Bush’s War News: 20 More Dead in Bush’s Civil War, Halliburton Loses No Bid Army Contracts, DOD Goes After FOIA
Posted in H.L. News, Main Blog (All Posts) on July 12th, 2006 8:53 am by HL
Iraq gunmen seize 24 people, killing 20
AP
Excerpt
More than 1,607 Iraqis have been killed and nearly 2,500 wounded since al-Maliki’s unity government took office May 20, according to an Associated Press count.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq said that “terrorists and death squads” are mainly responsible for a surge in sectarian violence in the capital, and he pledged to provide whatever U.S. forces are needed to avert civil war.
Gen. George Casey, at a joint news conference with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, told reporters that al-Qaida is carrying out terrorist killings in the Baghdad area in an attempt to “demonstrate that they are still relevant” after the June 7 killing of their leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
H.L.s Take:
Whaaat?? you mean the killing in Iraq has INCREASED since Zarqawi was killed, and his body shown all over the world news for days on end? I don’t understand, I thought Bush said that taking out the “terrorists” would stop the violence. So in other words, every time you take out one guy who is pissed off that you are occupying his country, another will step up and take his place, and more people will join agaisnt you???? WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED?????
Defense Department Going After Freedom of Information Act
San Antonio.com
Excerpt:
The Express-News reported Friday that St. Mary’s University’s Center for Terrorism Law has received a $1 million Defense Department grant “to limit the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.”
Journalists get slippery-slope worries when we hear the Pentagon wants to alter a law that allows the sun to shine on what politicians and government officials do behind closed doors.
Army to End Expansive, Exclusive Halliburton Deal
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Washington Post
Excerpt: 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 up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. Whistle-blowers told how the company charged $45 per case of soda, double-billed on meals and allowed troops to bathe in contaminated water.
Excerpt:
Oh oh, Dick Cheneys not going to like this. I wouldn’t be suprised to see some high level army heads rolling, then a sudden reversal of this decision.
