HANANIA: War contract mistrial proves public is concerned more about Halliburton, For Immediate Release, May 1, 2008
Mistrial in war related corruption case proves there is more to it
By Ray Hanania – A jury in Rock Island, Illinois said they were deadlocked on the Bush Administration’s prosecution of a former middle-level sub-contractor for Halliburton that the federal government has targeted for more than three years. The jury was split evenly over charges that Jeff Mazon, a manager for Kellogg, Brown & Root, (KBR), a construction and engineering company that had received a contract from the U.S. Army Sustainment Command at the Rock Island Arsenal to provide services to troops in the Middle East, had accepted a bribe to increase the contract for a Kuwaiti contractors. U.S. District Court Judge Joe B. McDade, who muzzled the trial by refusing to allow Mazon’s defense team to address the larger issues of the Iraq War and the widespread contract corruption involving politically connected Halliburton, the parent company of KBR, had no choice but to declare a mistrial. But what are the real issues behind why the jurors could not convict Mazon, who the Bush Administration has targeted for more than three years in a politically-motivated campaign that cost taxpayers millions of dollars? Read more »
ALADDIN ELAASAR is an award winning Arab American journalist and author of several books including 
SAFFIYA SHILLO is a peace activist, communications specialist and community editor for the National Arab American Times Newspaper. Ms. Shillo serves as a Board Member of the Palestinian American Women's Society. Her activism is extensive, having served as the former President of the Palestinian American Congress-Chicago Chapter, as a National Board member of the American Task Force on Palestine, and as Director of the Arab American Institute's Chicago office. Active in Jewish/Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, Ms. Shillo gives presentations to national organizations on strategies and methods to achieve peace through dialogue. Ms. Shillo also served as Director of Ethnic Affairs for the State of Illinois' Office of Lieutenant Governor, and worked as a domestic violence/sexual assault counselor serving Chicago's Arab community. She can be reached at smshillo@yahoo.com
