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The Geopolitical Foundations of Blackwater By George Friedman For the past three weeks, Blackwater, a private security firm under contract to the U.S. State Department, has been under intense scrutiny over its operations in Iraq. The Blackwater controversy has highlighted the use of civilians for what appears to be combat or near-combat missions in Iraq. Moreover, it has raised two important questions: Who controls these private forces and to whom are they accountable? The issue is neither unique to Blackwater nor to matters of combat. There have long been questions about the role of Halliburton and its former subsidiary,...

Before the smoke cleared from the attack on a Blackwater security detail in Iraq on September 16, 2007, the mainstream media began its relentless attacks on the security contractors who have risked their lives – and in some cases given their lives - to serve our country in Iraq. Their assignment, among other things, is to protect their principals - reporters, ambassadors, Senators, Congressmen and even Secretary of State Condolezza Rice - in war-torn Iraq. It is not lost among those of us who endured the same frenzied and sensational journalism while driving trucks in Iraq for KBR in 2004/2005...

Houston-based KBR, formerly the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Co., has a contingency contract in place with the Department of Homeland Security to construct detention facilities in the event of a national emergency. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback confirmed yesterday in a telephone interview that the KBR contract for $385 million was awarded initially in January 2006 for a one-year base period with four one-year options. It has been extended into 2007. KBR held a previous emergency detention contract with ICE from 2000 to 2005. Zuieback told this writer the primary intent of the KBR...

HOUSTON, Texas – Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) today announced that its board of directors has approved a plan under which Halliburton will dispose of its remaining interest in KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) through a split-off exchange offer to Halliburton’s stockholders. Under the anticipated terms, Halliburton will offer the 135,627,000 shares of KBR common stock that it owns to Halliburton’s stockholders in exchange for shares of Halliburton common stock at an exchange ratio to be determined by a specified formula. If the exchange offer is completed but not fully subscribed, Halliburton will distribute to its stockholders by means of a special...

Sept. 4, 2006 — He's tackled Wal-Mart and Fox News with his scathing documentaries. Now, filmmaker Robert Greenwald is releasing a documentary which argues that private companies helping to fight the war in Iraq don't have the nation's best interests in mind. "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" debuts in limited release this week, and presents an assault on companies that provide the kinds of services in Iraq that the military once handled itself, such as supplying food, water and mail delivery for the reconstruction. In the film, former KBR/Halliburton water purification specialist Ben Carter is interviewed and says when...

I'm looking for advice from anyone here who's worked for Halliburton. I'm thinking about applying for a job in Afghanistan doing Information Technology work. This is a civilian position, and does not require security clearance. I don't have any military background but I have never been in trouble, I'm 26 and am in good physical shape. Can anyone tell me about the length of these contracts, how much they pay, what the work is like, basically any information? I did some research and didn't find much. I've been on FR since about 2000 and this is the first vanity I've...

The Army is discontinuing a controversial multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, a decision that could cut deeply into the firm's dominance of government contracting in Iraq. The choice comes after several years of attacks from critics who saw the contract as a symbol of politically connected corporations profiteering on the war. Under the deal, Halliburton had exclusive rights to provide the military with a wide range of work that included keeping soldiers around the world fed, sheltered and in communication with friends and family back home. Government audits turned...

Tuesday, May 02, 2006 Halliburton, Halliburton! Summary: A lot of people in the media and in the Democratic Party have insinuated that one of the main reasons that we are in Iraq is because Dick Cheney profits from Halliburton, and Halliburton wants to make a lot of money. I want to give you my perspective on what Halliburton is contributing to Operation Iraqi Freedom.There are very few companies that could take on the logistical responsibilities that Halliburton takes on. Providing all of the services that Halliburton does for approximately 150,000 soldiers all over the country is remarkable. Never once have...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - The US Army has decided to reimburse Halliburton most costs incurred in a 2.4 bln usd no-bid contract in Iraq despite challenges by auditors of more than 200 mln usd of the costs, officials confirmed. The controversial contract to deliver fuel and repair oil facilities after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq has been at the center of a long-running controversy over allegations of inflated fuel costs and other problems. Auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency questioned more than 206 mln usd in costs submitted by Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), the Halliburton subsidiary awarded the...

Halliburton plans to make shares availabe to public in KBR, its engineering and construction subsidiary, in a spring offering. Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar made the IPO announcement this morning on a conference call with analysts and the media while talking about 2005 profits and 2006 plans. "Our current plan is to file for an IPO soon after we file our 10-K," Lesar said, referring to annual financial report with regulators. In the past Halliburton has filed that report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March. During the call, Halliburton's Chief Financial Officer Chris Gaut said the company may...

