U.S. firm Bechtel wraps up Iraqi rebuilding efforts

jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
edited November 2006 in A Moving Train
worked on projects that included repairing 1,200 Iraqi schools, repairing bridges and reopening the country's only deep water port.


thats a good thing!



San Francisco-based engineering and contracting firm completes its final job after spending three years rebuilding Iraq, collecting $2.3B in government contracts.



NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Engineering and construction firm Bechtel Group Inc. is leaving Iraq after spending three years rebuilding the war-torn country that netted the company roughly $2.3 billion in government contracts.

San-Francisco-based Bechtel, which completed its last government contract on Tuesday, began work in April of 2003, less than one month after US and coalition forces begin military action against Iraq.



During Bechtel's stint in Iraq, 52 workers were killed, including 47 Iraqis and 5 non-Iraqi subcontractor staff, according to the company.

Bechtel, which subcontracted many of its projects to Iraqi workers, employing as many as 40,000 at one point, worked on projects that included repairing 1,200 Iraqi schools, repairing bridges and reopening the country's only deep water port.

The company said it completed 97 of the 99 tasks it had been charged with completing by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

In a statement issued to the Congressional committee on government reform in late September, company president Cliff Mumm stood by the company's efforts.

"We provided training to thousands of Iraqi professionals and craft workers. And we accomplished all this with a safety record that would be the envy of any firm operating in the United States," said Mumm. "We are proud of our record in Iraq."

Privately-held Bechtel is among a number U.S. firms that have been awarded U.S. government contracts to help rebuild Iraq including rival Fluor Corporation (up $0.08 to $78.76, Charts) and Haliburton (down $0.12 to $31.41, Charts).
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  • DPrival78DPrival78 Posts: 2,263
    jlew24asu wrote:
    worked on projects that included repairing 1,200 Iraqi schools, repairing bridges and reopening the country's only deep water port.


    thats a good thing!



    San Francisco-based engineering and contracting firm completes its final job after spending three years rebuilding Iraq, collecting $2.3B in government contracts.



    NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Engineering and construction firm Bechtel Group Inc. is leaving Iraq after spending three years rebuilding the war-torn country that netted the company roughly $2.3 billion in government contracts.

    San-Francisco-based Bechtel, which completed its last government contract on Tuesday, began work in April of 2003, less than one month after US and coalition forces begin military action against Iraq.



    During Bechtel's stint in Iraq, 52 workers were killed, including 47 Iraqis and 5 non-Iraqi subcontractor staff, according to the company.

    Bechtel, which subcontracted many of its projects to Iraqi workers, employing as many as 40,000 at one point, worked on projects that included repairing 1,200 Iraqi schools, repairing bridges and reopening the country's only deep water port.

    The company said it completed 97 of the 99 tasks it had been charged with completing by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

    In a statement issued to the Congressional committee on government reform in late September, company president Cliff Mumm stood by the company's efforts.

    "We provided training to thousands of Iraqi professionals and craft workers. And we accomplished all this with a safety record that would be the envy of any firm operating in the United States," said Mumm. "We are proud of our record in Iraq."

    Privately-held Bechtel is among a number U.S. firms that have been awarded U.S. government contracts to help rebuild Iraq including rival Fluor Corporation (up $0.08 to $78.76, Charts) and Haliburton (down $0.12 to $31.41, Charts).

    2.3 billion to fix things that weren't broken until we invaded.
    gotta love some good ol' war profiteering.

    thats a good thing all right..
    i'm more a fan of popular bands.. like the bee-gees, pearl jam
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    DPrival78 wrote:
    2.3 billion to fix things that weren't broken until we invaded.
    gotta love some good ol' war profiteering.

    thats a good thing all right..


    people dont work for free.
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    enharmonic wrote:
    Privately held by whom?


    http://www.bechtel.com/default_about.htm
  • DPrival78DPrival78 Posts: 2,263
    enharmonic wrote:
    Privately held by whom?

    for one, some rich saudi family, whose last name you may recognize..

    http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/05/news/companies/war_bechtel/
    i'm more a fan of popular bands.. like the bee-gees, pearl jam
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    DPrival78 wrote:
    for one, some rich saudi family, whose last name you may recognize..

    http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/05/news/companies/war_bechtel/


    wow what a spin you have there. you seem to think the company is held by the bin ladens? I just hope people read the article instead of getting the answer from you.

