KBR Gets Huge Contract Despite Electrocutions

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(02-06) 21:59 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

Defense contractor KBR Inc., which is under criminal investigation in the electrocution deaths of at least two U.S. soldiers in Iraq, has been awarded a $35 million contract by the Pentagon to build an electrical distribution center and other projects there.

The announcement of the new KBR contract comes just months after the Pentagon, in strongly worded correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, rejected the company's explanation of serious mistakes in Iraq and its proposed improvements. A senior Pentagon official, David J. Graff, cited the company's "continuing quality deficiencies" and said KBR executives were "not sufficiently in touch with the urgency or realities of what was actually occurring on the ground."

"Many within DOD (the Department of Defense) have lost or are losing all remaining confidence in KBR's ability to successfully and repeatedly perform the required electrical support services mission in Iraq," wrote Graff, commander of the Defense Contract Management Agency, in a Sept. 30 letter.

Graff rejected the company's claims that it wasn't required to follow U.S. electrical codes for its work on U.S. military facilities in Iraq. KBR has said it would cost an extra $560 million to refurbish buildings in Iraq used by the U.S. military, including Saddam Hussein's palaces, which among other problems are based on a 220-volt standard rather than the American 120-volt standard.

KBR announced last week it won a new $35.4 million contract from the Army Corps of Engineers to design and build a convoy support center at Camp Adder in southern Iraq. It will include a power plant, electrical distribution center, water purification and distribution systems, wastewater and information systems and road paving.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/02/06/national/w115350S21.DTL

[sakabatou]

1. WTF?!

[McCamy Taylor]

2. How? Why?

[NBachers]

3. "To build an electrical distribution center !?"

So they can electrocute even more people?

What in the name of God is wrong with these people? Do they live in a bubble where they have no idea how this will go over?

[Left Coast2020]

4. THIS SUCKS!!!!

What happened to the concept of saving money in a depression? Or eliminating shit that the Pentagon wastes money on? And WTF happened to this "change" thing I heard about? :mad:

[Politicalboi]

5. Just when we thought the Penetta

Backtrack was caving, Kissinger talking to Russia, now this shit. How can this be? Why not let KBR rebuild the Trade Center too.

[martha thacker]

6. Obama is losing support for

being more conciliatory to republicans than his base. We did vote for change

[orleans]

8. maybe kbr *will* rebuild the trade center. n/t

[bottomtheweaver]

42. If they'd let KBR built the towers originally

they would have had a lot less trouble knocking them down.

[aquart]

7. Why hasn't this stopped?

[Norrin Radd]

9. For fuck's sake.

[midnight]

10. Washington needs to discontinue working with kbr.

[MrSlayer]

11. Is there no one else who does this type of work?

It seems that KBR and Halliburton are the only people that get this work. They must be the only companies that do it. It sure seems that way.

[jtrockville]

37. They're "uniquely qualified"....

to shovel money into Dick Cheney's pocket. Who else could do the job so effectively?

[jmowreader]

45. They have better proposal writers than anyone else

It should be obvious to everyone that it's cheaper to buy a piece of equipment made by GE Power Systems from Halliburton than it is to get it directly from GE.

[iamthebandfanman]

12. ack. this makes me literally sick. n/t

[Optical.Catalyst]

13. Dick Cheney's influence favoring KBR in the awarding of DOD contracts continues

Only prosecution for War Crimes will stop this madness.

[NikolaC]

15. I Doubt It

They obviously seem to have enough influence where some dead and ill soldiers don't mean a damn thing. They will just keep rewarding them.

[Solly Mack]

14. Figures

[byeya]

16. KBR

In my opinion, what should happen, is that all KBR contracts are immediately cancelled, and KBR equipment that might remotely be connected with a violation of a contract impounded, and a special investigating team formed to find out what has occurred from the awarding of the contracts through the oversight of the contracts to the procedures used to accept the completed projects. Seize their assets as possible elements and/or fruits of criminality.

[acmavm]

17. Jeeze, the 'irony' is just stomach-turning: "...to build an electrical

distribution center..."

The Pentagon needs to do some 'lay-offs' of its own. We need to start weeding out these corrupt SOBs.

[ShortnFiery]

18. Arrrrgh! Is there any way we could stop this?!?

Can't some other, more reputable company receive this contract? Can't it be reversed? :(

[PSPS]

19. Please! I just can't take any more of this "change!"

Let's see.

