what a ripoff

Halliburton is either ripping the U.S. government off, or it is getting ripped off itself.

It appears that nobody is paying as much for gasoline in Iraq as Halliburton, and the U.S. government is paying Halliburton's bills - plus a 2% surcharge.

Iraqis pay roughly 10 cents per gallon for gas. Of course, who knows what quality they are getting; there are "home-brew" gas distillers. Other companies are paying from 90 cents to $1.29 per gallon, presumably for "real" gasoline.

Halliburton is paying $1.59 per gallon in a country that can pump its own oil and distill its own gasoline.

You can buy gas for $1.59 or less here in Tallahassee, Florida! The price of gasoline in Tallahassee includes the cost of transportation over many thousands of miles, distillation, plus taxes; and we don't exactly have the lowest gas prices in the U.S., much less our own state. Folks here in Tallahassee often head across the border into Georgia for gas and cigarettes (and of course their Powerball tickets).

Either Halliburton is getting ripped off big time (not likely - they didn't get to be a big, wealthy company by being stupid) or they have something up their sleeve. Can you say, "cooked books?"