    Founded in 1898, Bechtel is one of the world's premier engineering, construction, and project management companies. Our 40,000 employees are teamed with customers, partners, and suppliers on a wide range of projects in nearly 46 countries.

    Bechtel has completed more than 22,000 projects in 140 countries, including Hoover Dam, the Channel Tunnel, Hong Kong International Airport, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, the reconstruction of Kuwait's oil fields after the Gulf War, Jubail industrial city, and the Alma aluminum smelter.
  • DPrival78DPrival78 Posts: 2,263
    enharmonic wrote:
    Privately held by whom?

    and some close buddies of bush

    http://www.mediamouse.org/features/091305corpo.php

    funny how the names bush and bin-laden always seem to be connected somehow..
    i'm more a fan of popular bands.. like the bee-gees, pearl jam
  • DPrival78DPrival78 Posts: 2,263
    jlew24asu wrote:
    wow what a spin you have there. you seem to think the company is held by the bin ladens? I just hope people read the article instead of getting the answer from you.

    company has been around since 1898 long before a small investment made to a mutual fund.

    not held exclusively.. but there is a connection.
    i'm more a fan of popular bands.. like the bee-gees, pearl jam
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    DPrival78 wrote:
    not held exclusively.. but there is a connection.


    o ok. allow me to quote your article.



    Fremont spokeswoman Pat Harden confirmed bin Laden's family had invested $10 million in a Fremont fund, but she said the family had no ownership stake in Fremont and its investment was made "well before the events of Sept. 11."

    "Our concern is that it be clear they're investors, like many, in one of our many private equity funds," Harden said, noting that the Patriot Act of 2001 requires such investors to be screened for connections to terrorism. "This is all totally legal and above-board."

    Harden didn't know exactly when bin Laden's family invested in the equity fund. Fremont general counsel Rick Kopf told the New Yorker bin Laden's family had invested nothing in Fremont since Sept. 11.

    None of bin Laden's family members has been charged with any crimes, and the family denounced Osama bin Laden in the mid-1990s. Some family members also have publicly denounced the Sept. 11 attacks.

    Saying they feared for their safety, about two dozen family members living in the United States left the country as soon as airports re-opened after Sept. 11.
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    jlew24asu wrote:
    worked on projects that included repairing 1,200 Iraqi schools, repairing bridges and reopening the country's only deep water port.


    thats a good thing!



    San Francisco-based engineering and contracting firm completes its final job after spending three years rebuilding Iraq, collecting $2.3B in government contracts.



    NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Engineering and construction firm Bechtel Group Inc. is leaving Iraq after spending three years rebuilding the war-torn country that netted the company roughly $2.3 billion in government contracts.

    San-Francisco-based Bechtel, which completed its last government contract on Tuesday, began work in April of 2003, less than one month after US and coalition forces begin military action against Iraq.



    During Bechtel's stint in Iraq, 52 workers were killed, including 47 Iraqis and 5 non-Iraqi subcontractor staff, according to the company.

    Bechtel, which subcontracted many of its projects to Iraqi workers, employing as many as 40,000 at one point, worked on projects that included repairing 1,200 Iraqi schools, repairing bridges and reopening the country's only deep water port.

    The company said it completed 97 of the 99 tasks it had been charged with completing by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

    In a statement issued to the Congressional committee on government reform in late September, company president Cliff Mumm stood by the company's efforts.

    "We provided training to thousands of Iraqi professionals and craft workers. And we accomplished all this with a safety record that would be the envy of any firm operating in the United States," said Mumm. "We are proud of our record in Iraq."

