Truth comes out in Iraq war-related corruption case, finally
April 18th, 2008Truth starts to leak out in Iraq-war contract-abuse case
By Ray Hanania
The U.S. Attorney is prosecuting what should be a high profile case involving corrupt practices in Iraq-war related contracts in the backyards of the Midwest apparently to protect Halliburton, the company formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
But instead, the case is being handled like a petty crime in a middle America suburb. That decision has resulted in suppressing the shocking headlines, and silencing any talk about the clear ties that the Iraq war-related corruption has to the administration of President George W. Bush.
Now we know why.
In testimony Thursday, a witnesses confirmed that he was offered a bribe by Wadih al-Absi, a Bush and Cheney Kuwaiti pal who was given the no-bid contract to build America’s new embassy in Baghdad.
The trial is being held in Rockford, Illinois and involves Jeff Mazon, a low-level manager for Kellog, Brown & Root Inc., (KBR) one of Halliburton’s primary subcontractors. Mazon allegedly was given a $1 million bribe to inflate contract payments for Iraq-war gasoline procurements.
Buried in the slow-moving muddle of the case, and only surfacing this week, is the testimony of another former Halliburton sub-contractor, Anthony Martin, who admitted for the first time in public that al-Absi’s company, favored by the Bush administration, gave him a $50,240 bribe.
The Bush administration has long favored Kuwaiti firms in the Iraq war contracts as a political slap against Iraq and as a reward for Kuwait’s support, support dating back to the 1990 invasion of that country by the late dictator Saddam Hussein.
Imagine the political significance of giving a Kuwait firm the contract to build the Baghdad embassy? Who cares if the contract is corrupt?
First Kuwaiti and al-Absi were awarded the contract to build the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq at a cost of under $500 million, still making it one of the largest contracts for any U.S. Embassy anywhere. That has steadily grown since 2003. And on Tuesday, court testimony confirmed the costs of the embassy billed by al-Absi and First Kuwaiti have skyrocketed, along with all the talk of the bribes, to $736 million.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Rockford, Illinois, rather than in Washington D.C. and has only received a smattering of media coverage from two local newspapers there, the Quad City Times, in Iowa, and the Quad Cities Online (The Dispatch, Argus and Leader community newspapers). Occasionally, the headlines are picked up from the Quad Cities Online by the Associated Press.
Although the U.S. Attorney keeps saying the case is in Rockford because the contracts are managed out of a military procurement center based in Illinois, the fact is it involves a criminal act embedded in the foundation of the reasons (lies) used to justify the Iraq war.
Whether Mazon is convicted or freed is besides the point. The real issue is that the Bush administration has made a calculated effort to snowball the public and to protect First Kuwaiti.
Bush had no choice but to crack down on the corruption cases which have involved faulty contracts that exposed our American soldiers to harm. Some of the contracts and services provided were faulty and our soldiers fighting in Iraq have been given military equipment that hasn’t worked properly or that was ineffective in protecting of serving them.
The American public has been angered by that consistent problem that has been endemic to the entire Iraq-war contract process and the non-bid contract award by Bush to Cheney’’ former firm, Halliburton.
Halliburton claims it has helped ID contract fraud, but some critics believe they have only offered up as sacrifices low-level administrators and managers in order to permit the Bush administration to continue to feed them billions and billions in more contracts.
In 2003, for example, Halliburton was given a no-bid and non-compete $7 billion contract to repair Iraq’s oil fields, but was quietly also given the power to oversee and control Iraq’s entire oil production.
What began as a few billion dollars has since exploded into more than $130 billion in contract awards to Halliburton.
What Bush doesn’t want to happen is to have the public start asking questions about Halliburton, or about the First Kuwaiti Contract and their alleged corruption in the building of the super high-tech embassy in Baghdad, which coincidentally was completed this week.
The judge in the case instructed Mazon’s attorneys that they would not be allowed to use the fraud case to put the corruption of the Iraq War on trial, insuring that explosive disclosures like the alleged First Kuwaiti corruption would not get major coverage.
