Allah has the download from Factcheck.org (which I won't bother linking to because their server is overwhelmed since the debate last night when Cheney suggested people go and check out the truth there). They completely debunk the Kerry charges against Cheney and Halliburton. Take a look and see the real facts.
1 comment:
Marc-
Let's address the issue you bring up. Factcheck.org addressed the main thrust of the Kerry campaign's ads that promote the idea that Cheney has profited from Halliburton during his tenure as VP. This is, as they point out COMPLETELY UNTRUE. I am assuming that Cheney was responding to the implicit accusation by Edwards about the "no-bid" contract that Halliburtan got in Iraq, as if that were some illegal or immoral deal that Cheney brokered for his own benefit (which I think it was; it was explicit in the Kerry ad). Another charge that Edwards made was that Cheney was opposed to sanctions on Iran when he was CEO of Halliburton. This is true, and Cheney responded to this also in the debate. He was CEO of the company at the time and obviously his interests then was the profit of the company. He also had other reasons (he didn't believe they would work--I happen to agree, but that is neither here nor there). Now, he didn't bother to comment on the other charges, but I will.
1. Edwards said that while Cheney was CEO, $Millions were paid in fines for questionable accounting practices at Halliburton. Edwards neglected to mention that the practices occurred BEFORE 1995 when Cheney took the helm of the company. Again, IMPLYING that Cheney was behind the questionable practices.
2. Cheney was not involved in any way with the awarding of the contract in Iraq to Halliburton, nor is there ANY evidence of that. Edwards made it sound like "no-bid" is a bad word, when the truth is that over 40% of ALL contracts awarded by the Pentagon for the simple reason that there are so few contractors that can handle what the pentagon needs. The original Halliburton contract with the US Govt. was actually awarded during the Clinton Administration, and the Iraq contract (or at least some portion of it) was an extension of that contract.
3. Halliburton has had government contracts (many of them "no-bid" that date back to Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam war (Johnson was, of course, a Democrat--so that doesn't count).
4. Halliburton is currently in a state of bankruptcy and there is a BIG question if any of its contracts in Iraq or other govt. activities are actually bringing in any kind of profit at the moment.
5. As far as Cheney doing business with Iran and Syria-they did before 1995 when Cheney took over.
John Edwards basically smeared Cheney with innuendo and cleverly worded accusations to imply that he was profiting from Halliburton's activities. The Kerry campaign in its ads have stated as FACT these innuendos, and know that they are not true.
You are correct that Cheney did not address many of these falsehoods and the innuendo during the debate. If I were Cheney I would have spit on Edwards for the sly insinuations he was making about my character. Cheney was more noble. If I were Cheney, I would have spit on Edwards for his insinuations about Cheney's Lesbian daughter and the "trials" he had to go through (like she was some sort of disease). Cheney was MUCH more noble and even thanked Edwards. Cheney is a class act. Edwards, like Kerry, is an opportunist.
Post a Comment