# What??? Haliburton won the bid to rebuild Iraq in 2001??? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822 "2003-10-01T01:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/21 "2003-10-01T06:23:11Z")
**Reeder** for President? ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/22 "2003-10-01T06:56:58Z")
I think there’s some good potential spin here for the Administration. Since the WMD’s didn’t pan out, and a lot of people seem to have problems with the other alternate explanations, I’d run with this one. "It was not about weapons, or about liberty, or about terror. This war was about honor, integrity, and the fact that the United States of America keeps its word. We told Haliburton they would be fighting oil fires in Iraq. We have taken the necessary steps to fulfill our part of that bargain." I like **Reeder** threads. Anywhere else I’d have been afraid that the above would wind up being the dumbest post. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/23 "2003-10-01T06:57:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > **Oops. Thanks for proving that the Halliburton contract was bid on. I love watching you discredit yourself.** Sorry **Airman** , and **Scylla** , and everyone else drooling over what you perceive to be **Reeder** ’s misfortune. Read the quote in the OP again, with my emphasis added > [@](#): > > The contract to do the work in Iraq, similar to work the company performed in both Bosnia and Kosovo, was competitively bid in 2001. Now, I don’t remember anything about oil in Bosnia and Kosovo, so what exactly is this press release talking about? What kind of services were covered in the bid-upon contract? Might it be [logistic services?](http://www.halliburton.com/news/archive/1999/brsnws_021999.jsp) > [@](#): > > Brown & Root Services (BRS), a business unit of Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), has been selected to continue its services as the premier logistics support provider to U.S. forces deployed in the Balkans region… Under the contract, Brown & Root Services will continue to provide full logistic services to U.S. troops in the Balkans including quality of life services, base camp support, transportation and maintenance services, USAF base support operations, as well as construction of temporary facilities for the U.S. forces deployed in Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Forge. Operation Joint Forge is the military operations name for the U.S. portion of the NATO-led peacekeeping operation designed to help stabilize Bosnia. That seems likely, as the article linked to in the OP mentions that “Our employees in the Middle East are building housing, preparing meals, delivering the mail and providing many other vital services for our troops.” [Here](http://www.halliburton.com/news/archive/1998/hesnws_120298.jsp) is some more information about Operations Joint Forge/Endeavor that took place in the Balkans > [@](#): > > Operation Joint Endeavor through Operation Joint Forge began with building 19 base camps and operating 32 camps. At its peak, it employed thousands of employees that performed 24-hour maintenance for 2,495 tents and 167 facilities. Through June 1999 BRS continues to provide logistics support for Balkans peacekeeping operations. There’s that damn word “logistics” again… Is this what everyone’s raising a stink about when they mention the phrase “no bid” and the word “Halliburton” in the same sentence? A silly contract to build houses and deliver the mail? Well, that’s part of it, perhaps, [but…](http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/6896614.htm) > [@](#): > > It [Halliburton – quix] is believed to be the biggest U.S. government contractor in postwar Iraq. In addition to the oil field contract, the Halliburton subsidiary provides a broad range of military logistics, from building bases to serving chow and delivering the mail to G.I.s. So, apparently, Halliburton has more than one contract in Iraq? How odd! Except not really. The same article has the meat: > [@](#): > > The oil field contract has drawn the most controversy because it was awarded on a no-bid basis with a ceiling of $7 billion over two years. So, while **Reeder** is being a bit silly with his OP, those who think they’ve “got him” are going to have the most egg on their faces, methinks… Quix ---
**Author:** ![a\_bird\_on\_the\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@a\_bird\_on\_the\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a_bird_on_the_wire)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/24 "2003-10-01T07:55:56Z")
_"So, while Reeder is being a bit silly with his OP…_ And Daffy Duck is a “bit” feathered. ---
