Let’s say you just got the keys to the white house, and wanted to enrich Halliburton as much as possible. What would you do?

HALLIBURTON HALLIBURTON HALLIBURTON

Well, first off, I don’t think I’d start a war on the other side of the world based on false information that would take less than a year to be revealed as such. And after all, doesn’t the Bush administration’s failure to plant false evidence of WMD’s in Iraq more or less prove that they did not know in advance the WMD information was false? But I digress…

Let’s just say you were a totally corrupt pol with no ambition but to pay back your cronies (are you sick of that word yet, or is it just me?) at Halliburton. Hmmmmmm. For the first few months of your administration, you don’t really do much. Still learning the ropes, I guess. But then comes manna from heaven: 9-11. Now you’re cookin’ with grease. But what’s on the menu?
I was thinking about this in a different context, but it fits here too. The first two things I would do if I wanted to enrich giant international construction companies and oil services firms would be:

1.) Open up every state and national park and preserve to total oil exploration and production. While I’m at it, I’d put a nice big tariff on imported oil to make the domestic stuff even more profitable. There would be a major, instant boom in construction of oil pipelines and refineries, derricks, etc. Halliburton’s bread and butter.

2.) Announce a plan to disperse all federal agencies and services. Move the Pentagon to southern California. The labor department to Detroit. The Justice Department to Denver. The FBI to Omaha. The Coast Guard to Los Angeles. Treasury to Memphis. You get the idea. Major, major construction contracts, plenty of which could be steered to my cronies. And while I was at it, I’d make the dispersal plan include all kinds of redundant transportation and infrastructure stuff like new airports, rail road depots, telephone exchanges, microwave and cell towers, power plants, etc. Since redundancy was an explicit part of the plan in Defense of Terror, none dare call it “pork”. And by bundling these construction contracts into packages too big for all but the largest firms to take on, you could make virtually all of it go through the hands of huge American construction companies like Halliburton’s subsidiaries.

Those two plans would be easy. And there are I’m sure at least a thousand other more subtle ways that could be piled on top.
Kinda makes the idea that we went to Iraq to enrich Halliburton sound kinda, let’s be kind, strained, donchathink?
Actually, as long as you were sane about it, and didn’t steer the contracts to only the super huge corporations, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Comments

[Paco]

The close ties between W., Cheney and Halliburton exist. Many believe the conflicts of interest and financial abuses are real and demonstrable. "Cronies" is a perfect word for the situation, but I understand your point: I'm sure Nixon got tired of the word "paranoid" as well. The things the W Whitehouse haven't done to further enrich Haliburton but could have done, do not excuse the things they have done. Your extreme examples don't elucidate anything. Always entertaining to read your thoughts, though...

[Pedro]

My point is that it's silly to think that President Bush took us to war IN ORDER TO ENRICH HALLIBURTON, when there are so many other, simpler, more direct, and more profitable ways. Now, once the decision to invade Iraq had been made, then it could be possible that they looked around for ways to make a little cash out of the process. I'm not saying they did, but it's possible. But to say or imply, as so many on the left have, that we went to war because of Halliburton is stupid. Just plain dumb.
But the more I think of dispersal and redundancy of infrastructure, the more I like it. Pork! Pork!! PORK FOREVER!!!!

[Pedro]

Oh, and to be clear, Paco: I never heard you say that's why President Bush started the war. And I'm not calling you stupid. I still have hope for you :[

[Paco]

Yes, thanks for the clarification. I'm not a conspiratorialist (like some leftists) who believes the war was started just for personal enrichment. That's just stupid.