Rumsfeld Criticizes Brown & Root 'War Profiteering'

[reprehensor]

"Some also specifically criticized the way in which aid, both construction/military and economic, was being sent to Vietnam. In 1966, Illinois Representative Donald H. Rumsfeld went perhaps further than most when he charged the administration with letting contracts which "are illegal by statute." He urged investigation into the relationship between the private consortium working in Vietnam and the Johnson administration, in particular the infamous "President's Club," to which Brown & Root, one of the principle Vietnam contractors, had given tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. Rumsfeld argued on behalf of serious inquiry into the whole affair saying, "under one contract, between the U.S. Government and this combine, it is officially estimated that obligations will reach at least $900 million by November 1967...why this huge contract has not been and is not now being adequately audited is beyond me. The potential for waste and profiteering under such a contract is substantial." (Cong. Rec., August 30, 1966) Rumsfeld's alarm was echoed by others in the congress and in the press as well, although with little affect. All the while, the war in southern Vietnam continued to spiral out of control despite the dramatic increases in firepower and troops and military construction. The government's contract with the Vietnam Builders ended only in 1972 shortly before the Nixon administration itself quit the commitment to the long failed project."

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Gosh, Don, why the about face? You don't seem to have a problem with Brown & Root-- I mean Halliburton-- profiteering these days...

www.counterpunch.org/carter12112003.html

[number6]

1. LOL ha ha

ol Rummy

[Jack Rabbit]

2. It must be bad . . .

. . . and pretty damned obvious for Rummy to say such things.