The Justice Department has prosecuted a dozen or so individuals over the past five years for alleged corruption and mismanagement of government war-related contracts. But the prosecutions are based in Southern Illinois and not Washington D.C., where the prosecutions and the cases might receive a higher profile and more pressure on the parent companies, and in some cases, the prosecutions seem purely political.
Bush seems to want to rail in abuses but he doesn't want the prosecutions to get out of hand and envelop Halliburton or one of its primary sub-contractors, KBR. And we all know that when Vice President Dick Cheney finally retires, he'll benefit from the huge profiteering he orchestrated towards his "former" company Halliburton. Upcoming targets include Jeff Mazon and Ali Hijazi, a Kuwait national out of reach of prosecutors but targeted none-the-less.
Ray Hanania www.ArabWritersGroup.com