Robert Greenwald’s IRAQ FOR SALE
September 19th, 2006 by Andre Soares
Via Reuters: Daniel Trotta reports on Robert Greenwald’s documentary Iraq for Sale, which portrays corruption and profiteering as the business-as-usual tactics of American corporations — with the acquiescence of the U.S. government — in Iraq. (For instance, the documentary reports charges of US$45 for Coke — either per case or per six-pack, depending on the source — and a $100 fee for washing a bag of laundry.)
Greenwald, who’s previously gone after giant retailer Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price) and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism) takes particular aim at Halliburton, a conglomerate with close ties to both the "war effort" in Iraq (Halliburton was actually granted no-bid contracts) and to U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney, Halliburton’s chief executive before the 2000 elections. According to Army figures cited in Trotta’s article, Halliburton subsidiary KBR "has had orders worth $17.1 billion since the start of the contract, including about $15.4 billion in Iraq."
"As a citizen," says Greenwald, "I’m looking for my elected leaders to protect me, to protect my tax dollars and to protect my security. And the obscenity over war profiteering is doing neither."
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