Boulder Weekly, April 10-16, 2003.

the Bush administration is preparing to award a $900 million construction contract to rebuild Iraq to US companies. The five known shortlisted companies (Halliburton, Bechtel, Fluor, Parsons and Louis Berger) have close links to the Bush administration. Halliburton was once headed by Vice-President Dick Cheney. Bechtel has strong historic links to the Republican high command - Reagan administration grandees George Schultz and Caspar Weinberger are past board members. According to the Washington-based Centre for Responsive Politics, these five companies contributed $2.8 million between them to the election campaigns of US Republican congressmen in 2000 and 2002, 68 per cent of the total. At Halliburton, 89 per cent of money from its political fundraising committees went to Republicans last year, while Fluor channelled 61 per cent to Republicans, and Parsons and Bechtel each gave 57 per cent. (from The Observer)