Halliburton’s Sacrifice
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

News that among those killed in the attack at Mosul, Iraq, yesterday were seven Halliburton workers prompted us to recall some of the political criticism leveled at the company during the presidential campaign. “Halliburton got billions in no bid contracts in Iraq. Dick Cheney got $2 million. What did we get? A $200 billion bill for Iraq. Lost jobs. Rising health care costs. It’s time for a new direction,” sneered one television commercial from the Kerry campaign. In the first presidential debate, Mr. Kerry accused President Bush of trying “to save for Halliburton the spoils of the war.” In a campaign speech in September reported in the Washington Post, Mr. Kerry said, “As president, I will stop companies like Halliburton from profiting at the expense of our troops and taxpayers.”
In June, Senate Democrats declared “Halliburton Week” as part of a campaign to demonize the company as a war profiteer. Senator Lautenberg, the New Jersey demagogue, accused Halliburton of “war profiteering” and “foul play.” Even yesterday, with the corpses of the Halliburton workers barely cold, the Senate Democrats Web site, democrats.senate.gov, was displaying a page claiming “Halliburton has a great thing going in Iraq” and referring to the company’s supposed “sweetheart deal.”
Well, the spoils of war could be seen yesterday in the carnage at Mosul. New York’s senators could do the country and the memories of the dead Halliburton employees a service by urging their Democratic colleagues to desist from the politically motivated attacks on a company that is working alongside American troops to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. The company is doing so at great risk, as yesterday’s attack underscored. It deserves not Democratic derision but praise for its sacrifices.