The news media explores the motive: Is Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar opening a new headquarters office in Dubai as a quick exit strategy from the political heat?
Halliburton Watch: Charlie Cray’s critical eye seeps into the coverage. “Halliburton is moving to UAE at a time when it is being investigated in the U.S. for bribery, bid rigging, defrauding the military and illegally profiting in Iran. It is currently in the process of divesting all of its ownership interest in the scandal-plagued KBR subsidiary, notorious for overcharging the military and serving contaminated food and water to the troops in Iraq.”

The Washington Post: “People familiar with investigations carried out by the Pentagon and special Iraq inspectors general said there were many aspects of Halliburton’s contracts in Iraq that have not yet come under full scrutiny. With Democrats in control of Congress, further hearings on those contracts are likely. Last year, Halliburton received $6.1 billion of Defense Department contracts, the sixth-largest total of any company. In 2005, it received $5.8 billion.”
The New York Times weighs each side: David J. Lesar, its chairman and chief executive, says he is responding to the growing business opportunities in the Middle East and nearby areas. “But that did not stop many powerful Democrats from expressing skepticism about the motives behind the move, arguing that it may presage a wholesale move of Halliburton’s corporate headquarters out of the United States and not merely for business reasons.”