Reuters' Sue Pleming has the scoop:

The U.S. ambassador to Kuwait and other senior U.S. officials put pressure on Halliburton to award a contract to a Kuwaiti company suspected of overcharging to bring fuel into Iraq, according to State Department documents released on Wednesday.

The documents, portions of which were released by Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, also said the State Department received information in the summer of 2003 that Halliburton officials demanded kickbacks and solicited bribes from Altanmia Commercial Marketing Company of Kuwait.

[...]

According to the documents, on Dec. 2, 2003, Richard Jones, the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, sent an e-mail directing unidentified officials: "Tell KBR to get off their butts and conclude deals with Kuwait NOW! Tell them we want a deal done with Altanmia within 24 hours and don't take any excuses."


The e-mail added: "If Amb. Bremer hears that KBR is still dragging its feet, he will be livid," referring to the U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer.

It's good to hear that Henry Waxman (one of the few Dems with the fortitude to stand up to the GOP on a regular basis over the course of decades) is on top of this issue. The best (and perhaps only) way to take the Republicans down in the next two/four years is to hit them for their corruption while controlling the whole government. The GOP did this in the late 80s and early 90s and won back the House for the first time in 40 years, so surely it can work for their adversaries across the aisle today.

Government accountability and fiscal responsibility