- Washington - Halliburton, the oil services titan once
headed by US vice-president Dick Cheney, had done business in Iran, Iraq
and Libya for years despite US embargoes, according to documents released
this week by Henry Waxman, a member of the US house of representatives.
A letter from Waxman, obtained on Tuesday, said Halliburton's dealings
with countries cited by Washington as state sponsors of terrorism or members
of the so-called axis of evil dated back to the 1980s.
The dealings "appear to have continued during the period between 1995
and 2000, when vice-president Cheney headed the company, and they are apparently
ongoing even today", said Waxman, a Democrat and frequent critic of
President George W Bush's administration.
Waxman, who has previously expressed concern about Halliburton's multimillion-dollar
contracts for post-war Iraq, made his latest comments in a letter dated
April 30 to defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"Halliburton has recently been awarded a leading- and lucrative -
role in the US war against terrorism," Waxman wrote. "Yet there
is also evidence from press accounts and other sources that ... Halliburton
has profited from numerous business dealings with state sponsors of terrorism,
including two of the three members of President Bush's 'axis of evil'."
The axis of evil, first cited by Bush in early 2002, included Iraq, prior
to the US-led war, Iran and North Korea.
Waxman stopped short of saying Halliburton's actions violated US laws that
prohibited business dealings in certain countries, but maintained that
Halliburton "appears to have sought to circumvent these restrictions
by setting up subsidiaries in foreign countries and territories like the
Cayman Islands".
Waxman said he was concerned that the US government was awarding new contracts
to Halliburton despite its ties to certain countries.
He wrote to Rumsfeld: "I would like to know what the defence department
knows about these ties and whether you think this should be a matter of
concern to the congress and the American taxpayer ...
"Rather than being criticised, the company is rewarded with valuable
government contracts."
Some of the involvement of Halliburton is detailed in company documents,
including its annual reports.
Halliburton spokesperson Wendy Hall did not dispute the Waxman allegations,
but said the company operated within the law while trying to remain competitive
with US and foreign rivals.
"Putting politics aside, we and our affiliates operate in countries,
to the extent it is legally permissible, where our customers are active,
as they expect us to provide oilfield services support to their international
operations," Hall said in a written statement.
"Where the US government has mandated that US companies refrain from
commerce, we comply, often to the advantage of our international competitors.
"We do not always agree with policies or actions of governments in
every place that we do business and make no excuses for their behaviour."
As for the actions of Halliburton offshore subsidiaries, Hall said: "The
company believes that the operations of its subsidiaries are in compliance
with US laws.
"These entities and activities are staffed and managed by non-US personnel."
Halliburton, through a subsidiary, recently obtained a contract for Iraq
firefighting that could be worth up to $7 billion.
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- Waxman has asked the investigative arm of congress to
probe whether the firm had received favourable treatment by the administration.
- AFP
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