Mazon’s attorneys want to force Halliburton CEO David Lesar to testify, but with so little media coverage or pressure to keep the trial on the square, the likelihood of that happening might be remote.
How convenient for the Bush administration?
All this news coming too late to stop anything. Too late to ask real questions. Only a handful of newspapers covering the First Kuwait disclosure involving the corruption of the huge Baghdad embassy contract. Only a handful of newspapers are even covering the trial.
The U.S. Attorney in charge of the case, Rodger Heaton, will probably win his case and then get a big promotion to the very place the Bush administratuon doesn’t want this Iraq-war-related contract abuse story to lead, Washington D.C.
Good work U.S. Attorney Heaton. You’ve done your job.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and radio talk show host based in Chicago. He can be reached at www.hanania.com. For information on this and other columns, visit www.ArabWritersGroup.com.)
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Ray,
Improper business ‘deals’ should be prosecuted to the fullest and bribe taking/offering the same.
The problem is there are few contracting firms with the resources of Haliburton so they often get the contract based upon their ability.
We had a Haliburton contract in Afghanistan to build some bases for the Afghani army and a European outfit got some for other bases.
Haliburton built the camps on time and within budget and the Euro guys are still building long after the time line and way over budget with much less quality. The Afghanis noted the difference and slowness and accused the Euro’s of purposely short changing them (some of the buildings have had the floors collapse due to poor drainage-cheap construction).
We had a Haliburton run mess facility in Kandahar (large, fed about 10,000 meals 3 times a day) and it was excellent. When Nato came in the contract went to a Euro firm and the food service, quality, amounts fell of so sharply the US Commander had Haliburton build a mess hall on the Afghan camp to service the US troops that advise/fight along side the Afghan Army Corps.
They are not the ‘bad guys’ you make them out to be but I’m sure, as in all large groups, there are bad apples needing to be plucked out.
You can point to examples where, out of $150 billion in contract dollars spent through Halliburton that they did their jobs, but there are so many examples of how Halliburton screwed up, how Halliburton exposed our troops with poor equipment and how Halliburton exploited our troops … the incidents are inumerable and endless.
The issue here is that when Enron started to rip everyone off, the feds went after the company and put the company under intense scrutiny.
That’s not happening with Halliburton, which is Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company (he ran it) and you can bet he will be going back there when he retires in January.
So they target a handful of low level managers, indict and then charge them, and instead of lighting the fires to chase out all the crooks, they low-ball the media. It’s a common media strategy and the Bush administration is playing it well. Not one major media is covering the case, even though the overcharges in the Baghdad embassy were enormous ($144 million in excess spending).
Why should anyone bribe someone with a measely $1 million when you can overcharged the U.S. Government $144 million and no one will blink and eye in the administration?
This is a huge story that is not getting the attention it deserves and it has everything to do with politics. Yes, prosecute those charge with corruption and prove the case. But don’t turn a blind eye to the rest of the corruption because it is an important companyw ith ties to Cheney.
Ray Hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com
Ray,
The soldiers, sailors, Airmen and Marines don’t think so Ray. Some will bitch about anything but deep down they know they’ve never been so well supplied and equipped.
Not only do we/they support our soldiers but we mostly take care of all of NATO to a standard they are not use to.
The Romanians simply freak out. I had one tell me that they fight to be posted to Astan as they live better there than in their own country. They get fat.
We had to pry the Jordanians out of the base/mess halls to go to Qalat and do their job as they couldn’t believe how ‘we’ live.
Certainly it’s not perfect, it’s never been so but I’ve served since RVN and never seen better support and service oriented focus.
Not only do they support but they free up soldiers from jobs they used to do, fill sand bags, burn human waste in diesel, every menial job that took away from soldiering/fighting is now accomplished by contractors and that’s why our armed services are so small numerically, now they just need to do their jobs and not the housekeeping.
Hal/KBR simply cannot be done without, not unless you’d like to double the size of our standing armed force.
From a soldiers standpoint, and obviously others, a tempest in a teapot.
So, what’s your point Ray? Just “venting” or what? Crooks get busted and get their butts kicked. Maybe some peon will get jailed or fined. At least in America, somebody notices and is able to do something about it. Like make it public and on the news. Try that in most other countries. Or are you just America bashing again? Crimeny!