    Privately-held Bechtel is among a number U.S. firms that have been awarded U.S. government contracts to help rebuild Iraq including rival Fluor Corporation (up $0.08 to $78.76, Charts) and Haliburton (down $0.12 to $31.41, Charts).
    ...
    So... does this mean the 'JOB' is done? Can our guys come home now? If not, then when? If "Not for a while"... then, why are you heralding this as a big deal?
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • i agree with DPrival. if we didn't blow those buildings up, we would not have had to give them $2.3 billion of our tax dollars to fix them.

    war profitteers are the lowest form of shit.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    i agree with DPrival. if we didn't blow those buildings up, we would not have had to give them $2.3 billion of our tax dollars to fix them.

    war profitteers are the lowest form of shit.
    ...
    Add to that... the cost of blowing up those schools (guided munitions, fuel, logistical support, etc...).
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    Cosmo wrote:
    ...
    So... does this mean the 'JOB' is done? Can our guys come home now? If not, then when? If "Not for a while"... then, why are you heralding this as a big deal?



    I wish they could. this shows that our tax dollars are being spent on some positive things in Iraq
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    i agree with DPrival. if we didn't blow those buildings up, we would not have had to give them $2.3 billion of our tax dollars to fix them.

    war profitteers are the lowest form of shit.


    ok guys, guess what, we did. you need to accept that fact. so now we are spending money to fix what we broke. would you rather we didnt rebuild schools and bridges?
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    jlew24asu wrote:
    I wish they could. this shows that our tax dollars are being spent on some positive things in Iraq
    ...
    You got a point there... at least it isn't 2.3 billion dollars being stolen by their politicians or simply getting 'lost or misplaced' over there, right?
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • enharmonicenharmonic Posts: 1,917
    jlew24asu wrote:
    ok guys, guess what, we did. you need to accept that fact. so now we are spending money to fix what we broke. would you rather we didnt rebuild schools and bridges?

    There are plenty of American schools in shambles, yet our own children die on the vine. when is Ameica going to invest in its own future?
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    enharmonic wrote:
    There are plenty of American schools in shambles, yet our own children die on the vine. when is Ameica going to invest in its own future?
    ...
    Maybe we need to send in a strike force of F-15s against those schools in our cities. This seems to be the only way to get these Republicans to back spending for education.
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    enharmonic wrote:
    There are plenty of American schools in shambles, yet our own children die on the vine. when is Ameica going to invest in its own future?


    Education budget is about 90 billion a year. we do ok.
  • jlew24asu wrote:
    ok guys, guess what, we did. you need to accept that fact. so now we are spending money to fix what we broke. would you rather we didnt rebuild schools and bridges?

    right....so is it safe to assume that you don't have a problem with blowing up a country that was not a threat to you? is it okay with you that these companies that have been bankrolled by the bin ladens get these rebuild contracts? were there no other capable companies based in iraq or in the middle east or did we get the bill for them to move all of their equipment there as well?

    it is not ok with me that we blew all their shit up in the first place, let alone giving billions in our tax money to rebuild what we destroyed. the us is going to bankrupted paying for all of this for the next few generations. i can't wait to see halliburton's tab.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Cosmo wrote:
    ...
    Maybe we need to send in a strike force of F-15s against those schools in our cities. This seems to be the only way to get these Republicans to back spending for education.

    no if we did that fema would take several days to formulate a plan just to bring food and water to the region, but i digress.

    with what money are we going to repair our own schools? its all going to the military and the war profiteers. lord knows its not going to no child left behind.
    for the last 8 years in my area of MO people will not pass a tax levy that goes to fixing and maintaining schools.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    right....so is it safe to assume that you don't have a problem with blowing up a country that was not a threat to you? is it okay with you that these companies that have been bankrolled by the bin ladens get these rebuild contracts? were there no other capable companies based in iraq or in the middle east or did we get the bill for them to move all of their equipment there as well?

    it is not ok with me that we blew all their shit up in the first place, let alone giving billions in our tax money to rebuild what we destroyed. the us is going to bankrupted paying for all of this for the next few generations. i can't wait to see halliburton's tab.


    you shouldnt assume anything. I do have a problem with the iraq war. I cant change that it happened. what we can change is the mess we made.

    the company in question certainly seems quailifed to do that job. is there someone better? I dont know. nor do I care. point is they completed their work.

    america wont be bankrupt anytime soon.
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    no if we did that fema would take several days to formulate a plan just to bring food and water to the region, but i digress.

    with what money are we going to repair our own schools? its all going to the military and the war profiteers. lord knows its not going to no child left behind.
    for the last 8 years in my area of MO people will not pass a tax levy that goes to fixing and maintaining schools.


    you seem to think america is broke.

