Cheers, CC
Sounds like some business political correctness...
And that will not help my stock in Halliburton..thank you very much, whoever made THIS decision.
---
NOBODY can replace KBR. They are the best.
---
Al Gore gushed over how well Halliburton performed during the Bosnia War.
cuz NOBODY does what they do...not real sure how many E&C companies are willing to operate in a combat zone, knowing they can't get business insurance...and will have to self insure. Not to mention having the actual capacity to perform the job.
This is all stupid political pressure from politicians that don't know squat, unless the military is getting shrewd and wants to negotiate better rates.
That sounds very reasonable to me for the service of shipping (flying?) a case of soda half way around the world in to a war zone in the desert.
That's what don't many critics don't understand. Before the war, the biggest company moving products into many Middle Eastern countries was KBR. They had the connections, will, and understanding of the sometimes bizarre logistics of that region. That's the main reason Halliburton bought them. Most other small companies doing similar things were home grown baksheesh companies who usually subcontracted to KBR and claimed they did it all.
Nobody in the engineering services business (Raytheon, Honeywell, Lockheed, et al) will perform the same services for the same fee. Halliburton did it for under 3% fee. No one else will touch it for less than 6%. Under government accouting rules there are a number of costs that MUST come out of that fee/profit including lobbying, contributions, wrongful termination lawsuit judgements, etc. Halliburton took a huge risk, gave DoD excellent value, and got trashed simply because Cheney was the former CEO. Know what the dims accomplished by attacking Halliburton? Every prospective contractor will now charge MORE FEE because of the political risk.
I am sure tons of other companies can do what KBR does. /sarcasm