>From http: //www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/Baker022701/baker022701.html: > > GWB's latest Golden Lawbreaker: Dick Cheney! > When will Burton hold hearings on this? > By Tamara Baker > > SAINT PAUL, MN, Feb. 26, 2001—When I first started my "Golden Lawbreaker" > series, even I didn't realize where it would lead. > > As you know, the "Golden Lawbreakers" are those friends and donors of GW > Bush who, if President Clinton's regulations had not been undone by Usurper > Boy and his Prince Regent Cheney, would be barred from receiving Federal > Government contracts because of their habitual lawbreaking. As expected, the > pro-Bush US Chamber of Commerce raised a stink (now, what was this about > conservatives and businessmen respecting "the rule of law"?), thus giving > Shrub's minders the cover they needed to zap the regulations within hours of > their gaining control of the Oval Office. > > It turns out that a company very near and dear to Dick Cheney's heart is one > of these Golden Lawbreakers. > > Yes, folks—I'm speaking of Halliburton. > > Here's the scoop: > > We all know that one of the two counts Rudy Giuliani filed against Marc > Rich, way back when, concerned Rich's buying oil from Iran. > > However, it also seems that Halliburton has been caught violating President > Clinton's 1995 executive order forbidding US companies/individuals from > doing business with Iran: > > Halliburton Co., the U.S. oil-services giant until recently headed by Vice > President Richard Cheney, has opened an office in Tehran and operated in > Iran in possible violation of U.S. sanctions, Thursday's Wall Street Journal > reported. > > Since 1995, U.S. laws have banned most American commerce with Iran. > Halliburton Products and Services Ltd. works behind an unmarked door on the > ninth floor of a new north Tehran tower block. A brochure declares that the > company was registered in 1975 in the Cayman Islands, is based in the > Persian Gulf sheikdom of Dubai and is "non-American." But, like the sign > over the receptionist's head, the brochure bears the Dallas company's name > and red emblem, and offers services from Halliburton units around the world. > > Ooops! > > You know, I think that the 5th Federal Judiciary Circuit's Northern Texas > District might find this rather interesting, don't you? Perhaps someone > should bring this to its attention. > > Ah, but it gets even better: > > .. a U.S. official said a Halliburton (HAL) office in Tehran would violate > at least the spirit of American law. The Treasury Department's Office of > Foreign Assets Control declined to comment on a specific company, referring > inquiries to a Web site summary of Iran sanctions that bans almost all U.S. > trade and investment with Iran, specifically in oil services. The Web site > adds: "No U.S. person may approve or facilitate the entry into or > performance of transactions or contracts with Iran by a foreign subsidiary > of a U.S. firm that the U.S. person is precluded from performing directly. > Similarly, no U.S. person may facilitate such transactions by unaffiliated > foreign persons." > > Got that? The law was written so that certain attempts to foil it, such as > the transparent attempts by companies like Halliburton to create fake > foreign "shell" (or "Potemkin") companies for that very purpose, would be > thwarted. > > Even out of the Oval Office, our last elected president is still going to > give Cheney and Bush fits: > > An executive order signed by President Clinton in March 1995 prohibits "new > investments [in Iran] by U.S. persons, including commitment of funds or > other assets." It also bars U.S. companies from performing services "that > would benefit the Iranian oil industry." Violation of the order can result > in fines of as much as $500,000 for companies and up to 10 years in jail for > individuals. > > And guess what: > > The Halliburton brochure in Tehran says the company has performed > oil-drilling services on two offshore drilling contracts in the Iranian > sector of the Persian Gulf. One is the Sirri field, being developed by > France's TotalFinaElf SA, and the other is Phase 1 of the South Pars field, > being developed by an Iranian company. > > The Halliburton brochure continues: "We are committed to position ourselves > in a market that offers huge growth potential." > > Obviously. > > So, we know that Halliburton has already given its drilling services to two > Iranian projects: the Sirri Field and Phase 1 of the South Pars field. > > I