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Halliburton price gouging in Iraq alleged

CityBusiness staff reports

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two senior Democratic congressmen are questioning whether Halliburton is overcharging the United States government for gasoline and other fuel for Iraq, which is now importing oil products to stave off shortages.

In a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget, Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John D. Dingell of Michigan contend "Halliburton seems to be inflating gasoline prices at a great cost to American taxpayers."

"The overcharging by Halliburton is so extreme that one expert has privately called it `highway robbery,' " the letter said.

According to the two lawmakers, Halliburton has charged the government $1.62 to $1.70 a gallon for gasoline that could be bought wholesale in the Persian Gulf region for about 71 cents and transported to Iraq for no more than 25 cents. The fuel was sold in Iraq for 4 cents to 15 cents a gallon, the letter said.

Wendy Hall of Halliburton declined to address the specific calculations, saying the company's KBR unit in Iraq, "continues to negotiate fair and competitive prices to provide fuel to the Iraqi people."

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I guess the Bush administration wasn't lying -- apparently this wasn't a war for oil -- it was a war to generate a captive consumer market for amerikan corporations to bully. I am ashamed of this country.

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