Cheney: Iraq 'Successful Endeavour'

Move over "will pay for itself"

Step aside "greeted as liberators"

Get out of the way "Surge is working"

Cheney's latest sound byte? "Successful Endeavour"

Okay, the "endeavour" part Spud totally gets but "successful"?

This word. You keep using it.

I don't thinnk it means what you think it means.

Iraq is still a shithole, even worse than the day American troops first marched into Baghdad. The oil agreement is not signed. Billions are missing. None of the "nation building" has been successfully completed. Atrocities have been committed. Depleted Uranium munitions by the hundreds of thousands of pounds have been used which wil have a devestating effect for hundreds of years to come. Torture scandals have occured. Millions of refugees are destabilising the entire region and causing more anti-American sentiment than ever before. Hundreds and thousands of Iraqi men, women and children are dead. This is costing 12 Billions dollars a month, money that's being borrowed from the Chinese Communists. The entire population wants the hated foreign invaders out. Disease on the increase. Infant mortality rates have skyrocketed. There a lake of sewage in downtown Baghdad that you can see from space. Where's all the fucking success?

Sorry, wot's that?

Cheney owns how many shares of Helliburton and is recieving kickbacks from which companies?

Okay, other than in Cheney's bank account where's all the success?

Yeah, didn't think so.

He's a war profiteer and criminal like America has never seen before and, as usual, he is wrong, and if folks vote for John McCain they will just get more of the same shit.

Do Not Want.

Be Well.

Cheney owns ZERO shares of Haliburton Do you know how many the Clintons own? How about Mike Moore?

Cheney Iraq = "Successful Endeavour"

Emphasis on "Suc(k)"

Cheney owns ZERO shares of Haliburton Do you know how many the Clintons own? How about Mike Moore?

Posted by shirtsbyeric at 2008-03-17 03:18 PM | Reply | Flag: Flag: (Choose)
FunnyNewsworthyOffensiveAbusiv
e

Boy You like to lie out of Your ass now don't You??

Larry Mohr

"Successful Endeavour" china says as it collects interest payments

Cheney divested right before he announced his run as vice prsident.

Cheney owns Stock Option, dingbat.

Do you know wot a stock option is?

That's the right to buy a share at a given price.

The price of Hellibrton has risen over 3000% since Cheney first cut that deal.

It's now in the multi-millions of dollars and if you think Helliburton is above making payments to it's former CEO that aren't recorded than you don't know Helliburtion very well.

They sold nuclear parts to Iran fer fucks sakes.

You remember, the same place Cheney stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier and sabre-rattled at fer daring to have a nuclear program?

There is nothing that Spud wouldn't put past them by this point.

They've won over 10 Billion dollars worth of no-bid contracts in Iraq since the war began. If you don't think that there's some kind of reward for that kind of action then you aren't living in the real world.

Hell, why do you think Airbus got that contract instead of Boeing fer fucks sake?

Helliburton has been caught with their hand in the cookie jar on more than one occasion in Iraq, ripping off the US taxpayer.

If you think they are a squeaky clean corporate entity then you are either ignorant, stupid or a shill.

Which is it?

Be Well.

Cheney divested right before he announced his run as vice prsident.

Posted by shirtsbyeric at 2008-03-17 03:29 PM | Reply

You had better do some more research before You spew even more bullshit.

Larry Mohr

If nothing else, Dick Cheney has a pension coming from Haliburton, a pension which trustees will adjust based on how well the investments are doing. It would be no surprise if the Halliburton trustees had (probably) the legal limit of their stock in those pension plans, so, yes, Halliburton's fortunes could directly effect Cheney's. Anyone doubting that should talk to the retirees at GM, or Northwest, or Delta, or US Steel, or....

Her is a quote from Vice President Cheney:
"Since I left Halliburton to become Vice President I've severed all ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interests,I have no financial interest of any kind and havent had not for over 7 years."

"The surge is working,"

The administration's own barometer of the surge working was political progress in Baghdad. Where is it?

I didn't vote for Bush I didn't support the war, I am not a shill and I don't think It is a squeaky clean entity.

"I have no financial interest of any kind..."

That's not true. A pension is certainly a financial interest of some kind.

That does not make *ME* a liar.

from www.cnn.com

"Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, said Cheney's financial disclosure forms show that he continues to receive deferred salary from the company and therefore has a stake in whether the company stays profitable. Cheney's office said that to avoid any such questions and any suggestion that Cheney would have a stake in Halliburton's continued success, he bought an insurance policy back in 2001 -- at a cost to him of $15,000 -- to guarantee that he would receive his deferred salary regardless of whether Halliburton stayed in business. Cheney is expected to receive three more installments of his deferred salary -- in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Over the past two years his deferred payments totaled roughly $368,000. The aide said the insurance policy would pay Cheney $140,000 a year for five years if Halliburton went insolvent and was unable to pay Cheney's deferred salary."

