Bechtel Corporation

Two wars and over a decade of sanctions have crippled Iraq's infrastructure. It is imperative that the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people - particularly the right to self-determination - take precedence in the rebuilding effort.

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration is putting U.S. corporate profits over humanitarian needs, awarding a $680 million, 18-month contract to the San Francisco-based Bechtel Corporation - a company with a track record of human rights and environmental abuse and intimate ties to the Bush administration. This type of crony capitalism underscores the need to remove the control of Iraq's resources and reconstruction from the Pentagon and the Bush Administration and put it into the hands of the Iraqi people, humanitarian relief organizations and the United Nations.

Bechtel's contract includes rebuilding the drinking and wastewater systems in Iraq. A Bush Administration plan for "a broad-based Mass Privatization Program" of state-owned industries in Iraq may also include water - raising the specter of Bechtel seizing Iraq's water to increase profits at the expense of the Iraqi people.

A few samples from Bechtel's record of putting profits over people provide reason for concern:

- Just over a year ago, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors canceled a contract with Bechtel for the management of the city's water systems upgrade. Bechtel was doing unnecessary and overpriced work and charged the city for tens of thousands of dollars worth of personal expenses. Many also feared that Bechtel had its eye on privatizing the city's water.

- After privatizing the water systems in Cochabamba, Bolivia, a Bechtel subsidiary made the price of water so expensive that many, particularly the poorest users, could no longer afford it. Then Bechtel sat still while the Bolivian government met mass public protests with deadly force. In the end, the people of Cochabamba prevailed and the government canceled Bechtel's contract. In response, Bechtel is suing Bolivia for $25 million in lost profits.

- In the 1980's, with the help of then Middle East envoy Donald Rumsfeld, Bechtel aggressively lobbied the Iraqi government to allow Bechtel to build an oil pipeline from Iraq to Jordan, while Hussein was simultaneously bombarding his own people and the people of Iran with chemical weapons. Hussein called off the deal. Now Hussein is out and Bechtel is in - this time, pumping water instead of oil.

Bechtel in the News

Bechtel Wins War Contracts

New Report: Bechtel: Profiting From Destruction

Bechtel's Nuclear Nightmares

Bechtel versus Bolivia

Bush Administration's Plans for Iraq's Economy

Bechtel's Corporate Profile

Bechtel's Dealings with Iraq

Bechtel's Friends in High Places