Tone Deaf!
Further evidence that the present administration is COMPLETELY tone deaf can be found here. According to the AP, a subsidiary of Halliburton has been given a no bid contract to extinguish the Iraqi oil well fires. Interesting that prior to becoming Vice President, Dick Cheney was at the helm of Halliburton. While I realize that the company provided the same service at the end of the first Gulf War and completed the work ahead of schedule, this still looks an awful lot like a conflict of interest.
The simple appearance of a conflict is enough to preclude Halliburton, or any of its subsidiaries, from receiving ANY post war contracts. Even if there was a robust bidding process there would still be hints of impropriety in that perhaps Halliburton had insider information in terms of the specs the government was looking for, etc.
If someone like me, who supports the current action in Iraq, is bothered by this imagine what it looks like to a more jaundiced eye. Sometimes I really wonder if the Bushies get it. More and more I think the answer is no.