The article also goes on to say, due to the fact it's a "non-qualified" plan, Cheney CAN technically say he has "no financial interest".

He got deferred salary from them of over $180,000 a year, and that's no financial interest? You be the judge.

Better check Yourself before You diss Yourself

www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com

Larry Mohr

yea man cheney is an evil sob

I said he divested right before his run as Vice President. I did not say what you are claiming I said.
As for "diss"ing myself that seems to be something your more interested in.

Shirts...

How about if we ask the following of 100 people on the street:

"Let's say a company is paying someone over $180,000 a year, an amount which could increase if the company does substantially better. They'll also pay him a pension later, which could increase substantially if the company does better. Does that person have a "financial interest" in the company?"

"What if he had also the power to direct no-bid business to that company?"

I SAID "DIVESTED" NOT "NO FINANCIAL INTEREST".
Stop putting words in my mouth
I'm not sticking up for Cheney I don't like the guy

Cheney owns how many shares of Helliburton and is recieving kickbacks from which companies?
Someone answer Spud's question.
I thought I had but everyone put words in my mouth

Note to RCade.

Headline is supposed to read Cheney: Iraq = "Successful Endeavour"

Pls to fix.

thx bai!

Be Well.

Anyone? anyone? Bueller? Spud?

How many shares of Halliburton does Cheney own? Clinton? Moore?

"How many shares of Halliburton does Cheney own? Anyone? anyone? Bueller? "

"Lautenberg also listed Halliburton stock options that are shown on Cheney's financial disclosure form -- some 233,000 shares in all that vest between 2007 and 2009."

www.cnn.com

Now, repeat after me:

No. Financial. Interest.

233,000 stock option shares...

But he divested.

Did you even read my comment? I did not say that Cheney did. Now repeat after me I DID NOT SAY THAT.

Keep reading Danforth
Lautenberg also listed Halliburton stock options that are shown on Cheney's financial disclosure form -- some 233,000 shares in all that vest between 2007 and 2009.

The Cheney aide said that on January 18, 2001 -- just before being sworn in as vice president -- Cheney assigned all of his Halliburton stock options to a charitable trust.

"He legally and irrevocably assigned them and he receives no tax benefit from them," the Cheney aide said. This aide said the trustee of the trust decides when to sell them.

I'm not sticking up for cheney But I am not a shill for halliburton I said he DIVESTED.

We asked 100 people on the street and survey says!

Anyone? anyone? Bueller? Spud?

~ShirtZ

Don't know. How much stock in Halliburton does Clinton own?

Moore? He's continually denied that he owned any stock in Halliburton despite the occasional Newsmax article to the contrary. Others insist that his foundation administered by himself and his wife bought into a fund which included Helliburton in it's portfolio.

Suprised you never mentioned Soros' 200,000 shares while you were at it.

None of this has anything to do with the fact that Cheney, onetime CEO of Helliburton, a company infamous for inflating costs and bribing foreign officials and paying off it's executives into secret Swiss acounts, gave billions in no bid accounts to his former company which is a clear violation of conflict of interest rules.

Nigeria bribery probe: The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into an alleged $180 million bribe paid by Halliburton and three other companies to the government of Nigeria. The alleged bribe was paid in exchange for awarding a contract to the companies to build a $4 billion natural gas plant in Nigeria's southern delta region. The bribes were paid during the time when Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened its own formal investigation on June 11, 2004. Click here for a chronology of events in the bribery case.

Nigeria bribery probe: The French government is conducting an investigation of the same Nigeria bribery allegations as the U.S. Justice Department. France is also investigating a former Halliburton executive for his role in the scheme. Investigators said $5 million of the bribes intended for Nigeria was deposited into the Swiss bank account of former KBR chairman, Jack Stanley, who retired from the company on December 31, 2003.

www.halliburtonwatch.org

Be Well.

BTW spud I'm a huge Three dog night fan too.

""He legally and irrevocably assigned them and he receives no tax benefit from them," the Cheney aide said. This aide said the trustee of the trust decides when to sell them."

Cheney most certainly DOES receive a tax benefit...he got a tax deduction for it, and took advantage of Katrina rules to deduct more than he could've otherwise.

" I said he DIVESTED."

And no one off the street would believe that getting $180,000 a year, a deduction for a charitable gift through the company, and a future pension from that company is DIVESTED, especially when history has brutally taught us 'how a company does' can and will directly effect its pensioners.

