The New York Times had an interesting article on the 3rd that is scaring me to death.
Is this just pork? Or, at a time when this administration is facing dismal approval ratings, monumental scandals and the chance that if the Democrats do win control of the legislative body investigations could be made into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity - is their "Final Solution" for liberals and Democrats?
If this has been diaried I apologize. I searched but didn't find anything. More below the fold
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Bolding below is mine.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention centers to Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary that has been criticized for overcharging the Pentagon for its work in Iraq.
KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space, company executives said. KBR, which announced the contract last month, had a similar contract with immigration agencies from 2000 to last year.
Are we expecting an enormous influx of immigrants? Haven't we been able, before this administration at least, to handle natural disasters without refugee camps? What exactly are these new programs that would require this space?
The contract with the Corps of Engineers runs one year, with four optional one-year extensions. Officials of the corps said that they had solicited bids and that KBR was the lone responder.
Did they solicite bids to anyone else? What a joke!
A spokesman for the corps, Clayton Church, said that the centers could be at unused military sites or temporary structures and that each one would hold up to 5,000 people. "When there's a large influx of people into the United States, how are we going to feed, house and protect them?" Mr. Church asked. "That's why these kinds of contracts are there."
I have a very difficult time believing that this administration cares about feeding, housing and protecting anyone much less this impending influx of illegal immigrants. This administration won't even feed, house and protect its own people. Katrina proved that.
Federal auditors rebuked the company for unsubstantiated billing in its Iraq reconstruction contracts, and it has been criticized because of accusations that Halliburton, led by Dick Cheney before he became vice president, was aided by connections in obtaining contracts. Halliburton executives denied that they charged excessively for the work in Iraq.
Mr. Church said concerns about the Iraq contracts did not affect the awarding of the new contract.
Er....uh. obviously? As much as I detest pork and the unbelievable amount of money this administration has poured into their cronies' pockets, I am desperately hoping that this is all it is. This last part is what is scaring me to death:
Ms. Zuieback said the KBR contract was not intended for that.
"It's not part of any day-to-day enforcement," she said.
She added that she could not provide additional information about the company's statement that the contract was also meant to support the rapid development of new programs.
Halliburton executives, who announced the contract last week, said they were pleased.
The rapid development of new programs. Or did she mean "pogroms"?