--- Dan Minette <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If these folks were to tell me, for reasons X,Y,Z, > Halliburton actually > made a lot less than they expected to from the Iraq > contracts, then I'd be > inclined to believe them...since they've given me > good information in the > past. However, I will not accept reports that have > often not reflected the > true profitability of an operation as valid without > evidence that standard > operating procedures have not been followed. > Particularly, when the buzz I > get from people who are in the field and are > thinking of doing business in > Iraq is that the potential for profits there are > enormous. > > Dan M.
I've heard the same (that the profit potential is enormous). Note that this is not a bad thing - it _should be_ enormous. Working in Iraq is a risky thing to do right now. We are also asking people working in Iraq to work under extreme time pressure. People in the CPA routinely work 100 hour weeks, as do the contractors there. Both of those things are expensive. The market is _supposed to_ reward outsize risk with outsize profits, and doing things quickly is always expensive. The question is not - "Are companies making outsize profits in Iraq?" No responsible company would go into Iraq unless that potential exists. The question is, "Are companies getting deals at higher than the market price?" Of that there is no evidence whatever, and considerable evidence to the contrary. In fact I know of no one who understands the governemnt procurement system who thinks that the contracts have been - or _could be_ - awarded unfairly. ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003 http://search.yahoo.com/top2003 _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
