The White House has expressed deep concern over the third spoke in the president’s “axis of evil,” Iran.
“Today, Iran remains the world’s primary state sponsor of terror — pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve.” — President George Bush, State of the Union, 2/2/05
“You look around the world at potential trouble spots, Iran is right at the top of the list.” — Vice President Cheney, Imus show, 1/20/05
Iran is an “outpost of tyranny.” — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senate hearings, 1/18/05
The White House has called for “tough sanctions” against foreign companies still doing business with Iran. Unfortunately, the White House has turned a blind eye when it comes to big U.S. corporations looking to make a buck. As the Wall Street Journal reports, “U.S. officials said yesterday there has been no push by the Bush administration to persuade subsidiaries of American companies to pull out of Iran.”
Case In Point: Vice President Cheney’s former company, Halliburton, is still involved in business deals in Iran. On Jan. 9, Reuters reported that Halliburton had just “won a tender to drill a huge Iranian gas field.” The company recently “opened an unmarked office on the 10th floor of a Tehran office building” and its latest project “is expected to take 52 months to complete,” meaning Halliburton will be in this “outpost of tyranny” until 2009.
Of course, this isn’t Halliburton’s first transgression with this “trouble spot”. Early last year, remember, the Treasury Department reopened a 2001 inquiry that “centered on the legality of the business dealings between Iran and a Halliburton subsidiary incorporated in the Cayman Islands.”