I agree with you but I was answering spuds question about kickbacks and suddenly I work for halliburton.

taxprof.typepad.com

"It appears that the VP is a major beneficiary of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief act. In particular, he claimed $6.8 million of charitable deductions, which is 77% of his AGI -- well in excess of the 50% limitation that would have applied absent the Katrina legislation. The press release indicates that the charitable contribution reflects the amount of net proceeds from an independent administrator's exercise of the VP's Halliburton options -- apparently, the VP had agreed back in 2001 that he would donate the net proceeds from the options to charities once they were exercised."

"suddenly I work for halliburton."

Sorry, I didn't mean to jump on you...but even claiming he "divested", as Cheney and his team are claiming, is ludicrous given the evidence.

So he donated it to malt liquor and lap dances in New Orleans?

Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton.

-Democrats

This thread is about Cheney's statement that Iraq is a "successful endeavor." Although, since the person who posted it couldn't avoid bringing up Halliburton, I suppose I shouldn't have expected the thread to contain any in-depth debate. I think for the next 8 years, I will bring up Tony Rezko in every single thread that is remotely related to Barack Obama.

"This thread is about Cheney's statement that Iraq is a "successful endeavor.""

So...is it? The administration's stated purpose of the surge was to allow political progress in Iraq. Where is it? Where's the benefit in no more water, or no more electricity, or walls up to separate neighborhoods? Where's the success in emboldening the Iranians, or Al-Sadr, or the current price of a barrel of oil?

Of course it's a "successful endeavor" to Cheney: his pension is guaranteed, he got a monster tax break, and oil is higher than ever. Mission Accomplished!

JOE

When you come up with a war Obama's VP sold like swamp land in Florida, that's killed tens of thousands and wounded tens of thousands while a corporation makes record profits off of it (and doesn't pay a lick in U.S. taxes although the U.S. is paying them) then you might have a leg to stand on.

In the simplest of terms, Hussein is dead and Bush is playing golf so yeah I guess that is success.

Iran is most appreciative of Chimpy's largesse.

Everything you wanted to know about Cheney's 2005 taxes but were afraid to ask:

Cheney 2005 tax returns

The return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2005 of $529,636 on taxable income of $1,961,157. The Cheneys' adjusted gross income in 2005 was $8,819,006 which was largely the result of the exercise by an independent gift administrator of stock options that had been irrevocably set aside in 2001 for charity. The Cheneys donated $6,869,655 to charity in 2005 from the exercise of these stock options under the terms of the Gift Administration Agreement and from Mrs. Cheney's book royalties from Simon & Schuster on her books America: A Patriotic Primer, A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Woman, and When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots. As provided in the Gift Administration Agreement, gifts were made to three designated charities named in that Agreement. The Cheneys' return was filed on March 20, 2006.

During the course of 2005 the Cheneys paid $2,468,566 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. Taxes were withheld from their salaries and from the net proceeds of stock options that were exercised under the Gift Administration Agreement. Given that the option proceeds were dedicated to charity, there was a substantial over withholding in 2005 from the income attributable to the exercise of the stock options, which reduced the amount available for charity in 2005.

To enable the gift administrator to maximize the charitable gifts in 2005, the year in which the options were exercised, the Cheneys wrote a personal check in December 2005 to the gift administrator in the amount of $2,331,400. That amount, combined with the net proceeds from the stock options, was given to the three designated charities by the gift administrator.
...
The wage and salary income reported on the tax return includes the Vice President's $205,031 government salary. In addition, the tax return reports the payment of deferred compensation from income earned in 1999 from Halliburton Company in the amount of $211,465. In December 1998, the Vice President elected to defer compensation earned in calendar year 1999 for his services as chief executive officer of Halliburton. This amount was required to be paid in fixed annual installments (with interest) in the five years after the Vice President's retirement from Halliburton and thus could not be paid in a lump sum prior to his taking office. That election to defer income became final and unalterable before Mr. Cheney left Halliburton. The amount of deferred compensation received by the Vice President is fixed and is not affected in any way by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings. This 2005 payment closes out the payments under the deferred compensation plan.

Any other questions?

"successful endeavor"

Sure he has successfully made all of his friends (and himself) very rich.

"The amount of deferred compensation received by the Vice President is fixed and is not affected in any way by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings. "

"Any other questions?"

No, but an answer. Trustees are empowered to recalculate the annual formulae for which pensions are/were credited. While H's current performance or earnings might not be directly effecting changes, these types of recalculations are certainly not unheard of, especially in flush times. It also allows, say, a generous COLA annual adjustment.