- More taxpayer money to crooks at Halliburton (KBR.)
- More right-wing appointments to federal agencies.
- Tax cheats, some with half-million "driver and car" gifts, chosen for appointments.
- "Strict ethics standards" but with lots of "exceptions" and "waivers."
- Continuing belief in the "trickle down" non sequitur plus more tax cuts for the rich.
- Letting the losing party continue to write or have the final say on any legislation.
- Troops stay in Iraq for at least another two years.
- Continuing to hide evidence of torture (UK "intelligence sharing")
- Continuing the practice of "extraordinary rendition" (third-party torture)

Yes, it sure is a good thing Obama won and brought us all this "change," isn't it?

[ananda]

21. Wow. Hope and change..

.. just words.

We're systematically being sold down the river.

[RedSock]

22. why so many people here believed the hype

why so many people here believed the hype, i'll never understand.

probably the same people who got excited about the democrats getting things done in 2002, 2004, 2006 ... and will be all excited about the grand possibilities in 2010 and 2012 ...

same as it ever was.

[byeya]

24. Why did people believe the hype when there was little

in Obama's background to make a person think he would radically change things? Beats me. I guess it's of the same hopefulness that makes people think, in retrospect, that JFK was some kind of working class hero. Dennis, probably; Obama probably not.
Obama is better than McCain and that's something positive anyway.

[nc4bo]

20. Rare, medium, welldone or charred to a crisp?

:wtf:

[Frustratedlady]

23. I thought they were kicked out of Iraq?

They should be kicked out of the U.S. and, definitely, out of any dealings with our government. They can't be the only ones that handle this type of work.

Spread the contracts around.

This should be investigated.

[Bette Noir]

25. Blackwater was kicked out of Iraq for murdering Iraqis.

KBR has been charged with negligent homicide for electrocuting Americans, if memory serves.

First and only time the deaths of Iraqis has been considered at least as serious as the deaths of Americans. Or maybe that's only because our puppet regime demanded it. We were willing enough to cover up the Blackwater murders, until the Iraqis insisted otherwise.

[Frustratedlady]

44. Well, then, did Halliburton sell of KBR? Something big happened.

I thought they were almost out of the picture.

[DirtFrmr]

26. Meet the new boss ... same as the old boss n/t

[bbgrunt]

27. K & BR

[Mari333]

28. no change. .....

http://www.businesspundit.com/the-25-most-vicious-iraq-war-profiteers/?

[earcandle]

31. Thanks for the link.

[glitch]

29. They need to be banned from working for the government and this contract needs to be withdrawn

"The Corps of Engineers said KBR has earned $615 million on 30 similar contracts as the newest it awarded to the company and noted that KBR has not been banned or suspended from winning U.S. government contracts. The government can ban companies in cases of fraud, antitrust violations, bribery, tax evasion or for actions that reflect "a lack of business integrity or business honesty," according to federal rules.

"KBR has not been debarred, suspended, nor have they been proposed for debarment from government contracting," Corps spokeswoman Joan Kibler said."

[pyro858]

30. Obama said what he had to to get elected

Change we can believe in- hahahahahahahahaha. Obama will never leave Iraq-too much money to be made.

[leveymg]

32. Contract likely was awarded pre-1/20.The next paper KBR gets from the fed gov't will be indictments.

Just suspend KBR and hand the file to Holder.

There have to be other companies out there who can and will carry out what remains of these carry-over contracts.

[Inkyfuzzbottom]

34. Bingo!

Government contracts and funding take FOREVER to come through. Hell, congress can't even come up with a budget for us yet. We operate under continuing resolutions all the time. It takes forever to get hiring authority in many agencies. My bet is this contract was approved under the prior administration and it took this long to get all the red tape and bullshit out of the way. Hang in there folks, the government wheels run slowly and it's a huge clusterfuck to even order pens and paper sometimes.

[glitch]

38. Let it be so. nt

[ProgressIn2008]

40. From the article: "KBR has not been debarred, suspended nor have they been proposed for debarment

from government contracting."

If they want to do something about it, they can quite easily. Also from the article:

"The government can ban companies in cases of fraud, antitrust violations, bribery, tax evasion or for actions that reflect "a lack of business integrity or business honesty," according to federal rules." "

[leveymg]

43. That should be the first action taken by the incoming head of DoD Procurement

Sec. Gates, please take note.

[asjr]

33. Never dreamed I would say this:

No We Can't.

[dcindian]

35. I thought corporations under investigation for wrong doing could not get contracts?

Seems it the money a corporation can make is much more important then our troops lives. Shameful and wrong.

[BlueJac]

36. Same old shit...........

the change we were dreaming about was in name only

[ProgressIn2008]

39. If Dems care about this shit, they should speak out NOW about this, including Obama

Otherwise, you might be tempted to walk away with the impression that this is business as usual.

[barbtries]

41. this has got to be pure corruption