It is no secret that the war criminal, Vice President Dick Cheney, is the former CEO of , the company that has been given carte blanche in its business dealings with the United States military.

The dictionary defines carte blanche as:  Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion, or unconditional authority.

Now, if Halliburton was run by principled people with a conscious the outcome might not be that bad. Unfortunately Hallibuton is commanded by ”Cheney clones,” meaning that increasing the bottom line is their god and how that is acheived is not an issue of concern.

We, American people, are not totally blameless in Halliburton fleecing as we have paved their way with allowing the unconscionable practice of “cost plus” and “no-bid” contracts.

Allow me to elaborate:

When a government announces a new work project to be completed by one company, it generally requires a number of different companies to submit competing proposals (or bids). The company submitting the most efficient and lowest-cost bid usually wins the contract. But under a "no-bid" contract, there is no bidding. Instead, the government awards the contract to one preferred company without determining if other companies can complete the work for a lower cost to the government.

The Army awarded Halliburton a no-bid contract in March 2003 to rebuild Iraq's oil industry infrastructure. The “no-bid” contract created enough outrage in Congress that the Pentagon later cancelled it and opened-up the bidding process to companies other than Halliburton which, in the end, did not deter them from winning the lion-share of of the contracts.

In addition and as a fail-safe, Halliburton now earns (steals) money from the government primarily through its "cost-plus" contracts. Under a cost-plus contract, a government contractor like Halliburton purchases all the necessary items to complete a job order and is subsequently reimbursed all those costs from the government -- and then paid a percentage of those costs (the plus) as a fee. ….nice job if you can get it!

The contractor will never spend $1 million to do a job when it can spend $10 million and thereby earn a higher fee. So, contractors actually earn more money by wasting taxpayer money. The cost-plus method of accounting is the primary system today for determining how much government contractors are owed by the taxpayer. Congress and whistle blowers have criticized Halliburton and the Army Corp of Engineers for inflating costs via cost-plus contracts.

The treachery does not stop there; Halliburton's most lucrative contract is with the U.S. Army. It is officially known as "LOGCAP" (or Logistics Civil Augmentation Program). LOGCAP is a "cost plus" contract performed by Halliburton's KBR subsidiary. This is the contract that requires KBR to feed, house and transport troops around Iraq and the middle east.

When KBR buys food for the troops, it is paid 1 percent of the cost of that food. When KBR constructs a new military housing facility, it is paid 1 percent of the construction costs. When KBR houses its staff at hotels or purchases trucks and equipment to carryout its duties, it is paid 1 percent of those costs.

It has been documented that we, the American people are being “financially raped” by Halliburton and its subsidiaries and little is being done about it except for the usual Congressional hearings and Capital step speeches.

The Lang Report has written about President Harry Truman’s effort as he drove thousands of miles around the country going from one defense plant to another documenting waste and fraud. He then headed the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program -- the Truman committee, for short. The process saved American taxpayers $15 billion (in 1940s dollars). And by uncovering faulty military equipment, he prevented the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of U.S. soldiers.

THAT’S LEADERSHIP

The Lang Report will continue publish the documented abuses by Halliburton and the rest of the companies playing fast and loose with the rules and our money. If you are perosnally aware of any of these “slimy behaviors” please contact us here at lang@thelangreport.com ……OK?