What might have prompted Dick Cheney to appear in DC to speak out about current events?

[Samantha]

Last edited Thu Sep 11, 2014, 10:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Could the answer to this question possibly be found with once again one needing to follow the money?

Ten contractors were the recipients of 52 percent of the funds received to fight the original war in Iraq -- according to the article at the following link. Would you like to take a guess as to which one was the number one top recipient?

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/308-12/16561-focus-cheneys-halliburton-made-395-billion-on-iraq-war

Houston-based energy-focused engineering and construction firm KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR), which was spun off from its parent, oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL), in 2007.

The company was given $39.5 billion in Iraq-related contracts over the past decade, with many of the deals given without any bidding from competing firms, such as a $568-million contract renewal in 2010 to provide housing, meals, water and bathroom services to soldiers, a deal that led to a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged kickbacks, as reported by Bloomberg.

And when questioned about this sticky subject during that war's inception, Cheney casually said he was not on Halliburton's payroll during his Vice Presidential tenancy:

Cheney said Sunday on NBC that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."

But, oops....

The report (by the Congressional Research Service) says a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company.

Both of the above two blockquotes can be found at this CBS news site: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheneys-halliburton-ties-remain/

So off the top of your head, what do you think motivated Cheney to re-emerge in DC this week to rip President Obama's war policy? Just wondering....

Sam

[Thinkingabout]

1. It is time for Cheney to severe his ties with the Us government.

[Samantha]

6. It is a breach of protocol in DC for a past President or Vice President to criticise the current

admiinistration, but since neither he nor Bush* were legitimately elected, he probably thinks it is totally acceptable to keep seizing the moment to step up and speak out if there is a dollar to be had.

Sam

[Thinkingabout]

8. Apparently he doesnt know he needs to respect boundries.

He seems to want to keep the Cheney name in the news, as I see it he us hurting any chances his daughter has in winning an election.

[Samantha]

9. True -- neither literal nor figurative boundaries are observed by Cheney

He might be thinking he needs all of the money he can get to help fix, I mean finance , her next campaign.

Thanks for posting on my thread.

Sam

[Aerows]

29. Or you can just go with the more obvious answer.

He's an arrogant greedy jackass that hasn't got the good grace to stop acting like one.

That's what I'm going with.

[Samantha]

35. Obviously, you are a very perceptive person

who is a good judge of character (or lack thereof).

Thank you for posting on my thread.

Sam

[Aerows]

36. Ray Charles

could see that Dick Cheney is an arrogant greedy jackass.

[jaysunb]

2. Better question is, why would anyone listen or care ? n/t

[Samantha]

7. One always has to wonder when Cheney steps back into the spotlight

exactly what it is he wants. Sometimes it is in our best interests to find out....

Thanks for posting on my thread.

Sam

[Retrograde]

28. He wants to be Jeb's vice president

or at least the veep of whomever the GOP nominates in 2016. Nothing in the Constitution says you can't be VP forever...

[Politicalboi]

3. Maybe he's helping to look for the

2.3 TRILLION dollars the Pentagon announced it misplaced on 09/10/01. Did they ever find that money? I bet it was a lot more than 2.3 too.

[brush]

5. That money was never "misplaced".

C'mon, no one misplaces 2.3 trillion dollars. That kind of cash, and we're talking CASH as was the practice in Iraq then, pallet loads of it, would have been transported with at least a regiment-sized force of of heavily armed security. It's itinerary would have been precisely planned to the minute.

It was not MISPLACED, it went to those it was planned to go to — and I'm guessing Cheney and Halliburton got their share.

[DJ13]

4. Securing a piece of the war profits for Haliburton

[Samantha]

10. There was a very intelligent female commentator on Lawrence O'Donnell's show last evening

Last edited Fri Sep 12, 2014, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)

who point-blank said the people who will make a killing (her word, not mine) on this fight against ISIS will be military contractors. It is they who are hawking the dangers, promoting the opportunity to make a few bucks for themselves over this debacle. It just further reinforced to me Cheney's motives on this issue....

