HALLIBURTON

Not only is Halliburton the 10th largest defense contractor in the world and a top profiteer of the War in Iraq, but the corporation is now garnering media attention as an infamous example of the intimate relationships between state leadership and private corporatate leadership. It's fortunes have risen dramatically since now Vice President Dick Cheney came on board as CEO in 1995. Before his tenure, the company was only the 73rd largest defense contractor; while Cheney was CEO Halliburton’s revenue from federal contracts nearly doubled. Though Cheney is supposedly no longer involved with the company, it has continued to win lucrative contracts from the federal government, and particularly from the Department of Defense.

Watch how Halliburton's profits grow as the deathtoll mounts in Iraq:

1. Halliburton was the U.S. Army’s top contractor in 2003 with total contracts valued at more than $3.5 billion. As if the company has not pilfered enough from U.S. taxpayer pockets, federal investigators allege that Halliburton was responsible for $2.7 billion of the $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq.

2. In April 2002, Halliburton’s KBR subsidiary (formerly Kellog Brown & Root) was awarded a $7 million contract to build steel holding cells at Guantanamo’s Camp X-Ray. KBR currently has more than 30,000 employees in Iraq, undertaking services including troop support, air traffic control support, water production, deliveries of supplies, and restoring Iraq’s oil infrastructure. KBR’s contracts for work in Iraq are worth up to $18 billion, including a no-bid “Restore Iraqi Oil” contract valued at $7 billion, which some contend was awarded illegally. Throughout the Iraq War, KBR has been accused of overcharging the U.S. Army for food preparation, serving the troops expired food rations, and threatening would-be whistle-blowers.

3. Now that Halliburton has had it's fill of U.S. tax dollars, there is now talk of it moving its Corporate Headquarters from Houston, Texas to Dubai, United Arab Emerites  to tap into new oil and gas markets in energy-hungry Asia.

Corporation website: www.halliburton.com

CEO: David J. Lesar

Corporate Headquarters: Houston, Texas