Exclusive: U.S. Troops Abandoned Me, Says (Halliburton) Convoy Driver

[sabra]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/exclusive_us_tr.html

Exclusive: U.S. Troops Abandoned Me, Says Convoy Driver

A dramatic home video obtained by ABC News shows U.S. troops apparently abandoned a truck convoy after it came under insurgent attack in Iraq last year.

Three unarmed Halliburton truck drivers were executed at point-blank range once the troops left, according to a surviving driver, Preston Wheeler, of Mena, Ark., who taped the scene.

...

Wheeler says Halliburton did not provide any of the drivers with maps or even rudimentary drawings of the location.

He says when he was hired by Halliburton he was promised the trucks would be equipped with bullet proof glass and armed guards every third truck.

"That's a lie, it's a gimmick, a sales pitch," Wheeler said.

video here: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2495326

[BOSSHOG]

1. And I had suggested that limbaugh drive a truck for halliburton

to prove how brave and patriotic he was. Maybe the long drives would aggravate his ass pimple.

[saigon68]

2. YES the BOIL on his ASS kept him out of the Nam

The Big Fat Coward

[BOSSHOG]

4. Oh he's so brave

Hiding behind his microphone and huffing and puffing at his ignorant masses. Then flying off to the dominican republic with his bought male friends and a supply of viagra to unwind in a country known for child sex trade. What a brave guy he is.

[saigon68]

5. MAYBE THE SLOB WILL CATCH AIDS OR AN STD

[babylonsister]

3. Sounds like Halliburton abandoned him. nt

[Captain Hilts]

6. KBR drivers earn about three times what soldiers earn.

It's the 'free' market in action.

[debbierlus]

7. Sorry. Little sympathy. The soldiers were FORCED to be there

Haliburton employees are just war profiteers....Why the hell should the soldiers risk their lives for those people?

They shouldn't be there in the first place!

[Dhalgren]

8. Anyone who has been in the service knows how this works.

If things get hot, you protect your buddies. If anyone gets left behind, it won't be a squad member, it'll be the civie. First things first...

[bluestateguy]

9. Hm. Tough job. Maybe he should quit and come home.

Let's remember that the "contractors" can come and go to Iraq as they please.

[kurth]

10. No love for Halliburton among soldiers - see e.g.:

Different rules for civilians?

Why is it that civilian contractors do not have to follow the same rules of engagement as the military? Soldiers get paid less and we have to make the best decision possible and pray it was the right one. Otherwise, it’s an all-around pain in the butt. Contractors just don’t have to deal with the same politics that soldiers do.

Last week an innocent civilian was killed. Why? He was too close for the Department of Defense’s comfort. Instead of following our procedures, they went for the kill. As I was holding this dying man, I wondered if this was necessary. This man did not pose a threat at all. The personal security detail team pulled away laughing. Laughing — like someone just told a joke and it was on the man in my arms! That’s when I knew that soldiers are fighting a different war.

The war in Iraq is one of politics. We hurry up and wait for the worst. Soldiers are expected to be professional, look the enemy in the eye, and tell them not to shoot because of the paperwork involved. Moreover, the ROE are so frigid, that even if we are right, we are probably wrong.

I see these civilians every day and they take no responsibility for their actions. I seriously considered working with one of these companies. But I find myself wondering, do I really want to be associated with a company that does business in this manner? No. We are here to win the hearts and minds, and the civilian PSD teams are destroying all of that work.

Today is one of those days when the military needs to decide what the mission in Iraq is, and who will complete it for them — the professionals, or the cowboys.

Spc. Mike Tenhet
Baghdad

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=31447&archive=true

[saigon68]

20. Wonder if "The guy dying in His Arms" family is going to join the

Resistance and demand a

LITTLE PAYBACK

If it were my father brother

http://www.youtube.com/watch?search=&mode=related&v=wWxr-AgIpVc

[Vidar]

11. Good for the troops.

[gratuitous]

12. The surviving driver was from Mena, Arkansas?

Gee, why does that town name ring a bell?

And the story gets even more reprehensible than the clip posted in the original. Halliburton fired Preston Wheeler two months later for sustaining a work-related injury. He was hit twice in the ambush but survived. Naturally, this would be illegal in the U.S., but Halliburton operates under different rules in Iraq.

A Halliburton operative also wanted to delete the video (it's not apparent to me who shot it) to avoid bad publicity. It's probably tough to recruit drivers if there's footage out there that shows drivers getting shot up.

And finally, there's absolutely no mention of the pay disparity between the Halliburton driver and the troops he was driving for. I wonder why that tidbit wasn't deemed newsworthy enough to include in the story?

[hadrons]

13. "That's a lie, it's a gimmick, a sales pitch," Wheeler said.

he's surprised a corporation who makes its dough off war profits lied to him ... heaven forbid

[seemslikeadream]

14. Get a clue Halliburton employees

YOU ARE MERCENARIES, DOGS OF WAR, WORKING FOR BLOOD MONEY


WHO DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO PROTECT SLIME?

[Benhurst]

15. It's so hard to be a

BushAmerican profiteer.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[rodeodance]

16. I watched his testimony. It was so convincing .

[rodeodance]

17. Recommend

[zreosumgame]

18. sorry, but you are working for a war profiteering company

and it has been no secret about that for YEARS. If you paid no attention to the horrors and stupidities there then you have nobody to blame but yourself. I feel sorry for the families, but if nobody in the family spoke up when they signed up for this job, THEY share responsability

HALLIBURTON and DUMBAYA abandonded you. And you knew they would, or could have if you had been paying attention.

[alfredo]

19. There is nothing lower than a mercenary. They know no loyalty

other than to those who pay them the most.

Sorry fellow, but you should know what it is like to be a mercenary. You are a criminal in the eyes of the world. When you signed up to work for Halliburton you became a man without a country. You have no flag, you have a corporate logo.

[RebelOne]

22. He wasn't a mercenary. He wasn't even armed.

He was nothing but a truck driver.

[alfredo]

23. Mercenary forces need support and supply just like legal

military forces.

[xchrom]

21. rude awakening for haliburton employees.

[alfredo]

24. They are even worse with their brown skinned employees.

When their contract expires they are on their own in the middle of a war zone. They have to find their own way out of Iraq.

[xchrom]

26. ain't that the truth.

[alfredo]

30. What money they may have saved up will be

taken by drivers and corrupt officials for a chance at safe passage out of Iraq.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

25. Truck drivers from Halliburton were testifying in Congress

the other day & were talking about how the truck convoys were coming under a lot of attacks & how they were under supplied for maps, protection, & guards. Also talked about how Halliburton was trying to keep this from the news.

It wasn't too long ago that the military would have been driving these convoys in a war zone, but I guess it is more profitable to privatize this to unaccountable corporations.

[TX-RAT]

27. Another link, another story.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060406/iraq_ambush_060406/20060406?hub=TopStories

[mitchum]

28. "Boo Hoo!" cries the WAR PROFITEER

Wheeler gets no fucking pity from me

[sweetheart]

29. bring the boss up on corporate killing charges

Halliburton's directors and board members should all be sued in a civil
lawsuit to recover damages against the public, name cheney as well, and
prove uz all that a pig can be fleeced... or at least tarred and feathered.