WTF Is It Now?!?

Keeping it in the Family, part 3
Bechtel's Political Clout Helps Land Bid
'It's not just a history of building landmarks like the Hoover Dam that helped Bechtel Corp. win the first major Iraq reconstruction contract. The company is as well-connected as Washington insiders come.

'Bechtel not only has close ties with elder Republican statesmen, its executives also enjoy direct links to the Bush administration, which has critics crying cronyism.

'Many worry that Bechtel's inside-the-Beltway cachet was as important to its successful bid than any technical advantage over competitors. At least two current Bechtel executives have ties to the Bush administration.'

A senior vice president, Jack Sheehan, sits on the Defense Policy Board formed to advise Donald 'Warboner' Rumsfeld, who himself once lobbied for a Bechtel project. Sheehan, a retired Marine Corps general, manages Bechtel's petroleum and chemical operations.

And Emperor Snippy himself appointed Bechtel's chairman, Riley Bechtel, in February to the Export Council, which advises "the president" on international trade matters. - link.