    Dept of education currently administers a budget of about $88.9 billion per year—$57.6 billion in discretionary appropriations and $31.3 billion in mandatory appropriations—and operates programs that touch on every area and level of education. The Department's elementary and secondary programs annually serve more than 14,600 school districts and approximately 54 million students attending more than 94,000 public schools and 27,000 private schools. Department programs also provide grant, loan, and work-study assistance to more than 10 million postsecondary students.
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    jlew24asu wrote:
    you shouldnt assume anything. I do have a problem with the iraq war. I cant change that it happened. what we can change is the mess we made.

    the company in question certainly seems quailifed to do that job. is there someone better? I dont know. nor do I care. point is they completed their work.

    america wont be bankrupt anytime soon.
    ...
    I'm guessing you don't care because you aren't paying for it. That cost is being handed down to the 5 and 7 year olds and younger to pay.
    My guess... you'd be screaming your ass off if your taxes went up to pay for all this shit. But, as long as it's not coming out of your paycheck, really... why should you care? Why should any of us care?
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    Cosmo wrote:
    ...
    I'm guessing you don't care because you aren't paying for it. That cost is being handed down to the 5 and 7 year olds and younger to pay.
    My guess... you'd be screaming your ass off if your taxes went up to pay for all this shit. But, as long as it's not coming out of your paycheck, really... why should you care? Why should any of us care?


    it is coming from my pay check.
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    jlew24asu wrote:
    it is coming from my pay check.
    ...
    Check again... the close to 500 Billion set for Iraq already... I don't think so.
    ...
    And Yes... rebuilding schools that we blew up, fixing the playground swing sets we blew up, restoring water treatment facilities we blew up... all good things. You get no arguement from me if you are isolating these things, specifically.
    However, when painted in the full context of our involvement in Iraq... the invasion and current occupation... well, it's sort of like sprinkling a little sugar on a big, steaming olympic sized pool filled with the contents of Porta Potties from construction sites in Mexico, next to a Tommy's Burger joint and a rancid roach coach. That little bit of sugar you put on it isn't going to make this shit taste any better.
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • So they've constructed a bunch of schools that Iraqi children can't even attend because of MAJOR security issues. Just yesterday or the day before i posted a story about sections of iraq that have completely cancelled the ENTIRE school year because of the dangers involved. Oh well, the Iraqis can use them for makeshift hospitals, refugee dispersal centers or Iraqi police stations, because, ya know, their other ones are constantly being blown up in that little thing known as a freakin' civil war.
  • Cosmo wrote:
    ...
    Check again... the close to 500 Billion set for Iraq already... I don't think so.


    And of this money the U.S. allocated just 18 billion for reconstruction. Thats roughly 3-4 %. But wait, it gets worse b/c not all of the 18 billion was actually used for reconstruction. From what i've read only 50-60% of the 18 B was used. So its more like 2-3 %, which amounts to lipstick on a pig.
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    So they've constructed a bunch of schools that Iraqi children can't even attend because of MAJOR security issues. Just yesterday or the day before i posted a story about sections of iraq that have completely cancelled the ENTIRE school year because of the dangers involved. Oh well, the Iraqis can use them for makeshift hospitals, refugee dispersal centers or Iraqi police stations, because, ya know, their other ones are constantly being blown up in that little thing known as a freakin' civil war.


    is your glass half full? or half emtpy?
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    Cosmo wrote:
    ...
    Check again... the close to 500 Billion set for Iraq already... I don't think so.
    ...
    And Yes... rebuilding schools that we blew up, fixing the playground swing sets we blew up, restoring water treatment facilities we blew up... all good things. You get no arguement from me if you are isolating these things, specifically.
    However, when painted in the full context of our involvement in Iraq... the invasion and current occupation... well, it's sort of like sprinkling a little sugar on a big, steaming olympic sized pool filled with the contents of Porta Potties from construction sites in Mexico, next to a Tommy's Burger joint and a rancid roach coach. That little bit of sugar you put on it isn't going to make this shit taste any better.


    you guys are just rays of sunshine
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