November 29, 2000

Cheney’s ties to Iraq

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Dick Cheney, during his tenure as CEO of the oil services company Halliburton, profited by doing business with Iraq even though that country is under UN trade sanctions, according to the SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN.

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While Cheney was at the helm, Halliburton negotiated $23.8 million in contracts — more than any other US company — to help Iraq with its petroleum operations. Cheney managed to skirt UN and US sanctions by using European subsidiaries and legal loopholes. And this kind of questionable deal wasn’t new for Halliburton: Brown and Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, was once fined $3.8 million for re-exporting US goods to Libya in violation of US sanctions.

So why did this seemingly notable misdeed elude both the mainstream press and Democratic campaigners? It might be because Democratic politicos have also been known to take part in similar shady deals.

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