IT'S enough to make the hippies and peaceniks of Byron Bay choke on their organic muesli. Byron Bay Shire Council has awarded a contract to a subsidiary of Halliburton, the multinational formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick Cheney and condemned by anti-war activists as a major profiteer in the Iraq war. The hip northern NSW beach town, long a haven for anti-war activists, made history in 2004 by becoming the first place in NSW to elect a Green mayor, Jan Barham. But Ms Barham, one of three Green councillors who voted in favour of awarding a contract for a sewage...

A U.N. auditing board has recommended that the United States reimburse Iraq up to $208.5 million for contracting work carried out by KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, in the last two years. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the Development Fund for Iraq said in a report that the work, paid for with Iraqi oil proceeds, was either overpriced or done poorly by the Virginia-based company. Compiled from an array of Pentagon, United States government and private auditors, the report did not specify how or what work has been done poorly. Halliburton said its subsidiary had cooperated with the...

Four U.S. Contractors Killed in Iraq Sun Oct 23, 6:41 AM ET BAGHDAD, Iraq - An angry mob of insurgents attacked a convoy of American contractors last month when they got lost in a town north of Baghdad, killing four and wounding two, the U.S. military said on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT The Sept. 20 attack in the mostly Sunni Arab town of Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, was reported for the first time on Saturday by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph and confirmed by the military on Sunday. The convoy, which included U.S. military guards riding in Humvees,...

In light of the global outrage surrounding burning Taliban corpses, I found this story particularly enraging: U.S. Confirms Killing Of Contractors in IraqExcerpt from Washington Times article: The commander said the four men -- identified by the Telegraph as employees of the Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root -- realized their convoy had taken a wrong turn and were desperately trying to escape from the town when their vehicle was attacked by insurgents. Two contractors who were not killed in the initial firing were dragged from their vehicle, and one was shot in the back of the head, the...

Four Were Slain by Angry Mob Last Month BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 -- Four U.S. contractors were killed last month when their convoy took a wrong turn, drove into a town north of Baghdad and was attacked by an angry mob, a senior U.S. military official said Saturday. The incident, which occurred Sept. 20 in the town of Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, was first reported Saturday by Britain's Daily Telegraph. The senior U.S. military commander confirmed the account to The Washington Post. There was no explanation for why the military did not report the deaths earlier. The commander...

BAGHDAD (AP)--The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that four U.S. contractors were killed and two wounded in Iraq last month when their convoy got lost and was attacked by insurgents and a mob north of Baghdad. The attack happened Sept. 20 in Duluiyah, about 75 kilometers from Baghdad. It was first reported Saturday by the U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The paper said the contractors were employees of the Halliburton Co. (HAL) (HAL) subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, the biggest U.S. military contractor in Iraq. But Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a spokesman for Task Force Liberty in north-central Iraq, said he could...

A letter to the editor September 21, 2005 Dear Editor: Looks like the federal government really can respond fast to a national disaster after all. Someone at a high level in Washington gave a contract for cleanup to Halliburton about as fast as they got troops to New Orleans. Are there no federal bidding processes? No contractors in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who'd like work cleaning up their own home territory? No displaced skilled workers who'd love a chance to rebuild their community? At least in the days after Katrina, Dick Cheney was likely to be found -...

In Houston, Scott Parkin lived a mostly inconspicuous life as a part-time history teacher and peace activist. But in Australia, he has become a media sensation, a symbol of dissent and a topic of fervent Australian senate debate. When he was arrested this month after participating in a Sydney protest against the Houston-based company Halliburton, some Australians started describing him as the country's first "political prisoner." "It's crazy," Parkin, 36, said in an interview Friday, hours after his return to Houston. He said he was not accustomed to being the subject of a "media frenzy." And though he has vowed...

Firms with Bush ties snag Katrina deals Sat Sep 10,11:03 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast. One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg...

Houston Business Journal - 11:10 AM CDT Tuesday Halliburton's KBR unit gets contract to repair Gulf Coast facilities Halliburton Co.'s Kellogg Brown & Root subsidiary has begun work on a $500 million U.S. Navy contract for emergency repairs at Gulf Coast naval and marine facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, according to an Associated Press report. KBR has been under fire for receiving a five-year, no-bid contract to restore Iraqi oil fields shortly before the U.S. went to war against Iraq in 2003. The subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root Services Inc. of Arlington, Va., won the competitive-bid contract last...