I think the point here, that Ray really doesn’t make is that this obvious swamp of high level cronyism, profiteering, graft and ruthless greed has, from the beginning, used a national tragedy of the highest order and the highest offices of the federal government to not only advance their own interests and those of their friends, but to declare a war on false pretenses for these purposes, knowing full well the cost in human life of not only their own countrymen but of hundreds of thousands of innocents.
The true crime here is that the blatant thirst for control of petroleum reserves, whether by outright seizure or pandering to other interests was slaked by a cynical manipulation of the pain, trauma and pride of an entire nation, and perverting the fundamental principles of freedom and property that it holds most dear.
It doesn’t matter that they were able to make a few trains run on time.
It matters that the rest of the world can see quite clearly what has transpired and continues to, and wonders how a people who are supposed to be one of the most principled and just on the planet can just shrug and go along with it.
Tonto-
If you view this article or any of Ray’s opinions as “America bashing” then I’d say you’ve been reading his articles with a very specific bias. You might be one of those, “People who disagree with the President are with the terrorists” people, and people like that stick out in an environment like this one…Soooo spare me the demagoguing.
eric,
That is because we disagree with your synopsis of events and motivation. Certainly there has been some graft/illegal activites and they need running down and prosecution.
Most people just don’t see “the total dark side” and everything painted black as you do.
I’ve worked closely with Canadian soldiers that understand the threat and actually met your PM when he came to Kandahar…..they also brought the Stanely Cup of all things to cheer the boys/girls. I didn’t note your gloom in their activities but then again I’m sure you believe everyone else to be delussional.
Gimmie a break D. B.. When looking for a company to build something as sensitive as an embassy building, who are you going to ask? An allied friend or the people you were just at war with. The embassy building in Moscow was so full of bugs, they had to bring in an exterminator. Built by the Russians, of course. The problem here is that many Americans, especially the dumbasses we have in congress, have never heard of baksheesh. Besides that, dimwitocrats (democrats)will do and say anything to make the present administration look bad. Ray has made it pretty apparent what political party he votes for here. He was bashing.
I’ve been reading ray’s columns posted here and his Arab Writers page and here are some of the things that I have found published in other media, too. It’s not like there is wide coverage of the topic in the media, but there is enoughf or anyone to check this out.
Iraq War-Related Contract Fraud Trial In Rock Island Continues… We have just completed a week of testimony in what has been a “circus” rather than a trial. Parading on and off the witness stand were approximately 10 government witnesses, the majority of which are current or former Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc. (KBR) employees. Who are these witnesses and what did they have to say? Basically, nothing that would lead a reasonable person to believe “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the individual on trial, former procurement manager for KBR in Kuwait, Jeff Mazon, intentionally inflated a contract bid in favor of a Kuwait company in exchange for a $1 million kickback. Many of the 14 witness testifying on behalf of the government thus far didn’t have anything material to say other than that Jeff Mazon was overworked and the only person doing the procurement job. Here is what U.S taxpayers have learned after a week of testimony from the following government witnesses… Robert “Butch” Gatlin (Former KBR Program Manager for LOGCAP III from 2002 to 2004) – Gatlin lives in Kuwait and is CEO of GKL, a contractor supporting Army activities in Iraq. Mazon reported to Gatlin and the procurement oversignt chain in Houston, TX. He testified that the workload during the time in question was heavy and the amount of work and contract amounts were all similar in size and he didn’t pay any attention to the amount in contract 39. Contract 39 is the subject matter of the trial which Mazon is accused of inflating. More interesting however, is Gatlin’s rendition of how KBR executives and chain of command at the time would party on a regular basis with Mohammad Shabbir Khan, Genral Manager of Tamimi Global Co (a Saudi conglomerate that subcontracted for KBR in Kuwiat). Khan would provide liquor during “social events” that would be held in townhouses at the Hilton where Gatlin and his colleagues lived.
