Halliburton and Iran

This is somewhat old news but I felt perhaps it's time to revisit the topic. The Bush Administration has been rattling its sabre and threatening the government of Iran for several months (anyone getting Iraq deja vu?) and making claims, as yet undocumented, that Iran is using nuclear technology to begin development of nuclear weapons. What we haven't been hearing much of is Halliburton's involvement in Iran. This was news two years ago then fell off the radar.

It is illegal for American companies to do business directly with Iran. The spirit of this law is being violated by several companies, including Hallibrton, by using offshore subsidiaries managed by non-Americans. Reports say Halliburton began this relationship with Iran under its former Chief Executive Officer Vice President Richard Cheney. Accordingto CBS News in 2003:

Halliburton is the company that Vice President Dick Cheney used to run. He was CEO from 1995 to 2000, during which time Halliburton Products and Services set up shop in Iran. Today, it sells about $40 million a year worth of oil field services to the Iranian government.

Correspondent Leslie Stahl reported:

"The revenue that is generated from the work that these companies are doing, we believe, helps to underwrite and support terrorism,” says William Thompson, the New York City comptroller who oversees the $80 billion in pension funds for all city workers. "

BBC reported a year ago that a Texas grand jury was probing Halliburton's Iranian contracts. Newsweek reported that Halliburton signed a contract to develop Iran's natural gas fields. If Iran is such a threat to world peace why are American companies like Halliburton doing business there, helping their economies, and creating profits which are funding terrorists? Of the companies allegedly doing business there (Conoco-Philips and General Electric are also mentioned in the above articles) why is the Vice President's former company one of them? Because his 433,000 remaining stock options mean he stands to personally profit from that business.

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has written a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld asking for answers.