One more thing. Cheney and his team have a long history of obfuscating. Anyone who actually believes Cheney's deferred compensation has nothing to do with Halliburton's performance doesn't know the history of GM, US Steel, Delta, and Northwest, to name a few.

Rightocenter, I have a question?

Do you work for Halliburton?
Do you know what a stock option is?
Cheney owns how many shares of Helliburton and is recieving kickbacks from which companies?

Okay, other than in Cheney's bank account where's all the success?

Yeah, didn't think so.
You had better do some more research before You spew even more bullshit.

Larry Mohr

Boy You like to lie out of Your ass now don't You??

"Let's say a company is paying someone over $180,000 a year, an amount which could increase if the company does substantially better. They'll also pay him a pension later, which could increase substantially if the company does better. Does that person have a "financial interest" in the company?"

"What if he had also the power to direct no-bid business to that company?"

Danforth-

It's not a pension, its deferred compensation. As such, it is a set amount that he earned in 1999 that will not change regardless of what Halliburton does now. There will be no adjustments or changes, not for COLA, not out of the goodness of Halliburton's compensation committee's heart. Deferred compensation can change on a going forward basis (i.e. if Cheney and Halliburton were to have agreed that he would be compensated for future years for some reason) but agreed and reported deferred compensation can not change.

He does report a 401K with Halliburton, but that has less then 15K in it. Other than that, he gets nothing from Halliburton, and in fact had to cut a check in excess of $2,000,000 to exercise those options for charity.

Eric-

I'm not sure where you are coming from, since I am agreeing with you...Larry and Danforth's Bush Derangement Syndrome blinds them to little things called "facts."

Those are the questions I got for saying Cheney divested his Halliburton stock.

Chalk this assessment to file in with such gems as "last throes", "flowers and chocolates", "liberators" and "I doubt it will last six months" meaning they are not worth the paper they are printed on.

The Lil Bush Cabal live in the own Lil world seperate and distinct from reality as evidenced by Lil Bush's comments on the recession.

Needless to say, they didn't need to be repeated, especially when I am on your side.

I didn't vote for the current administration I just don't think they are treated fairly.

Voted for Harry Brown 00 and Mike Badnarak 04

"It's not a pension, its deferred compensation. "

He also has a pension coming from the company. You're not going to tell me a few years deferred compensation and a $15k 401(k) is all a CEO gets. I know better.

"...it is a set amount that he earned in 1999 that will not change regardless of what Halliburton does"

Nice talking point, but try telling that to a GM retiree, or someone who worked for US Steel for 45 years. Company performance most certainly can affect payouts.

" Deferred compensation can change on a going forward basis"

And is that more or less likely if the company is wildly successful?

" had to cut a check in excess of $2,000,000 to exercise those options for charity."

To insure his tax loophole of over 50% of his AGI...yeah, I know.

BTW spud I'm a huge Three dog night fan too.

~ShitZ

Sweet. They are classic band and Spud luffs 'em big time still.

Here's a party classic tune that Spud used to RAWK out to back in the long ago.

www.youtube.com

BTW, Spud gets yer point that Cheeny divested himself of his shares but also the fact that fer some on the right that the end of the story there and in many ways it's just the beginning.

America can't afford this war in Iraq.

The doctrine that allows for the use of military force in order to ensure stability in a region that contains oil that is considered essential to America's national interest does not justify this invasion/ occupation. Saddam is gone. That's a success but a self serving one. America was involved in many of Saddam's atrocities including the bombing of Kurdish civilians at Halabja the fact that he was tried for crimes other than ones that could be traced back to the US was a large part of why he was allowed a trial in the fiorst place. America owes it to Iraq to try and fix some of the damage already caused and to leave them to figure out their own future, free from foreign occupation. Nobody wants to see this area become another Vietnam or Palestine.

Bottom line is, it's time for America to clean house at home not spend recklessly abroad.

A storm is coming.

Be Well.

"I didn't vote for the current administration I just don't think they are treated fairly."

I don't either, but tar-and-feathers is just soooo 19th century.

Hey, Spud just noticed this puppy got onto the Front Page and the blog-god fixed me headline!

Ta RCade!

Luff this place.

And that's not just the green beer talkin' neither!

Be Well.

He also has a pension coming from the company. You're not going to tell me a few years deferred compensation and a $15k 401(k) is all a CEO gets. I know better.

No he doesn't, he only worked there for 5 years. he got stock and stock options, and has sold or gifted those away. Modern day CEO's don't participate in defined benefit pensions, but get stock instead.

