January 31, 2005

Buried in the headlines, Halliburton announced Friday that it's pulling out of Iran. Time to speculate on whether this has an ominous overtone or if it's just routine business maneuvering.
posted by rolypolyman 19 years ago
  • I doubt that there is a single instance of a multi-national corporation, firmly entrenched in the military industrial complex, making a large shift in resources and energies that does not have ominous overtones.
  • And I Ran ~ I Ran So Far Away ~ ( cough ) sorry ~
  • Eternal curses be upon you, Flock of Seagulls!
  • Wow. Way to spin the article: US energy services company Halliburton is to end its operations in Iran after existing contracts come to an end.... ...Meanwhile, a recent Iranian gas field contract won by Halliburton sparked criticism in the US. And a federal grand jury is looking at whether any violations of the Iran trade embargo had taken place. Geee... in the face of expiring contracts, difficulty in obeying the embargo, and an investigation by a federal grand jury, I can't imagine why a company wouldn't want to stay. Sure, I could read ominous things into this, but I think Haliburton is probably saying "why bother with Iran when Iraq looks so much more promising".
  • As Freud once said, "Sometimes, a skeezy corporate giant cutting its losses to make easier profit is just a skeezy corporate giant cutting its losses to make easier profit." Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be plenty of truly ominous portents in the months to come.
  • "Let's get out of town before the bombs start falling. It will be much more profitable to rebuild afterward."
  • I gotta agree with sbutler. It's much easier for Halliburton to make a profit in Iraq, because they don't even have to leave home to rip off US government. Plus, the Iranian president is not a Halliburton puppet, whereas our President, is.
  • I suppose an intense bombing campaign WOULD make for a "poor business environment"...
  • I suppose an intense bombing campaign WOULD make for a "poor business environment"... Yet ironically pave the way towards "exciting business opportunities!"
  • Yeah, but how long will it take for the remaining Haliburton contracts in Iran to end? It might give us a reliable timeframe for when War Against Tyrrany III will begin...
  • Anybody see the Yes Men movie where they criticized the war in Iraq as an illegal trade subsidy to Halliburton?