Wow! A Must Read Feb 2004 New Yorker article re: Cheney, Halliburton, and

[milkyway]

the privatization of war. I had been unaware of this article. It has a goldmine of info, some new to me. This was just posted by Wiggs in this DU thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2325228

_____

For months there has been a debate in Washington about when the Bush Administration decided to go to war against Saddam. In Ron Suskind’s recent book “The Price of Loyalty,” former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill charges that Cheney agitated for U.S. intervention well before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Additional evidence that Cheney played an early planning role is contained in a previously undisclosed National Security Council document, dated February 3, 2001. The top-secret document, written by a high-level N.S.C. official, concerned Cheney’s newly formed Energy Task Force. It directed the N.S.C. staff to coöperate fully with the Energy Task Force as it considered the “melding” of two seemingly unrelated areas of policy: “the review of operational policies towards rogue states,” such as Iraq, and “actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields.”


A source who worked at the N.S.C. at the time doubted that there were links between Cheney’s Energy Task Force and the overthrow of Saddam. But Mark Medish, who served as senior director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian affairs at the N.S.C. during the Clinton Administration, told me that he regards the document as potentially “huge.” He said, “People think Cheney’s Energy Task Force has been secretive about domestic issues,” referring to the fact that the Vice-President has been unwilling to reveal information about private task-force meetings that took place in 2001, when information was being gathered to help develop President Bush’s energy policy. “But if this little group was discussing geostrategic plans for oil, it puts the issue of war in the context of the captains of the oil industry sitting down with Cheney and laying grand, global plans.”

<snip>

In the spring of 2000, Cheney’s two worlds—commerce and politics— merged. Halliburton allowed its C.E.O. to serve simultaneously as the head of George W. Bush’s Vice-Presidential search committee. At the time, Bush said that his main criterion for a running mate was “somebody who’s not going to hurt you.” Cheney demanded reams of documents from the candidates he considered. In the end, he picked himself—a move that his longtime friend Stuart Spencer recently described, with admiration, as “the most Machiavellian fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”
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http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040216fa_fact

[truthspeaker]

1. "capture of new and existing oil and gas fields"

That's imperialism, right there: using military force for economic gain. And we're not even talking about it. It's a core issue of our foreign policy but we all pretend it either doesn't exist or is inevitable; not something up for debate.

[acmavm]

2. This one article alone shows how dangerous and duplicitous Dick

Cheney is. And how out of control the entire administration is. Their campaign theme should be "if it's good for Halliburton and the oil industry, than it's good for America". <sarcasm>

I think that it's horrible that people don't take the time (not people here mind you) to read and study and learn and make the effort to understand what is happening to our country.

[chiburb]

3. CrashCart has had a conflict of interest all along...

And I THINK I know why (I'm trying to find my source as I type, so this is from memory):

When Poppy Bush graduated Yale, he went to work at Dresser Industries. The then CEO became best friends with young George, and in fact Neil Bush is named for him. Fast forward to the mid '90s and Dresser is going under due to asbestos lawsuits/liability. Cheney/Halliburton acquire Dresser and it's liabilities because it was a "good investment", firing many thousands soon after. When the true extent of Dresser's liabilities became known, Cheney pleaded "I didn't know", but the Halliburton shareholders were on the hook. Cheney then leaves for Washington and the rest is history... Iraq provides war profits to Halliburton, which repays it and more for bailing out Dresser.

[MsConduct]

4. It just keeps getting better....

in the worst ways possible. I know cheney is the snakiest of the snakes, it's great having proof.

Great post, thanks!

Peace

[wiggs]

5. Needs exposure

Talking Points Memo had this a couple of months ago. It should be passed along now to Rhodes, Franken, Pitt, Star, Olbermann, etc for wider exposure. Can someone here forward?

People are ready at this point in time to hear about the secret energy task force meetings, imperialism, Cheney conflicts of interest, Halliburton deals, real reasons for being in Iraq.

This is an example of something that would put the administration on the defensive. Even talking about it would sound really bad for them.

So much has gone down the memory hole. But timing is everything....let's see if this baby can fly just before the election when more people are paying attention.

[Stephanie]

6. Here's our DU discussion of this at the time it came out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1125619

[wiggs]

9. Good stuff. And a bonus link regarding intelligence

Very good thread. And at the bottom was another link I was looking for, indicating that intelligence presented to congress was distorted.

This supports Senator Grahams current statement that there is a longer classified intelligence report that many in congress didn't see.

Thanks

[milkyway]

11. Thanks for this great thread from Feb. The question is: what has happened

since this article came out? It seems like things haven't moved forward very much since this article in February. The article says that the NSC was ordered to meld and "cooperate fully" with cheney's Energy Task Force (corporate oil and energy interests). Is this not the very definition of fascism? We've always had strong corporate influence over government policy, but this directs the National Security Council to be subservient to the private energy interests. Has this corporate takeover of government ever happened to this extent before?

BTW, why isn't this article getting more interest here at DU today? I think to most people this is not just old news--it's still an amazingly powerful article.

[apnu]

7. Welcome to the light!

Bush lied, people died, Halliburton got fatter.

That's all the truth that's necessary, IMO.

[milkyway]

8. Another fun quote: Halliburton’s 2002 annual report describes

counterterrorism as offering “growth opportunities."

[milkyway]

10. kick for the night shift.