Halliburton Heads to Dubai

When it comes to oil and war, Halliburton Co., out of Texas, knows how to play big and tough. In the mid-'90s, it hired a former US Defense Secretary, Dick Cheney, as CEO.

When Cheney became Vice President and the US went to war in Iraq, Halliburton became the Pentagon's biggest private contractor there: big as in $25 billion dollars in US tax dollars big. Big as in nearly $3 billion in waste and overcharges alleged by federal investigators.

Now, Halliburton is moving its corporate headquarters right out of the USA, to flashy Dubai in the Middle East, and leaving behind a tremendous hullabaloo.

This hour On Point: Halliburton - on the march or on the run?

Quotes from the Show:

"There are a lot of very strong national oil companies in Asia that are going to need the expertise that Halliburton has." Russell Gold

"16 billion dollars in revenue has been generated by Halliburton in Iraq." Russell Gold

"The investors have been generally happy to move KBR Inc. away from Halliburton." Russell Gold

"Houston is still the home of many parts of the biggest oil companies." Robert Bryce

"Clearly the political connections between Halliburton and the last few Republican US Presidents are remarkable." Robert Bryce

"Until last year, Dick Cheney, a sitting US Vice President, was still taking deferred compensation payments from Halliburton." Robert Bryce

"Halliburton is saying that it's going to keep its corporate domicile in the U.S." Robert Bryce

"What's been a logical business move [by Halliburton] has been attacked as a nefarious scheme, and I just don't see it." Robert Bryce

"Just moving the CEO and the headquarters to Dubai will have no tax implications." David Rosenbloom

Guests:

Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal reporter

Robert Bryce, author of "Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate"

Youssef Ibrahim, newspaper columnist and consultant with the Strategic Energy Investment Group of Dubai.;
David Rosenbloom, Director of the International Tax Program at New York University and co-chairman of the tax law firm Caplin Drysdale.