Someone in the Pentagon noted the US Army posted this contract announcement on the Internet. No one in the media except Chuck Spinney's website took note. Here are three parts:
The U.S. had grounds to believe Saddam was planning to destroy Iraq's own oil infrastructure in the event of hostilities.
The planning effort was done by Brown & Root Services (BRS)* under a task order issued under the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contract. The Commander, CENTCOM, identified a requirement for contingency planning for repairing and providing for continuity of operations of the Iraqi oil infrastructure. This included planning for extinguishing oil well fires and assessing damage to oil facilities in the immediate aftermath of hostilities.
*The government contracted with BRS to perform the planning effort because BRS is the Army's contractor for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). The LOGCAP contract is used to develop plans to address such requirements of Combatant Commanders. When a specific plan is needed, a task order is issued under the contract. The current LOGCAP contract was awarded to BRS on December 14, 2001, after a competitive source selection process.
Note the date, December 14, 2001, almost a year before the Bush administration began to alert Americans that urgent action was required to eliminate Saddam Hussein, which later included all "Baathists" in Iraq, and then the entire Iraqi Army. Brown & Root Services is part of the Halliburton Corporation which has won dozens of lucrative Iraqi reconstruction projects awarded without competitive bidding. Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton for five years before quitting to join President Bush's campaign in 2000. He left Halliburton nearly bankrupt after a disastrous oil deal in Brazil and a merger with dying Dresser Industries. Nevertheless, Cheney received $20 million in severance pay from Halliburton, and continues to receive deferred compensation of around $150,000 a year.
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