In December, 2006 Shabbir Khan was indicted by U.S. Attorney General Roger Heaton and sentenced by U.S. Judge McDade to a term of 51 months in prison for kickbacks to a KBR employee related to military dining subcontracts valued at $21.8 million. Unbelievable! David Hadcock, Former KBR Principle Procurement Manager – Testified that he never personally met Ali Hijazi, GM for LaNouvelle, and only discussed matters through emails and telephone calls. Although he testified that he requested documentation from Hijazi and was never provided with it, KBR investigator Harry Conkin later testified that Hijazi in fact gave him the requested documentation. KBR did in fact receive the requested documentation from Hijazi after all. Harry Conkin – Former KBR corporate security investigator – Conkin was aksed to investigate contract 39 in October 2003. He met with Ali Hijazi, GM for LaNouvelle and exchanged emails and documentation related to the contract.
Tony Martin – The most interesting testimony thus far has been from the twelfth prosecution witness, Tony Martin, former contract administrator for KBR in Kuwait. Tony Martin – What is most significant about this particular witness is his background. Of course the jury was not allowed to hear the following: Tony Martin is currently charged (charges spearheaded by U.S. Attorney Roger Heaton and Assistant Jeff Lang) with defrauding the US Government and will face Judge McDade, the same judge presiding over Mazon’s case in June. Martin has plead guilty to taking over $50,000.00 in bribes from Wadih Al-Absi the GM of First Kuwaiti, a company that was contracted by KBR to build the mammouth and scandal-ridden U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to the tune of $736 million. Martin testified that since then he has had an “experience with God” and decided not to take any more kickbacks. Why isn’t First Kuwait indicted and charged with defrauding the U.S. government? Forget that question. What is the prosecution and government thinking when they call a witness who plead to accepting kickbacks to testify on their behalf in this trial? What we should really be asking is why a jury should believe anything Tony Martin has to say? He did admit, however, that he never took or was offered a kickback from Ali Hijazi, the foreign individual who has been indicted along with Jeff Mazon. I’m sure Mazon is hoping that the jury will at least believes Martin on that issue.
While Martin testified that the government did not promise to reduce the charges levied against him in exchange for his testimony in the Mazon trial, it is safe to assume that he will be compensated during sentencing. Ultimately, that will be Judge McDade’s decision. Again Unbelievable!
You decide from the details here.
Ahmed A
Ahmed,
Not sure where you’re from but the Martin thing with him as a govt. witness, even though indicted, is a very common thing in our court system.
People ‘roll over’ hoping for a lighter sentence and testify against their prior comrades in crime.
It’s up to the jury/judge as to their believability and it will be known in the courtroom that they are providing federal witness while indicted in hope of a leniant sentence.
Rather straight forward sounding actually.
[...] Truth comes out in Iraq war-related corruption case, finally [...]
How about we put our political tounges to rest and call a spade a spade…I think what “Ray” is trying to say here is.. George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney are criminals and should be dealt with.
I thought you might be interested in this letter written by Army Corps of Engineers whistleblower Bunny Greenhouse, who was retaliated against after she testified to Congress last week. Ms. Greenhouse is calling on all Americans to support whistleblower protection for federal employees. To read her letter go to http://capwiz.com/whistleblowers/issues/alert/?alertid=13371836
Robert “Butch” Gatlin (Former KBR Program Manager for LOGCAP III from 2002 to 2004) is a cull of a man. I know him well. He was my CO in C Company 82nd Engineer Bat., Bamberg Germany. I became sick while in his unit, mentally ill. I made the mistake of telling him, and asking him for help, to see a doctor. He decided to railroad me out of the service on a chapter 13 discharge to save the Army a little money. But he didn’t just railroad me, he enjoyed it. I was a very sick young man and this monster -Robert “Butch” Gatlin (Former KBR Program Manager for LOGCAP III from 2002 to 2004)- enjoyed tormenting me. I tried to kill myself and he laughed at me and refused to let me get help.
If this man was in the vicinity of a bribe scandal, you can bet everything you own that he was in on it. He has very strong sociopath tendencies. The investigation should have centered on him. How much money did he leave Iraq with? Anyone looking into that?