Iraq Reconstruction: Transparent And Open?

In a move that reflected the intense political pressures from opponents of the Bush Administration regarding award of contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq to Halliburton, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that it has amended a solicitation for two contracts to be awarded competitively to restore Iraqi oil infrastructure to pre-war production levels. The contracts are intended to replace a sole-source contract to Halliburton’s federal contracting division, Kellogg, Brown & Root. These new, indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery, contracts are being awarded in response to Congressional pressure and opposition to what some claim was an inappropriately open-ended contract to Halliburton.