The Nation: Halliburton Fails Upward

[maddezmom]

The Nation -- "Lawmakers, Including Republicans, Criticize Pentagon on Disputed Billing by Halliburton," read a New York Times headline on June 22. "Worries Raised on Handling of Funds in Iraq," the Los Angeles Times wrote the same day. It seemed clear that the Bush Administration's favorite war profiteer was again in hot water. Shortly thereafter, the Democratic Policy Committee released a report alleging that Halliburton subsidiary KBR overcharged the US government by as much as $1 billion, not even counting an additional $442 million in "unsupported" billing, for work in Iraq.

The headlines ceased over the next week. Then, In early July, KBR captured coverage in a decidedly more positive light: "Halliburton Gets More Iraq Work," Reuters reported on July 7. Once again, an Administration ally was/is failing upwards. Five billion dollars of new work, to be exact, on top of a contract that has brought KBR $9.1 billion, almost one sixth of what Bush promised the entire war effort would cost.

The military signed the $4.97 billion deal in May, but didn't reveal the details until this month, "because the Army did not consider it necessary," an Army spokesman told Reuters. Most of the money will go toward logistics--food, sanitation, laundry and other services for the troops--precisely the functions KBR has failed so spectacularly to properly administer thus far.

According to government reports and Army and KBR sources, Halliburton charged the government for 10,000 meals a day it never served, dished out food that had been expired for a year and provided its Turkish and Filipino staff with leftovers in trash bags. The Government Accountability Office concluded last year that the Army could save $43 million on food just by bypassing KBR and working with a different subcontractor. The $1.5 million tailoring fees, $560,000 in unnecessary heavy equipment, $152,000 for movie screenings, $45 cases of soda and exorbitant "cost-plus" contracts were just icing on the cake.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/thenation/20050712/cm_thenation/135480_1

[Inland]

1. If it were possible to give a corporation a presidential medal,

this failure would win clusters!

[fasttense]

2. Well our Vice President is sure making a bunch of money from the Iraq

occupation. No wonder they have no plans. I bet if H&B started losing money we would pull out in a heart beat.

[donco6]

3. So, encouraging competition is OK for schools,

but no-bid contracts are the way to go with the war?

Hmmm....