**Author:** ![jamcracker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jamcracker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamcracker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/25 "2003-10-01T07:56:14Z")
Reeder: next time, just link to the blog from which you cribbed. I got a nickel says the blogger presented a stronger case against the administration than you presented in the OP , with regard to that link. If you spent your day reading Halliburton press releases, and dug this up yourself, I apologize. – **Upon further review** : I didn’t click Reeder’s link until after I previewed. More quotes from the Halliburton OP link: > [@](#): > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 19, 2003 > > STATEMENT FOR AMERICAN FAMILY VOICES ADVERTISING > > HOUSTON, Texas – Halliburton has a contract to take care of our troops in Iraq because of what we know, not who we know… Reeder didn’t cite a discovery of Halliburton’s 2001 bid. He cited a Sept 2003 Halliburton press release giving Halliburton’s explanation for their bidding on an Iraq contract in 2001. For the sake of argument: If one such as Reeder wanted to make a splash with this: One might read the Sept 2003 HAL press release. One might think “HAL bid on Iraq in 2001?!?” One digs up a news story from 2001 citing the HAL bid. One then posts “HAL won the bid in 2001 - and here’s HAL’s 9/03 attempt at a coverup.” This OP is wrong on so many levels, rational commentary seems impossible, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/26 "2003-10-01T16:34:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > This hardly qualifies as news. Halliburton subsidiary Brown and Root is virtually a unit of the US army. [Corpwatch](http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=6008) gave them up long ago. \*\* I don’t get it. What’s the big deal? So the Army is outsourcing a lot of the non-combat service and logistics jobs to civilian contractors? So what? And what’s the big deal about Halliburton anyway other than it’s connections to Bush and Cheney? Who should rebuild Iraq? Hassan the Tentmaker, Inc? Ahmed & Sons Contractors? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/27 "2003-10-01T17:00:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > \*\*See, it wasn’t a no-bid contract. \*\* **Scylla** , you fucking rock, dude! ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/28 "2003-10-01T17:43:31Z")
**Sofa King** , I’m assuming you’re being facetious in light of **quixotic’s** post about the number of contracts Halliburton has had, and that some of them were no bid. Both **Scylla** and **Airman** were especially quick to make assertions without explanation and you’re cheering that on? Thanks for at least part of the real straight dope, **quix** ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/29 "2003-10-01T18:02:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hamlet \* > \*\*Thanks for at least part of the real straight dope, **quix** \*\* Ya, sure, ya betcha. I felt a little bad having a GD-like post in the Pit, so I thought I’d say this: **Airman** , **Scylla** , _et al._, I think you owe Sparky… er, I mean **Reeder** a bit of an apology. Or else you’re just cocksuckers. (heh) [sub]Seriously, though. I remember reading from a few people in the **december** nonsense that he was pounced upon simply for who he is. It seems the same could be said to apply to **Reeder**. [Fake Histrionics] Where’s the outrage???[/FH][/sub] ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/30 "2003-10-01T18:31:59Z")
**december** got pounced on for being a conservative, while **Reeder** gets pounced on not for being a liberal, but for being an idiot ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/31 "2003-10-01T18:38:44Z")
[sub]thanks for clearing that up, taxguy. I thought december got pounced on for lying, misleading, poor logic, and trolling. I’ll be on the veranda since you seem to have december up on the cross.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/32 "2003-10-01T19:00:39Z")
If it’s such an ok deal…why hasn’t the administration come out and told us about it instead of taking flack about it being no bid? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/33 "2003-10-01T19:22:18Z")
**Reeder** , dude, from the OP I wondered if there were maybe more than one contract. I was too lazy to go looking for them, so I didn’t plan on posting here – but then **Quixotic** showed pretty conclusively that the contract your PR talked about WASN’T the same contract as the no-bid one I pitted way back when it was announced. Terrible OP – but **Scylla** ’s reaction jumped the gun. Best to save the I-told-you-so’s for when you told us correctly. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/34 "2003-10-01T19:48:41Z")
[sub]are we in a library now?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/35 "2003-10-01T19:49:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TaxGuy \* > \*\ ***december** got pounced on for being a conservative… \*\* Riiiiight. Gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/36 "2003-10-01T20:33:29Z")