Sam

[liberal_at_heart]

23. bingo!

[jwirr]

11. Greed.

[Samantha]

15. When I hear "increased calls for boots on the ground"

I immediately think of Cheney. Hallburton serviced all the military in Iraq during the war. It was a no-bid contract.

Sam

[jwirr]

19. Exactly. Back in WWII we called it profiteering. If we must have wars we should make then

non-profits.

[Samantha]

20. I was wondering if there is a way to find out who is awarded government contracts

The big one Halliburton received, something like 39.5 million, was a no-bid contract. There must be some way this information has to be publicly disclosed -- if one knows where to look. What do you think?

I believe I heard there may be boots on the ground if President Obama receives the money and support from Congress to go into Syria. I was moving around while listening to the news today, and I believe I heard that. I hope that is not true, but it sounds about right.

Sam

[jwirr]

21. If you have a good congressman/woman I would call them and ask if the info is available.

[Samantha]

22. Look what I just found!

http://www.defense.gov/contracts/

It is kind of late so I am going to wait until tomorrow morning to look at it.

The reason I asked this question originally was to try to discern if one could keep track as things progress of where the money is being spent. I do think there is probably a lot of expenditures disbursed under previously allocated funds that will not be revealed....

Sam

[jwirr]

24. There is a reason that the Defense Department never was audited during W term and I doubt it

has under Obama as he has enough on his plate already. They have hidden funds that we will never find but what you found at least gives us a start. I do not understand much about economics but we have some good people here on DU who do .

[Samantha]

25. There is one thing I know but it is not from a Google search

Even members of Congress have never known the complete tab spent on, let us say, national security issues.

Sam

[jwirr]

37. During the Iran/Contra trials they talked about secret sluch funds for the CIA and some of the

special forces. But the numbers were never discussed. I suppose that this is what many are calling our shadow government. It is definitely in the shadows.

[Samantha]

38. Exactly

I am not really sure any one person could cough up a legitimate total, all encompassing.

Sam

[tblue37]

39. Once upon a time war profiteering was considered treason, and if convicted, one could even

be executed for it.

[jwirr]

40. Now it is still treason but there is no punishment for it. We now call it good business practices.

[Populist_Prole]

12. Going on the attack to prevent from being investigated

Thom Hartmann made an excellent observation the other day. He mused that all this fiery hawkishness to prevent he and his ilk from the previous administration from being investigated for war crimes in a "the best defense is an offense" move.

[Samantha]

17. I would like to think most Americans by now will accept absolutely no defense

for the Bush*/Cheney foreign policies. Too many people died.

Sam

[J_J_]

13. He's a greedy sadistic bastard who has not been held accountable

He's pretty much just laughing his ass off at us, while he tells his minions to prepare for his next looting.

[mmonk]

14. Someone dialed hell for an opinion.

[Samantha]

18. I think you've got it (n/t)

[hatrack]

16. A full moon? Shorter daylight hours?

[Samantha]

34. He was howling about Obama

So you might be on to something here.

Thanks for posting on my thread.

Sam

[liberal N proud]

26. Was he out in daylight?

[Ilsa]

27. The crypt needed sweeping and his dr said

His human heart needed a boost of Vitamin D from sunshine, if Cheney thought he could avoid spontaneous combustion.j

Its really bad protocol for him to come out criticize the sitting president. Then again, this pendejo told another sitting senator to go fuck himself on the senate floor. People like this are why politics and sports are so nasty, mean, and undignified now.

[Joe Magarac]

30. Advance pub for an upcoming biopic?

If Rumsfeld can, why not Cheney?

[ladywnch]

31. attention whores need attention for their last gasp at relevency eom

[Orsino]

32. The Time of the Harvest draws nigh, and the brethren gather to feed upon the living.

This is all covered on page three of your Prophecy handbook.

[Samantha]

33. Saturday nights bring out the best in DU responses

Thank you so much for posting on my thread. Made my day.

Sam