Quotes of the Morning: Surging Profits

“In testimony to the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England said U.S. military commanders in Iraq were requesting varying numbers of support troops to augment the additional 21,500 soldiers Bush has ordered into combat. ‘At this point, our expectation is the number of ... troops could go above 21,500 by about 4,000, maybe as many as 7,000,’ England said.
[…]
The estimate of 4,000 to 7,000 new support troops needed for Iraq contrasts with a February 6 forecast by Defense Secretary Robert Gates that as many as 3,000 would be needed.
The higher estimate could raise the projected $5.6 billion price tag of the troop surge by about $1 billion, if about 4,000 support troops are needed, England said.”
-Reuters, March 6, 2007

“Oh, those long ago days of.. um.. last week. Somehow I didn’t think that those numbers would stay stable..”
-Skippy

“I can’t wait to see if the Pentagon’s estimate keeps going up to closer to the 15,000 that the CBO is predicting. It’s understood that the Pentagon forgot though… I mean, the Administration has a lot on their mind right now.”
-Skippy, March 7, 2008

“And now..”
-Skippy

“President Bush asked Congress on Saturday for $3.2 billion to pay for 8,200 more U.S. troops needed in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of the 21,500-troop buildup he announced in January.”
-Associated Press, March 11, 2007

“Impressive.. The ‘surge’ in troops has moved from ‘maybe as many as 7,000’ to 8,600 in under a week, and the ‘surge’ price tag has already increased by 57% from what Fearless Leader told the American people (you know.. an additional $3.2 billion. Pocket change). Amazing how the costs keep going up. Someone must be making a killing (so to speak) on all of this.”
-Skippy

“A two-year investigation has finally begun to shed some light on the trail of taxpayer dollars that paid for Blackwater USA's famously ill-fated security mission in Fallujah, Iraq, in March 2004.
Blackwater's contract was less than a month old when four of its security operatives were ambushed and killed, some of their bodies mutilated and hung from a bridge in an incident that changed the course of the Iraq war.
Blackwater was at the bottom of a four-tiered chain of contractors. The Moyock, N.C.-based company says it billed the next company up the chain $2.3 million. At the top of the chain was KBR, a subsidiary of Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton Co.
Now the Pentagon has calculated that by the time KBR got around to billing the government, the tab to the taxpayers for private security work had reached $19.6 million. The government is moving to take that money back, charging that it was improperly spent.”
-Virginian-Pilot, February 20, 2007

“Not bad.. Halliburton and the other two layers of contracts managed to add on $17.3 million on that deal. Privatization works! It helps American corporations and American troops. It’s a win-win situation.”
-Skippy

“Halliburton Co. exposed troops in Iraq to contaminated water even after a former company worker publicly accused the Houston-based contractor of failing to chlorinate water supplies, Senate Democrats alleged Thurs- day.
Back in January, a one-time water purification specialist for Halliburton subsidiary KBR told a Democratic panel he tested water used for showers, shaving and washing clothes at Camp Junction City in Ramadi last March and found it had not been treated with chlorine.
[…]
Halliburton allowed troops to bathe in water pumped from the Tigris River that tested positive for E. coli and coliform bacteria, Dorgan said.”
-Houston Chronicle, April 6, 2006

“Sure, they’ve had their faults, but Halliburton is an American company taking care of American troops. As Americans we are all in this War on Terrorism together.”
-Skippy

“Oil services giant Halliburton Co. will soon shift its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Mideast financial powerhouse of Dubai, chief executive Dave Lesar announced Sunday.
‘Halliburton is opening its corporate headquarters in Dubai while maintaining a corporate office in Houston,’ spokeswoman Cathy Mann said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. ‘The chairman, president and CEO will office from and be based in Dubai to run the company from the UAE.’”
-Associated Press, March 11, 2007