It's a start... Halliburton drops out of bidding

[Sniper]

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It's a start, so kudos to the administration for this... If Bechtel wins, it will still stink, but will smell like a rose compared to Halliburton if they had won.

Seeing that Bechtel and Fluor are still in, I'll bet Bechtel will win this bid. They have a few connections to this and daddy's administration. They are also bigger political donors to the GOP. I did the math and Bechtel gave the GOP $765,500 vs. Fluor's $275,180.
Bechtel is privately owned, so it is a little harder to dig up information on them. Let's take a look at some of their officers:

George Schultz worked for Bechtel for 6 years as the vice-chairman of three of Bechtel’s subsidiaries before becoming president of the company. Shortly after assuming his new position in Bechtel, President Reagan invited him to Washington to be his secretary of state. His friendship with Bechtel has continued to the present day as he currently sits on its board of directors.

Caspar Weinburger was Reagan’s Secretary of Defense was a former Bechtel general counsel.

W. Kenneth Davis was a Bechtel vice-president for nuclear development before he was appointed as Reagan’s deputy secretary of Energy and head of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

William Casey a former Bechtel consultant served in a number of government positions including chairman of the SEC under Nixon, head of the Export-Import bank under Ford, and director of the CIA under Reagan.

Richard Helm, who later became a ‘consultant’ to Bechtel, had earlier been a CIA director under Nixon.

Ross Connelly, former CEO of Bechtel Energy Resources Corporation, was appointed by George Bush in June of 2001 to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) as its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. The OPIC is a U.S. government agency that provides risk insurance and loans to American businesses.

Stew Burkhammer, a current Bechtel executive, is presently a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health. OSHA is the U.S. government agency charged with protecting the interests of workers by enforcing health and safety laws in the workplace.

Joanne White, vice-president of Bechtel International, Inc. is a board member of the U.S. - Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Amcham, as it's called, is a "private, non-profit business organization representing the interests of present and potential U.S. investors in Azerbaijan. Established in 1996, Amcham is committed to the principles of ethical business practices, free trade, open markets, private enterprise, and the unrestricted flow of information. During its brief existence, The American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan has established itself as the principal organization representing Western business interests in Azerbaijan." (Amcham n.d. Website) While it may indeed be a 'private organization', it does have close connections to the Bush administration. Richard Armitage, current deputy secretary of state was a former co-Chairman of its board, and the law firm of Bush's close friend James Baker is a long time member of the organization.

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[WharfRat]

Originally posted by Sniper

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It's a start, so kudos to the administration for this... If Bechtel wins, it will still stink, but will smell like a rose compared to Halliburton if they had won.

Seeing that Bechtel and Fluor are still in, I'll bet Bechtel will win this bid. They have a few connections to this and daddy's administration. They are also bigger political donors to the GOP. I did the math and Bechtel gave the GOP $765,500 vs. Fluor's $275,180.
Bechtel is privately owned, so it is a little harder to dig up information on them. Let's take a look at some of their officers:




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Just a question Sniper....

I am certainly no expert in this area, so it's an honest question, to which I have no clue of the answer...
but since you are so down on Haliburton, Bechtel, or Fluor getting this due to thier contributions and/or ties.... is there a company who provides this service, and will do a decent job, who has not made contributions or have ties such as these do?

[Sniper]

I company I would love to see win a contract like this is Foster Wheeler Ltd. They have a plant in Dansville, NY which is about 2 hours west of me. I know their reputation around here is excellent.
Foster Wheeler is a Fortune 500 company. They are big enough to handle a job like this and are likely to have the knowledge. If there is a part they can't do, this can always be outsourced.

They don't seem to be big campaign contributors. I remember reading they gave something like $37,000 TOTAL in the 2000 elections. Honestly, this small amount could be due to bad financial conditions within the company (I know their stock price hasn't been so hot lately.) As far as business/political links, I see no obvious ones. I'm sure if I dig far enough, I could come up with some. Still, this company seems cleaner than most.

[WharfRat]

I know of Foster Wheeler... they are opening a pharmaceutical office in Phila sometime this year ... they have an HQ in Clinton NJ, about 2 hours north of here....