Ed Koch on Bush, Haliburton, Iraq

Just a few block quotes from the most recent column by Ed Koch, Democrat and former mayor of New York City. A well-known figure in the Democratic party. Here he talks about Israel, and George W. Bush.

The United States supports Israel in the face of constant criticism from the European Union, Russia and the United Nations — the same critics of the U.S. policy on Iraq. It takes courage for a U.S. president to stand by Israel in a climate of such sustained hostility. In my book, the three presidents who have been the most stalwart friends of Israel are, in order, George W. Bush (43, as they call him, not 41), Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. I do not agree with President Bush on a single major, controversial, domestic issue, whether it's tax reductions or health care. But he has been superb both on the war on terror and on Israel. That is why I am voting for him. I don't believe the Democrats have the stomach for the fight against international terrorism. John Kerry conveyed his lack of knowledge on the subject of Israel when he stated that he would on election appoint either former president Jimmy Carter or former Secretary of State James Baker, both hostile to Israel, as his representative to the Mideast negotiations.

He goes on to dispell erroneous allegations of corruption in the use of "limited competition" contracts in the reconstruction of Iraq.

On June 29, 2004, I wrote to David Walker, Comptroller General of the U.S., asking a simple question:

"Can you tell me if any federal agency, including the General Accounting Office, has examined why Halliburton and Bechtel were awarded exclusive no-bid contracts in Iraq? If such investigations occurred, has any agency come to a conclusion as to whether the procedure was faulty or illegal?"

Two days later, I received a response accompanied by an extensive report. The following is an excerpt from the Comptroller General's letter:

"You specifically asked about contracts awarded to Bechtel National Inc. and to a Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), for reconstruction efforts. I must first note that in conducting the review, we did not target any particular companies, nor exclude any relevant companies from the scope of our effort. Overall, we looked at 25 contracts or task orders based on various factors, such as dollar value and whether they were awarded using other than full and open competitive procedures. These 25 contract actions represented about 97 percent of the total dollars obligated for reconstruction through September 30, 2003.

"We found that the U.S. Agency for International Development properly justified the award of contracts using limited competition, including the contract you mentioned to Bechtel. With regard to KBR, we found the Army issued a $1.9 million task order in November 2002 for contingency planning that was beyond the scope of the underlying contract. The Army should have prepared a written justification to authorize the work without competition. In light of the exigent circumstances, such a justification was likely possible but needed to be made and documented to comply with the law and protect the taxpayer's interests. The Department of Defense subsequently awarded a contract in March 2003 to KBR to execute the plan for restoring the Iraqi oil infrastructure, the so-called 'RIO contract.' The contracting officer's written justification for the sole-source contract outlined the rationale for the decision and other factors. The justification was approved by the Army's senior procurement executive, as required. We reviewed the justification and approval documentation and determined that it generally complied with applicable legal standards."

If the critics have factual information showing why the awarding of contracts to Halliburton involved favoritism, corruption or other violations of the law, they should make it public.

I agree with the last statement in particular. If the Dems have information of misconduct, let's hear it. Put up or for God's sake shut up.