Googled for Sirri Field and here's part of what I found: > > In the Middle East, the Sirri E field (TotalFinaElf 60%) in Iran started > production in February 1999 and rose to a level of 90 mb/d by year end. > > Hmmm. Now remember, Cheney didn't leave Halliburton until July of 2000. > Sounds like he may have been around when both the Sirri and South Pars > fields were drilled by the company he led, and he certainly was around when > the drilling deals were negotiated. > > I next did a Google on "South Pars Phase 1 Halliburton." At the very end of > the Google cached version of the July 2000 Menas oil newsletter, I found > this: > > 5.0 Facts and Figures > > 5.1. Quotes > > The former US Defence Secretary Dick Cheney, who is currently Chief > Executive of Halliburton, labelled present Iran-US relation as a "tragedy" > and said that it is time to set the past crises aside. Speaking at the World > Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Cheney said: "I hope we can find ways to > improve mutual ties. I think one of those ways is to allow American firms to > do the same works as other firms from other parts of the world are able to > do now." He further added: "We are kept out of there primarily by our own > government," noting that the US policy aims to prevent its companies from > making large investments in Iran and that this policy is a "mistake." "While > American companies have to sit on the sidelines, oil companies from the rest > of the world have invested in Iran's energy sector, sometimes without > operating the same high standards." He also remarked that unilateral > economic sanctions were not effective in achieving political and even human > rights goals. > Now, again, remember, here's the story as I understand it: > > Marc Rich is allegedly Satan Incarnate because he bought some oil from Iran > over twenty years ago. > > But Dick Cheney presided over his company's, Halliburton's, setting up a > fake shell company so it could drill oil wells in Iranian waters, in direct > violation of US law—and THAT is somehow just peachy-keen? > > Please, do me and yourselves a favor, and fax this to your Democratic > legislators, as well as the 5th Circuit Court. Forward this by e-mail to > your local and national media contacts. We have to do something about this. > > ************************************** > > Halliburton Connected to Office in Iran --- Firm Cheney Headed Says It > Doesn't Breach U.S. Sanctions Law > Wall Street Journal; New York, N.Y.; Feb 1, 2001; By Wall Street Journal > staff reporters Hugh Pope in Tehran, Iran, and Neil King Jr. in Washington; > > Companies: Halliburton CoTicker:HALDuns:04-329-6920Sic:234990Sic:213112 > > Abstract: > A U.S. official said a Halliburton office in Tehran would violate at least > the spirit of American law. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign > Assets Control declined to comment on a specific company, referring > inquiries to a Web site summary of Iran sanctions that bans almost all U.S. > trade and investment with Iran, specifically in oil services. The Web site > adds: "No U.S. person may approve or facilitate the entry into or > performance of transactions or contracts with Iran by a foreign subsidiary > of a U.S. firm that the U.S. person is precluded from performing directly. > Similarly, no U.S. person may facilitate such transactions by unaffiliated > foreign persons." > > U.S. companies feel left behind in the race to develop Iran's 90 billion > barrels of proven oil reserves, about 9% of the world's total, and its > natural-gas reserves, the second largest in the world. TotalFinaElf, Italy's > ENI SpA and Asian companies have meanwhile ignored U.S. sanctions to sign up > a potential $8 billion in deals since Iran opened up its oil industry to > foreign investment in 1998. > > A U.S. official in Washington said the U.S. was keen to sit down to talk > with Iranian representatives "anytime, anywhere," but that Iran refuses to > meet unless the U.S. puts aside all of its differences with Iranian > policies. > > Note my new email address!: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Dan Beeton > Free Burma Coalition > Washington Office > 1101 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, #204 > Washington, DC 20003 USA > (202) 547-5985 (ph) > (202) 544-6118 (fax) > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> <FONT COLOR="#000099">Make good on the promise you made at graduation to keep in touch. 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