Halliburton Launches Ad in Response to Criticism

Halliburton Co. fired back Thursday at its political critics, introducing a television commercial that declares it was awarded lucrative Iraq reconstruction contracts “because of what we do, not who we know.”

Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said in a statement that the ad, which features Halliburton Chief Executive David Lesar, addresses “misstatements and wrong information put forward recently in the presidential political campaigns.” The 30-second commercials will start airing today in selected markets, she said.

“We are clearing up the record,” Hall said. “We are very good at what we do, and we have done it for 60 years for both Republican and Democratic administrations.”

Democratic presidential candidates Howard Dean, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry and the Rev. Al Sharpton have criticized the Houston-based company, where Vice President Dick Cheney was chief executive from 1995 to 2000, after reports that the Pentagon was probing possible overcharges on its contracts in Iraq. Kerry, for example, accused the company in December of “shameful war profiteering.” Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), who dropped out of the race this week, has called for an investigation.

Halliburton this week agreed to reimburse the Pentagon $27.4 million until it can be determined whether its Saudi subcontractor overcharged for food service at U.S. Army dining facilities. The company also repaid $6.3 million to cover a possible overcharge by a Kuwaiti subcontractor that may have given kickbacks to Halliburton employees.