Editorial: A slippery slope

Friday, March 16, 2007 | 6:56 a.m.

It is interesting - odd, even - that Halliburton, the oil company formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney, is moving its headquarters from Houston to Dubai.

Halliburton officials announced the move last weekend, saying it would improve the company's position to increase business in the growing oil and gas industries of Asia and the Middle East.

Almost immediately, Halliburton's plan ignited concern among members of Congress who suggested that the vice president's former employer is trying to avoid paying U.S. taxes and also is trying to dodge ongoing public scrutiny and criticism surrounding the manner in which the company secured lucrative, no-bid contracts from the federal government.

Some of those contracts include Iraq reconstruction projects plagued with huge overcharges and failing results and that remain under congressional investigation. Halliburton received $6.1 billion in Defense Department contracts last year and $5.8 billion for such contracts in 2005.

In a recent story by The Washington Post, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called the move "bizarre." It also is disconcerting. With its headquarters in Dubai, Halliburton could be in a position to avoid U.S. restrictions on doing business with certain countries - including Iran. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called the move "an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers" who have paid for Halliburton's bloated no-bid contracts and overcharges.

Halliburton officials have said the company will remain incorporated in the United States and be subject to U.S. tax obligations. But we are skeptical about how long that arrangement will last. This move could be a first step to Halliburton moving completely overseas, where its questionable practices would be under much less scrutiny.