Bechtel
corporationPrivate
| Bechtel link () Powerbase Sourcewatch Website | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Warren A. Bechtel |
| Headquarters | Blue Shield of California BuildingSan Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Type | Private |
| Subgroups | Bantrel Co., Bechtel Jacobs, Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, Consolidated Nuclear Security, Tube Lines |
| Staff | 53,000 |
| Largest construction and civil engineering company in the US and the 9th-largest privately owned American company in 2016 | |
Bechtel Corporation (Bechtel Group) is the largest construction and civil engineering company in the United States,[1] and the 9th-largest privately owned American company in 2016.[2]
Bechtel is a ruthless and central part of the military-industrial complex and the neo-colonial system used to enslave poor countries described by insider John Perkins.
Deep state connections
Close ties that emerged between Bechtel and the CIA during the 1950s. Former CEO Steve Bechtel had close ties with then-CIA Deputy Director Allen Dulles, and he was the CIA’s liaison with the Business Council and other organizations linked to the intelligence agency.
George Shultz was the president of Bechtel for seven years, in between his posts as Nixon’s treasury secretary and Reagan’s secretary of state. After leaving government, Shultz again joined Bechtel, taking a seat on the company’s board of directors. Shultz also chaired the advisory board of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, a right-wing outfit that was critical in manufacturing a justification for the war against Iraq in 2003.[3]
Caspar Weinberger was Bechtel’s general counsel from 1975 to 1981, before joining the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan] administration as secretary of defense.
The head of USAID, Andrew Natsios, was at one time the director of Boston’s Big Dig project, a multi-billion-dollar construction operation run by Bechtel and another firm.
William Casey, who was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission under Nixon, head of the Export-Import Bank under Ford, and head of the CIA under Reagan, was a former Bechtel consultant.
Richard Helms, Nixon’s CIA director, was another Bechtel consultant, as was Nixon’s Treasury Secretary, William Simon.