The consequences of questioning dubious Halliburton contracts
By Steve Benen Monday Jun 16, 2008 8:30pm 
As a rule, you’d think that military officials who question dubious contracts and protect the interests of taxpayers would be rewarded. Not in this administration.
The Army official who managed the Pentagon’s largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR, the Houston-based company that has provided food, housing and other services to American troops.
The official, Charles M. Smith, was the senior civilian overseeing the multibillion-dollar contract with KBR during the first two years of the war. Speaking out for the first time, Mr. Smith said that he was forced from his job in 2004 after informing KBR officials that the Army would impose escalating financial penalties if they failed to improve their chaotic Iraqi operations.
Army auditors had determined that KBR lacked credible data or records for more than $1 billion in spending, so Mr. Smith refused to sign off on the payments to the company. “They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn’t justify,” he said in an interview. “Ultimately, the money that was going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn’t going to do that.”
Smith wasn’t, but his successors were. Army officials not only quickly removed Smith from his position, they also went outside the Army to consider KBR’s claims and then approved the payments with which Smith was uncomfortable.
Army officials told the NYT that they did reverse Smith’s decision, but they felt it was necessary to provide basic services to U.S. troops. “You have to understand the circumstances at the time,” Jeffrey Parsons, executive director of the Army Contracting Command, said. “We could not let operational support suffer because of some other things.”
So, the only way to provide services to the troops was to approve $1 billion in payments for a Halliburton subsidiary that the company couldn’t substantiate?
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Cheney probably had him fired.
Place all upper management at Halliburton in jail on suspicion of treason and throw that prick Dick Cheney with them. All Board members should also take up residency until We the People decide to give them some habeus corpus rights... or not!
Disgraceful, disgusting, and totally disingenuous these ba$tards! And let me add shameful to that list...
And just think it was only a short time ago that these very same military operational support functions were done by the military itself. Our military security being destroyed before our very eyes.
there is a special law passed during the civil war for war profiteers!!!
the new law??
this is what the repugs have been about all along.
War Profiteering = Noose
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 6:
Sadly members of both partys are making obscene money from the war. For example Democrat Dianne Feinstein and her husband, Richard Blum, are making millions of dollars from Iraq and Afghanistan contracts through his company, Perini.
I'm sorry, but MOST government contractors are unfair to US taxpayers. Cost plus fixed fee contacts work this way: Cost Plus + A Set Percentage of Profit. There is NO incentive to provide a service at a reasonable rate. What would you rather have $100k plus 10% or $150k plus 10%. And no bid, well, you get the picture. Your cost can be whatever you want it to be.
you can bet that a large percentage of this
money has made it's way into the pockets of
BUSH AND CHENEY
Don from Canada @ 8:
I think the point is whether they are overcharging and if they are providing services billed for. I'm sure that if Mr. Smith had seen irregularities in Perini billings he would have withheld payments to them also.
These were the guys that were supposed to bring Morality and Fiscal responsibility back to the White House? Screw impeachment, lets just move to indictment and get it over with.
So, what will happen? It is time that whistle blowers be heard and protected.
I'm trying to think of a crime these boosh war criminals HAVEN'T committed. I'm drawing a blank....
War, Inc.
The silence is deafening.
This administration knows nobody going to do anything to them, this is why they're so blatant. When they fired this guy, I'm sure they laughed at him for being so concerned about the troops. There are not enough bad words that you can call this administration. To the people who voted for this regime, they are laughing at you.
So where the f*** is oversight, Congress?
The people of the USA have been sooo fucked by this administration for the last 8 years.
raped over and over again by Halliburton, Kelloge Brown and Rout, Blackwater. You name it, if the Friends of the Bush Cheney War and Greed Cartel had a hold of it then they were screwing royally. Why they haven't been taken down after all the evidence and all the people writing books about the rot, and yet .... they are still sitting in their offices and laughing at us while they strip the rest of our country apart.
Not since the days of the robber barons has so much money been transferred to the rich. That was the plan - to make this a banana republic.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 20:
Sports should be outlawed during wartime. That oughtta bring home the troops.
This administration should follow the established guidelines from Pres. Lincoln (Republican) for dealing with war profiteers:
HANG THEM.
Why is this so hard to understand?
