Reply #2: This is my understanding of the situation.

[DulceDecorum]

Turkey was SELLING oil at say 20 dollars (keep the math simple.) a barrel.
Kuwait was GIVING IT AWAY FREE to the US military
(to help out with the war).

Halliburton came up with an Enron-type subsidiary called Altanmia.
They told everyone that this company was the ONLY ONE that could get oil out of Kuwait. The army signed a waiver, based on false info
allowing Altanmia to basically do as it pleased.

Kuwait got wind of the fact that the FREE OIL was being SOLD to the US military. So they tried to bypass Altanmia and GIVE FREE OIL DIRECTLY TO THE ARMY.
The Army said, 'thanks, but no thanks. Send it to Altanmia, not us."
GOP big-shots leaned hard and Altanmia continued with the contracts.
Altanmia sold it to Halliburton for 10 dollars and Halliburton then re-sold it to the US military for waaaay waaaay more than 20 dollars a barrel.

It would have been much cheaper for the US taxpayer
if they has just paid 20 dollars to Turkey plus keystone
and forgotten all about the FREE KUWAITI OIL.

Pentagon auditors have said KBR may have overcharged the Army by $67 million for fuel it bought from Altanmia and delivered into Iraq between April and October. The Kuwaiti price was more than $1 per gallon more than fuel KBR bought in Turkey.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=9531

Can you say PURE PROFIT?