As readers of this space don’t need to be told, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company Halliburton has been a prime beneficiary of the invasion of Iraq, raking in some $9 billion in contracts to rebuild Iraq’s oil industry and service the US troops.

However, since the occupation began, news reports have regularly documented a pattern of fraud, waste, and corruption by Halliburton–from alleged overcharges of $61 million for fuel and $24.7 million for meals to confirmed kickbacks worth $6.3 million. Meanwhile, Halliburton has failed to rebuild key oil infrastructure, has provided shoddy services to US troops, and has taken jobs away from qualified Iraqi businesses and workers. Shockingly though, Halliburton’s role has only increased, to the point where, as the AP reported last Tuesday, the company’s executives say that Halliburton is receiving about $1 billion a month for Iraq work this year.

Moreover, federal authorities are currently investigating whether Halliburton broke the law by using a subsidiary to do business in Iran, whether the company overcharged for work done for the Pentagon in the Balkans and whether it was involved in an alleged $180 million bribery scheme in Nigeria. (The company admitted in 2003 that it improperly paid $2.4 million to a Nigerian tax official.)

Join the United for Peace and Justice coalition in Houston on May 19 for a lively protest against war profiteering and crony capitalism outside Halliburton’s annual shareholder meeting. Halliburton needs to be held accountable, not made more profitable. Click here for a schedule of the day’s events, click here for info on housing and transportation, and click here to help circulate word about the protest to activists and the media.