . . Halliburton has transcended its existence as an unromantic provider of oil-well cementing and Army logistics support to become a political chess piece in a match that won’t be decided until November 2004."
–From the Prologue

From the Inside Flap

During the 2000 vice presidential debate, when Dick Cheney was asked about his financial success as Halliburton’s CEO, he responded that the government had played no role in it. But even Cheney himself couldn’t really believe that. Halliburton has taken the idea of the military-industrial complex to a level never before seen. And in its seemingly unstoppable march to becoming the vendor of choice for the United States military, Halliburton continues to court controversy.

In The Halliburton Agenda, Halliburton and its subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, form the foundation of an intriguing story of cronyism and conflict of interest that has only increased in momentum over the last decade.

Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Dan Briody cuts through the veil of secrecy that cloaks this controversial company, and reveals how the confluence of business and politics has led to questionable deals as well as financial windfalls for Halliburton, its executives, and its subsidiaries.

The Halliburton Agenda digs deep to expose:

• A pattern of cost overages by the company dating as far back as World War II and extending forward through Vietnam, Somalia, and Bosnia
• How Halliburton has been doing business with terrorist states such as Libya and Iran for decades–and why the company continues to do so
• The questionable legality of the U.S. government’s contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, including LOGCAP–the government’s contract to provide logistical support to the Army–and the contract for the work in rebuilding Iraq’s oil infrastructure
• Why the company paid a $2.4 million bribe to a Nigerian tax official, acquired $4.4 billion of asbestos liability, and changed its accounting procedures without notifying its shareholders–an action that has led to an ongoing SEC investigation
• The current allegations against Halliburton for overcharging the U.S. government for gas in Iraq

Halliburton’s inextricable links to politicians and the United States military, its dealings with countries known to sponsor terrorism, and its controversial $2 billion government contract to rebuild Iraq are only the tip of the iceberg. The Halliburton Agenda untangles a complex web of political power plays and deceptive deals–revealing how a company with the right connections can finesse its way to success.

Reviews

Following hard on the heels of The Iron Triangle, an examination of international consultants the Carlyle Group, Briody turns his considerable investigative skills to the rise of the Halliburton Corp., its subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root and the transformation of the U.S. military establishment. With a blunt matter-of-fact tone, Briody describes the rise of the two companies from the dusty oil fields of west Texas to the marbled corridors of power in Washington, D.C. Briody contends that Halliburton and KBR have literally bought politicians, manipulated the contracting process and ridden the current wave of small wars to record profits. Small, detailed moments of intense private pressure and unscrupulous backroom deal-making dominate this story. While Briody seethes with indignation, there is a grudging respect for the skill with which the executives and politicians ply their trade and a bitter resignation at the reality of the ways of government contracting. Central to the Pentagon's post–Cold War strategy is outsourcing nonmilitary tasks to private contractors. One of the chief architects of this plan was Dick Cheney, defense secretary for the first President Bush. Briody argues that with Cheney now vice-president and Halliburton awarded a huge no-bid contract to reconstruct Iraq's oil fields, public outrage has grown. As the controversy simmers, Briody raises an important question: with Americans and Iraqis dying by the day, have military matters become so efficient and profitable for companies like Halliburton that war itself is easier to wage? At times the book is repetitive and has the feel of being rushed to press, but this urgency lends the book a certain gravity. Briody has his own agenda—brilliantly illuminating the increasingly crucial nexus of public need, private profit and war making.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

When Dick Cheney was hired as CEO of Halliburton in 1995, he had never even held a management position in the business world. Clearly, he was hired because of his political influence and extensive contacts in Washington. Briody demonstrates that the company and its subsidiary KBR have a long history of using political connections to win government contracts, dating back to connections with then-congressman Lyndon Johnson in the 1940s. From massive military construction in Vietnam to the cleanup of the Gulf War to Somalia, Bosnia, and the current conflict in Iraq, Halliburton has been the beneficiary of lucrative multibillion "no-bid" contracts that have resulted in the massive overcharging of the American taxpayer. The U.S. military's dependence on this company has taken privatization to a new level, and meanwhile it is under investigation for accounting practices, bribes, and price gouging. Although Cheney has not left any evidence that he influenced the rewarding of contracts to Halliburton as vice president, Briody's timely expose will surely put the relationship under close scrutiny during the coming election campaign. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471638609
• ISBN 13: 9780471638605
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 290