Bechtel leaves Iraq

Moderators: Elvis, DrVolin, Jeff

Bechtel leaves Iraq

Postby nomo » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:13 pm

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/01/BECHTEL.TMP">sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...ECHTEL.TMP</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Bechtel Corp. went to Iraq three years ago to help rebuild a nation torn by war. Since then, 52 of its people have been killed and much of its work sabotaged as Iraq dissolved into insurgency and sectarian violence.<br><br>Now Bechtel is leaving.<br><br>The San Francisco engineering company's last government contract to rebuild power, water and sewage plants across Iraq expired on Tuesday. Some employees remain to finish the paperwork, but essentially, the company's job is done.<br><br>Bechtel's contracts were part of an enormous U.S. effort to put Iraq back on its feet after decades of wars and sanctions. That rebuilding campaign, once touted as the Marshall Plan of modern times, was supposed to win the hearts of skeptical Iraqis by giving them clean water, dependable power, telephones that worked and modern sanitation. President Bush said he wanted the country's infrastructure to be the very best in the Middle East.<br><br>But Bechtel -- which charged into Iraq with American "can-do" fervor -- found it tough to keep its engineers and workers alive, much less make progress in piecing Iraq back together.<br><br>"Did Iraq come out the way you hoped it would?" asked Cliff Mumm, Bechtel's president for infrastructure work. "I would say, emphatically, no. And it's heartbreaking." <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <p></p><i></i>
User avatar
nomo
 
Posts: 3388
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2005 1:48 pm
Location: New York City
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Bechtel leaves Iraq

Postby postrchild » Thu Nov 02, 2006 2:08 pm

finally a crumb of truth in a banquet of lies! <p></p><i></i>
postrchild
 
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:53 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Bechtel leaves Iraq

Postby rocco33 » Thu Nov 02, 2006 2:25 pm

Getting ready to go to Damascus or Tehran? <p></p><i></i>
rocco33
 
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:35 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Bechtel leaves Iraq

Postby Gouda » Thu Nov 02, 2006 2:35 pm

Heartbreaking. Yet, what better way to mend a broken heart than logging on to your numerous offshore accounts to drool over the enormous balance and looking forward to future opportunities. <br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Windfalls of War - Bechtel Group Inc.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=6">www.publicintegrity.org/w...pro&ddlC=6</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Sourcewatch - Bechtel</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bechtel">www.sourcewatch.org/index...le=Bechtel</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Postwar Profits - How a handful of construction firms got an early invitation to rebuild Iraq</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=69">www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=69</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Bechtel, the engineering giant that employed the likes of former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of State George Shultz and former CIA Director William Casey* before they took their government posts, gave $1.3 million in individual, PAC and soft money contributions between 1999 and 2002. As it prepares its bid for the postwar project, Bechtel is facing allegations that it contributed to Iraq's military buildup nearly two decades ago. The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that a German journalist uncovered a document prepared for the United Nations by Iraq that says <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Bechtel was among 24 U.S. companies that supplied the country with weapons during the '80s.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/41083/">www.alternet.org/waroniraq/41083/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The San Francisco-based construction and engineering giant received one of the largest no-bid contracts -- <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>worth $2.4 billion</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> -- to help coordinate and rebuild a large part of Iraq's infrastructure. But the company's reconstruction failures range from shoddy school repairs to failing to finish a large hospital in Basra on time and within budget.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Bechtel tied to bin Ladens </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/05/news/companies/war_bechtel/">money.cnn.com/2003/05/05/...r_bechtel/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Public Citizen Calls for Investigation of Bechtel’s Failure to Provide Adequate Water Services to Iraqi Citizens</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1680">www.citizen.org/pressroom...fm?ID=1680</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>For example, one of Bechtel’s earliest priorities was to ensure the provision of potable water supplies to the population of southern Iraq in the first 60 days of the program. However, one year later, there is little evidence that this mandate has been achieved; instead, rising epidemics of cholera, kidney stones and diarrhea – all water-borne illnesses – point to the failure of Bechtel’s mission...<br><br>While Bechtel fails in its duties, knowledgeable Iraqi engineers and hydrologists are left on the sidelines. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Moreover, the U.S.-based company appears to be positioning itself to assume private corporate control over municipal water systems in Iraq if the United States decides to open up systems to privatization.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <p></p><i></i>
User avatar
Gouda
 
Posts: 3009
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:53 am
Location: a circular mould
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Bechtel leaves Iraq

Postby Seamus OBlimey » Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:40 pm

<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/24fa237c-6a13-11db-952e-0000779e2340.html">Kroll to sell Iraq and Afghan security unit</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.public-i.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=32">KROLL</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>
User avatar
Seamus OBlimey
 
Posts: 3154
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:14 pm
Location: Gods own country
Blog: View Blog (0)


Return to Iraq

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests