.Documentary slams corporate profits in Iraq war
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new film uses the $45 six-pack of Coke to open another front in the political battle over Iraq, decrying what it calls prof4iteering and incompetence by defense contractors with the right political connections.
Robert Greenwald, who took aim at Wal-Mart in a 2005 documentary, has turned his lens on private firms hired to help the U.S. military fight the war in Iraq with the just-released "Iraq for Sale." unpopular war in time for the November congressional elections.
The film's premise that billions are being diverted to companies that are overcharging U.S. taxpayers for shoddy services, as illustrated by the expensive soda pop or a purported $100 fee for washing a bag of laundry.
Other jobs outsourced under multimillion-dollar contracts included interrogating prisoners at Abu Ghraib or security details in which private contractors have been killed.
The film quotes a three sources saying the U.S. military in Iraq paid $45 for Coca-Cola -- it was for either a case or a six-pack, depending on who's talking. The assertion is meant to undercut the belief that hiring private contractors is cost-efficient.
Like previous Greenwald works "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," his new film signals warnings about what he considers the corrosive effects of big corporations.
One of the companies examined in the documentary, Halliburton, the parent to defense services contractor KBR, has fired back, calling the premise of the film "nothing more than a theory in search of a conspiracy."
Halliburton and KBR have drawn scrutiny before by winning no-bid contracts in Iraq, largely because Vice-President Dick Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive before he was elected in 2000.
"These claims represent yet another recycled rehash of inaccurate information," Halliburton spokesman Melissa Norcross said in an e-mail.
The U.S. Army said in July it would end Halliburton's contract to provide logistic support and would open the contract to other bids. According to Army figures, KBR has had orders worth $17.1 billion since the start of the contract, including about $15.4 billion in Iraq.
THE CONTRACTORS
Others in the film who have received multimillion-dollar contracts from the Pentagon -- information and communications contractor Titan Corp., a unit of L-3 Communications; security company Blackwater; and information technology company CACI -- declined to comment or did not return phone calls seeking comment.
"When I first heard about the Cokes, I thought, well, one person did that so we're not going to use that. And we heard it a second time, and a third time and a fourth time. So we began to focus on the corporate pattern," Greenwald told Reuters.
That pattern, the documentary asserts, shows a "revolving door" in which high-ranking officers leave the Pentagon to join defense contractors, which in turn lobby members of Congress and contribute millions of dollars to their electoral campaigns.
Those factors, combined with the pressure of supplying the troops at war in Iraq, created what Greenwald called a "perfect storm" for corruption.
The director said he hopes the documentary calls attention to military outsourcing in time for the November congressional elections. The Democratic Policy Committee, a party oversight body, will hold hearings on the topic in Washington on Monday.
"As a citizen, I'm looking for my elected leaders to protect me, to protect my tax dollars and to protect my security," Greenwald said. "And the obscenity over war profiteering is doing neither."
WaPo
Robert Greenwald, who took aim at Wal-Mart in a 2005 documentary, has turned his lens on private firms hired to help the U.S. military fight the war in Iraq with the just-released "Iraq for Sale." unpopular war in time for the November congressional elections.
The film's premise that billions are being diverted to companies that are overcharging U.S. taxpayers for shoddy services, as illustrated by the expensive soda pop or a purported $100 fee for washing a bag of laundry.
Other jobs outsourced under multimillion-dollar contracts included interrogating prisoners at Abu Ghraib or security details in which private contractors have been killed.
The film quotes a three sources saying the U.S. military in Iraq paid $45 for Coca-Cola -- it was for either a case or a six-pack, depending on who's talking. The assertion is meant to undercut the belief that hiring private contractors is cost-efficient.
Like previous Greenwald works "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," his new film signals warnings about what he considers the corrosive effects of big corporations.
One of the companies examined in the documentary, Halliburton, the parent to defense services contractor KBR, has fired back, calling the premise of the film "nothing more than a theory in search of a conspiracy."
Halliburton and KBR have drawn scrutiny before by winning no-bid contracts in Iraq, largely because Vice-President Dick Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive before he was elected in 2000.
"These claims represent yet another recycled rehash of inaccurate information," Halliburton spokesman Melissa Norcross said in an e-mail.
The U.S. Army said in July it would end Halliburton's contract to provide logistic support and would open the contract to other bids. According to Army figures, KBR has had orders worth $17.1 billion since the start of the contract, including about $15.4 billion in Iraq.
THE CONTRACTORS
Others in the film who have received multimillion-dollar contracts from the Pentagon -- information and communications contractor Titan Corp., a unit of L-3 Communications; security company Blackwater; and information technology company CACI -- declined to comment or did not return phone calls seeking comment.
"When I first heard about the Cokes, I thought, well, one person did that so we're not going to use that. And we heard it a second time, and a third time and a fourth time. So we began to focus on the corporate pattern," Greenwald told Reuters.
That pattern, the documentary asserts, shows a "revolving door" in which high-ranking officers leave the Pentagon to join defense contractors, which in turn lobby members of Congress and contribute millions of dollars to their electoral campaigns.
Those factors, combined with the pressure of supplying the troops at war in Iraq, created what Greenwald called a "perfect storm" for corruption.
The director said he hopes the documentary calls attention to military outsourcing in time for the November congressional elections. The Democratic Policy Committee, a party oversight body, will hold hearings on the topic in Washington on Monday.
"As a citizen, I'm looking for my elected leaders to protect me, to protect my tax dollars and to protect my security," Greenwald said. "And the obscenity over war profiteering is doing neither."
WaPo
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