The funny thing is when you mention stuff like this to dumb-ass "as long as it doesn't effect my bottom line" republiscums, they are fine with no-bid contracts etc. by the likes of kbr and the like. Nevermind that these companies do everything they can to avoid paying taxes on their obscene income from said no-bid contracts. They think its just smart bizness. Makes more upset then watching this pathetic effort by the lakers right now!
Disgusting.
They don't even TRY to cover up the corruption anymore.
Utterly disgusting.
80.00 to do a load of wash....be all you can be
what's the total cost now 2.7 trillion what was the cost suppose be during the sales pitch to go to war around 600 million
i've heard they have spent millions on the embassy so we can be their a long time......maybe the biggest fleecing of americans in u.s. history
Let me try to connect as many dots as I can:
- KBR is tendered a no-bid contract, which gives them a monopoly over providing a variety of services to the troops.
- KBR, operating within this monopoly, overcharges the troops billions of dollars, which will be provided by YOU.
- audits of KBR spending reports fail the smell test.
- man who smells rancid audits gets canned for having too sensitive a nose, and is replaced by He Who Owns Noseplugs.
- He Who Owns Noseplugs pushes legislation through to allow KBR to continue charging the taxpayer billions of dollars on essential services such as $100/load laundry (this might have been Halliburton, but it's the same shit as far as I'm concerned), transporting empty trucks across extreme-risk war zones, and demolishing/replacing vehicles that have a less-effective-than-average air-conditioning unit.
How did these people gain such a tight grip on the nation's balls?
DannyEastVillage @ 18:
I've tried to call Pelosi's Washington office on a whole bunch of issues ranging from changing her position on impeachment (staffer states it will remain off the table...rudely at that) to making sure bush isn't making a unilateral executive decision to attack Iran, and then am always pushed to the message line. No surprise. So I look at her website to find if she has made any press releases on any of the major news that have come up in the last 3 weeks. First off, the bills she supports are in the majority commemorative. The bills she's authored have good substance for the most part, but they don't relate to the critical issues in this country. Her media center does not even make comment to any of the critical issues that are jeopardizing the constitution. Though I'm not one of her constituents in the Bay Area, as the House Speaker she really is failing to provide the leadership necessary to get anything done.
Hey, you kind of placed Haliburton as a company still abiding by US law...
It's "Dubai-based" now.
I can hear it now "Oversight it bad for the con in me ahhh ummmm i mean 'conomy."
In their demented world they really do think overspending via no oversight is the best possible thing for the US. They just need to totally cut all taxes completely and give everyone a billion dollars, its good for the conomy, right?
I guess we will tank for good when we run out of green ink.
The country may never recover from Bush.
forgot the links:
Haliburton Hauls Ass to Dubai.
Congress Might Someday care about why Haliburton moved from Houston to Dubai (ABCNews, 03/12/2007)
Well, at least this one only lost his job. Col. Westhusing was not so lucky.
Hyperinflation is finally trickling down to the rest of the world. The dollar tanking as it is, despite its worldwide base as a core currency, speaks volumes to the magnitude of the problem. Pricing oil in dollars may be what is keep us afloat at all. Contractors getting no bid contracts for war time profiteering may prove to be the straw that broke the camels back. The world is drowning in dollars and we are just digging a deeper hole with every new dollar bill printed and given away. Russia went bankrupt spending on the cold war, we are doing it in Iraq. We fell right into the trap. Thats cigar smoke coming out of the cave.
how is it that haliburton hasnt figured a way to bleed the us navys ships dry in the straits ? the navy washes its own clothes , feeds its own crews , supplys its own ships, wheres the navys sea bees , the us army engineers the armys cooks bakers , how did our army become the victims of bushes haliburton leaches?
And not a thing will be done about it.
Hey marko, anything in that bill about Congress critters investing in war-profiteering rackets?
I like this part the most:
“You have to understand the circumstances at the time,” Jeffrey Parsons, executive director of the Army Contracting Command, said. “We could not let operational support suffer because of some other things.”
OK, so inadequate and contaminated water supplies, electric wires hanging out of the showers, noxious food, and contaminated laundry are what Parsons considers "Operational Support"?
Longtime C&Lers know each of the circumstances that I'm referring to. Just follow back to some of John and Steve's posts from 05.
Our soldiers would be better off if the Sunni militias provided the services rather than KBR at this point.
Who supports the troops? Looks like Smith does.
So, the US military is being held hostage by Halliburton?
Hecuva job Mr. Cheney.
