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WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- Since the beginning
of the Iraq war, Halliburton, the Texas energy giant once headed by Vice President
Dick Cheney, has seen its stock price more than triple
in value. When the U.S invaded Iraq in March of 2003, Halliburton's
stock was selling for $20 per share. The stock price at the close of market
activity on Monday was $66.
In the last 12 months, the total number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq
almost doubled as Halliburton's stock doubled. Halliburton's stock rose from
$33 per share in September 2004 to $66 yesterday while U.S. deaths in Iraq increased
from 1,061 to almost 1900.
Three graphs at this
link starkly depict the dramatically similar rise of Halliburton's stock
price, revenue and U.S. soldiers killed
during the past thirty months of war in Iraq.
Halliburton's CEO also enjoyed an incredible personal gain from Iraq and the
commensurate rise in gasoline prices. A HalliburtonWatch analysis
reveals that CEO David Lesar's stock holdings in Halliburton increased by a
stunning $78 million since the Iraq invasion.
As U.S. citizens march on Washington
this weekend to protest the 30-month anniversary of the war, a recent poll shows
52 percent
of Americans want an "immediate" withdrawal of all U.S. troops from
Iraq.
The big money Halliburton has made from the war, along with the widespread
belief that the Bush administration lied
about Saddam Hussein's purported weapons of mass destruction, has helped fuel
public sentiment supporting the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Polls
show a
majority of Americans do not think the war is worth the cost in lives and taxpayers'
money.
Halliburton has been the focus of heated criticism from members of Congress
and even the Bush administration over its handling of war contracts. Pentagon
auditors have issued
at least nine reports slamming the company's inept and possibly fraudulent accounting
system for work in Iraq.
In September 2004, the U.S. military called for the immediate termination
of Halliburton's most lucrative contract with the Army because of poor performance.
Additionally, in January, the U.S. embassy in Iraq threatened to terminate
Halliburton's contracts because of poor performance. However, both recommendations
were ignored by President George W. Bush.