Why Should Halliburton Have to Suffer?

“Democrats accepted a GOP plan to establish 18 benchmarks….If Iraqis fall short, they could forfeit U.S. reconstruction aid.” Washington Post
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DKo: Forfeit U.S. reconstruction aid!
Why should Halliburton have to suffer for Iraqi failures? We know that $16 billion in US reconstruction aid has provided negligible benefit to Iraqis. This won’t hurt them. But Halliburton will face severe hardship. Securing contracts is their core competence. Take that away and you leave them with nothing.
[WP Article]
If we learned anything from Katrina, it is that people who are already in misery have little to complain about. We continue to learn that even years later. Well, who is more already miserable than the Iraqis!
But if Halliburton is thrown to the wolves, who bid for contracts and carp about performance, nobody is truly safe. Not even the wealthiest, who have so terribly far to fall, and so terribly much to lose–not even they are sure of being spared. They could be treated unconscionably, as if they were themselves Iraqis, for God’s sake. It breaks your heart.
Where the humanitarians now!