Halliburton and Hunt Oil, two Texas energy companies with strong ties to the Bush White House, are requesting hundreds of millions of dollars in public financing for a natural gas project in Peru that will tear through pristine rainforests. The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. and the Inter-American Development Bank are forbidden from funding projects that fail to pass rigorous environmental reviews. But the pipeline project in Peru is proceeding despite concerns about environmental destruction, according to anonymous officials reviewing it. Environmental groups and some members of Congress say the project will devastate the rainforest and the lifestyle of its indigenous inhabitants. Prior to running for vice president, Dick Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton; the Hunt family has been a major contributor to the Bush family for years.
