Dear MoveOn member,
There are lots of reasons that things are going south in Iraq. President Bush alienated
the international community, lied to the world about the threat of
Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, failed to plan for reconstruction .
. . and the list goes on. But there's another less talked-about reason
that things are turning out so badly: President Bush and Vice President
Cheney simply can't resist a chance to help their corporate friends
make a buck, even when it undermines the troops.
Today, we're launching
a new ad to call the Bush Administration on its ties to the
scandal-plagued company Halliburton. In just a year in Iraq,
Halliburton employees have accepted $6 million in illegal kickbacks
(1), the company overcharged taxpayers millions for gas (2), and
charged hundreds of millions of dollars for meals for our troops that
were never delivered (3). It's a perfect example of how Bush and
Cheney's taste for corporate cronyism has weakened our country and cost
taxpayers billions.
We know from polling
that for many people the Halliburton debacle illustrates a core
weakness in the Bush program, and helps convince independent voters to
vote against Bush. That's why it's so important that we get this ad,
which hammers that point home, in front of as many people as possible.
If we can raise $1.1 million, we can run the ad deep for a week in a
number of the key "battleground" states. Please contribute what you can
to help us get it on the air today at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/halliburton.html?id=2927-3261555-nI9v7TRaAbVzQcB6wlOTxw
On that page, you can also read a full script of the ad and take a look at the story boards.
Revelations regarding
Halliburton's unethical and at times illegal behavior continue to pop
up at a regular pace. But perhaps more worrisome are indications that
the Bush administration isn't just turning a blind eye to Halliburton's
corrupt business practices -- it's actively helping the company along.
For example, Time Magazine exposed last week that newly disclosed
internal Pentagon emails suggest that the office of Vice President Dick
Cheney was instrumental in sealing an $18 BILLION no-bid contract for
the Vice President's former company (4).
Nor does Halliburton's
track record end at fraud. In a Pentagon audit, Halliburton was warned
that its food service facilities which serve our troops in Iraq were
dangerously unsanitary, with "blood all over the floor" of its
kitchens, "dirty pans," and "rotting meats ... and vegetables." (5) As
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) put it, Halliburton is ultimately "a
company that arrogantly is overcharging when they can get away with it
and not providing the quality of service that they agreed to do." (6)
Vice President Dick
Cheney still holds hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of stock
options in the company.(7) So it's hardly surprising that the
Administration's response has been anemic, even when faced with clear
evidence that the company is bilking taxpayers.
That's why we need to get this ad on the air. Can you contribute to make that happen? Go to:
http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/halliburton.html?id=2927-3261555-nI9v7TRaAbVzQcB6wlOTxw
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
MoveOn PAC
June 10th, 2004
Footnotes:
1. Halliburton admits $6m kickbacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3425043.stm
2. Halliburton: $61M Overcharge?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/12/politics/main588216.shtml
3. Halliburton Grilled Over Meals
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/02/eveningnews/main597566.shtml
4. Time reports Cheney hand in contract
http://www.iht.com/articles/522594.html
5. Contractor served troops dirty food in dirty kitchens
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/12/14/2003079545
6. See 5, above.
7. Cheney may still have Halliburton ties
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/25/news/companies/cheney/?cnn=yes
PAID FOR BY MoveOn PAC
P.O. Box 9218, Berkeley, CA 94709
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