Having bid on a number of government contracts, I’d like to point out the following: > [@](#): > > part of the deliverables of that contract was a contingency **plan** to fight oil well fires in case of war with Iraq. _emphasis added_ That’s pretty critical language in a contract negotiation. They bid to write the plan. The actual fighting of fires, supporting of troops, etc is a separate contract. Was that one bid? ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/37 "2003-10-01T20:39:21Z")
I won’t hijack this thread any more by talking about december. See my posts in the thread on that if you care to really understand my position, **SimonX** and **Hamlet**. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/38 "2003-10-02T00:35:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hamlet \* > \*\ ***Sofa King** , I’m assuming you’re being facetious in light of **quixotic’s** post about the number of contracts Halliburton has had, and that some of them were no bid. Both **Scylla** and **Airman** were especially quick to make assertions without explanation and you’re cheering that on? > > Thanks for at least part of the real straight dope, **quix** \*\* Oh come now, **Hamlet**. **Scylla** might sometimes come off a little bit abrasive and stubborn, but I’m convinced he’s a humorist first and foremost. That first post is _fucking comedy_, intentional, inspired, and warmly self-conscious. Anyone who can take the drubbing you guys have been giving him lately and then dive in with a one-liner like that is okay in my book, and I don’t give a damn what the rest of you say. That shit was funny. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/39 "2003-10-26T14:41:50Z")
Sorry for the bump, but this thread was recently linked to [sub]and I don’t think my post warrants an entirely new thread.[/sub] > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*That first post [by Scylla, in this thread – the Mad Bumper] is _fucking comedy_, intentional, inspired, and warmly self-conscious. > > Anyone who can take the drubbing you guys have been giving him lately and then dive in with a one-liner like that is okay in my book, and I don’t give a damn what the rest of you say. That shit was funny. \*\* Well I think we can finally put this cute little hypothesis to bed, **Sofa King**. Over heah in [this Reeder thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=219407), we’ve got **Scylla** saying, completely independent of any context of humor, “I think in a previous Reeder thread Reeder accidently showed that the no bid contract was actually bid… which was kind of funny.” Ironically enough (you know, in the way that is absolutely not ironic at all), we’ve got **Brutus** repeating the same lie… er, I mean mistake: “Reeder showing that Halliburton won a competitive bid for their work in Iraq.” Fuckin’ A, **Brutus Coulter** , you provided the link back to this selfsame thread! You know, the thread that disproves the entire goddamned point you’re trying to make! I know that you pride yourself on blindly parroting the confusing melange of incompetence and dishonesty of your Republican “leaders.” Maybe I’m being blindsided, because this is one of my few encounters of such behavior up close and in real time, but ye heathen gods – have you no decency, sir? And sorry for going light on you, **Scylla**. You’re not only the first one to mention Reeder’s non-mistake in this thread, but you’re the first one to resurrect it over in the other thread! What kind of horseshit is that? ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822/40 "2003-10-26T15:06:49Z")
From the Halliburton press release (Since your tiny brain didn’t ‘get it’ the first or dozenth time around.)" > [@](#): > > The contract to do the work in Iraq, similar to work the company performed in both Bosnia and Kosovo, was competitively bid in 2001. **Part of the deliverables of that contract was a contingency plan to fight oil well fires in case of war with Iraq**. When the war began, Halliburton was asked to implement the plan. We were selected for this work because of our unique combination of business experience in defense contracting, engineering and construction and oilfield services. Bolding mine. You haven’t a leg to stand on. The Pentagon bidded the plan out well ahead of time, and when the need arose, they dusted off the contract and voila!, they already had a company ready and contracted to do the needed work. You use an awful lot of words in this thread, but you prove nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-haliburton-won-the-bid-to-rebuild-iraq-in-2001/204822.md?page=3)