Nice talking point, but try telling that to a GM retiree, or someone who worked for US Steel for 45 years. Company performance most certainly can affect payouts.

Only payouts that have a future compensation aspect to them. Cheney's did not.

" Deferred compensation can change on a going forward basis"

And is that more or less likely if the company is wildly successful?

Try not to blatantly cherrypick my own words to make a point...in case you didn't bother to read the rest of that sentence, that only pertains to future compensation, not deferred compensation for a particular year, which must be set in stone and reported to the IRS as such. That never changes.

To insure his tax loophole of over 50% of his AGI...yeah, I know.

He still had to pay $2M to charity to exercise those options...which is in excess of any overpayment that he made on his AGI. Do the math, Baudelaire. Add the value of the options sold and that totals $8M that he and his wife gave to charity.

Name Just One Bush Regime Accomplishment in Iraq???

I'd like Cheney or Bush or Rice to name or clearly show,just one positive "accomplishment" that their Iraq War has achieved for the American people???

Yes there has been a lot of U.S.money spent on Bush's Iraq War and lots of American's were killed and wounded but this number was trifling compared to the vast numbers of Iraqis who were either killed or wounded.Plus practically their whole country has been destroyed.
So after all the money spent and all the bombs dropped and all the bodies buried just what the hell was this Iraq War really all about? What unequivocally positive thing did it achieve for the American citizens and taxpayers who were forced to fund this whole,bloody fiasco? What did they get out of it?

I didn't vote for the current administration I just don't think they are treated fairly.

Voted for Harry Brown 00 and Mike Badnarak 04

Maybe we should send Bush and Cheney to an impartial war crimes court at the Hague to make sure they get fair treatment.

Let them defend their little 5th grade mentality
"Shock and Awe" Bombing campaign against Iraq while innocent lives and property were being destroyed while they rejoiced like little children playing pretend war.

Yes, it was a fine little War... only 4000 Americans dead so far...between 100,000-600,000 Iraqis dead.

A country in ruins... ours and theirs!

Oil at $110 a barrel and $5 a gallon at the pump...

Our economy in shambles...

The dollar in the dirt...

Yes indeed ... a fine little War...all the Bush buddies are rich.. the Oil companies are super rich... the Constitution is in tatters....

Mission Accomplished!

Now can we bring our children home?

And the Pope cries:

"All in, All in, All in come Free!"

I believe that one thing can be done to ruin Mr. Cheney's day, destroy the false image that he has been the competent, able leader who is behind the incompetent boob Bush. Cheney is every bit as incompetent and out of touch with reality as George W. Bush and he also lacks the slightly humanizing traits that Bush does posess. Cheney is a soulless incompetent boob which is probably the most dangerous kind of leader.

Is it possible that "The Dick" is on so many drugs that he is out of touch with earth? Many pain killers associated heart disease are euphoric. Reality is certainly modified in his "mind".

Danni

Cheney is a soulless incompetent boob which is probably the most dangerous kind of leader.

Posted by danni at 2008-03-18 06:50 AM

DANNI, "The Dick" did at one time possess a soul. The problem is not that he sold it, but that he repeatedly sold it to the highest bidder. As far as incompetent, he has managed to stay in office and has wielded a great deal of power. Power over the Shub and others.

If you are to gage his competence by just how much he has done for this country, let's rephrase, to this country. Then we can write volumes.

We will probably never find out how much Halliburton pays "The Dick" to give speeches at their 4th of July picnics at their new headquarters in Dubai.

I'm sure he will be doing some very pricey lip-flapping at all the Big Oil executive pow-wows too.

The Cheney girls will inherit billions when his cold heart finally gives out...tax free, of course!

I'm glad big Dick and little John were able to have such a positive impact while they were over there. Yup, things are still going swimmingly...

news.yahoo.com

Sunnis boycott Iraq reconciliation event

BAGHDAD - Iraq's main Sunni bloc boycotted a conference Tuesday aimed at reconciling the nation's sectarian groups, a sign of the deep schisms still facing this country.

Members of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front said they would not participate in the conference until Shiite lawmakers address their political demands. They say Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has failed to release detainees not charged with specific crimes, has not disbanded Shiite militias and has not sufficiently included Sunni lawmakers in decision-making on security issues.

"How we can attend a reconciliation meeting?" said Saleem Abdullah, a spokesman for the Sunni front. "There are many points that are still not fulfilled."

The U.S. is pressing the Iraqis to achieve national reconciliation, warning that progress toward that goal is necessary to guarantee long-term American support.

The conference comes after visits by Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain to tout security gains and stress Washington's commitment to fighting insurgents in Iraq.