I think I may just give Iraq For Sale another viewing.
gussmith @ 13:
It is long past the time. Unfortunately, this administration has taken safeguards, protection and teeth out of whistleblowers, which was passed long ago. Some honest career people have lost their jobs, and sadly some have actually been prosecuted. I recall reading about two individuals who were prosecuted. One was in the private sector, and one in government. What I do not remember is the details, and I am not going to go by memory (which is not what it once was). But, I am quite certain they both charged with betraying sensitive information. After the Enron collapse, the whistleblower laws began to be attacked. It scared the sh*t out of the corporate world. In the government, the current administration has made it very difficult for individuals to come forward. One tactic was to give security oversight to homeland security. Their tentacles are expanding into everything. I hope President Obama will put someone in charge, who will begin to slowly dismantle that monster.
Hey - did little timmy texass from the Rush Blimpo thread run home already? I wanted to ask him why all of those white people from KBR and Halliburton do so much raping, robbing and looting....
Did someone say, "extortion?" How long before "Jeffrey Parsons, executive director of the Army Contracting Command," lands his butt in KBR butter with a lucrative, post-military service position?
moniker @ 30:
History will tell this was the beginning of the end of America.
And possibly human civilization.
Hard, hard times are coming on earth for humans.
One thing after another after another... All I can think of is that if this had been a Democratic administration and they had run things this shabbily, then the corporate media would be all over this...
*shakes head and sighs*
One other thing. I guess that this really gives a great argument to the people who say the big business is run SO much more efficiently than government...
KBR
Blackwater
Haliburton
all costing America so many more dollars than conventional government would.
Jo @ 22:
If the shrub can give up golf, well.........
I got nuthin'
:<[)
The BBC claim that its now $23 billion in vanished / stolen Iraq money, on top of the other normal Repug wastage.
One name: Bunnatine Green.
She was the first, but apparently not the last.
CowboyBob in Austin @ 23:
they'd have to hang themselves.
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 49:
I'm SHOCKED! Shocked, I tell you!
Ron @ 11:
I have to agree with Don. This is a partial explanation of democratic complicity.
Horst @ 44:
My God Horst, this was my first thought too. The troops may not be served if they didn't get their money. That sounds like blackmail or extortion to me. Especially in terms of disputed money. They wealthy can't or shouldn't be forced to support our troops. Maybe we should find a more patriotic company next time.
These people are robbing us blind. I have said it for years. They wave the flag of patriotism while they pick your pocket. This is precisely how they do it and why they never want it to end.
DannyEastVillage @ 18:
They are preparing a memo, to convine a commitee, that will discuss the possiblity, of perhaps generating a very stern letter, that could maybe be the first step in preparing to do absolutely nothing!
Oh, and one more thing, F. U. Nancy Pelosi!
So right wing nutters, tell me again how this is not a war for profit.
Absolutely despicable!
anybody remember the woman with the best name ever who was in charge of reviewing contracts at the Pentagon until she started making noise about unprecedented no-bid contracts being awarded and other instances of Bush administration outright thievery?
Bunnetine Greenhouse sounded this alarm a long time ago in Senate hearings -- which achieved absolutely nothing except making the few of us with our eyes and ears open aware of the crimes we couldn't stop. They still stole openly and Ms. Greenhouse was forced out of her job.
What's the point of hearings if no Justice Dept action will take place, nobody is held accountable, no restitution is made?
I'm very surprised that Mr. Smith is still walking and breathing. SOP for trouble makers like this is to start with bribes, then move on to threats, then blackmail then they finally demand that the auditor personally inspects the work being done in Iraq. That last bit can get kind of tricky if your Halliburton security detail "accidently" get separated from you and you "accidently" get your head blown off by insurgents. It's usually much healthier and lucrative to rubber stamp their rape of the American taxpayer.
LIAR, CHEATER, TRAITORS, THIEVES...THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION!!!
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 52:
Its beyond shocked, just a case of wanting the crooks and traitors arrested and put on trial.
we need some justice.
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 55:
There are a handful of Congresspeople striving for justice, but they are being blocked by the others.
needdemsinohio @ 12:
Why not a double whammy? Impeachment and indictment. Then trial by a jury composed of parents who have lost their children in this ILLEGAL OIL WAR who would pronounce them guilty as charged and then execute the bastards which is exactly what they deserve!! That would be justice!!
December 2005 GAO examination of gov issued credit card fraud.
recent GAO study of 2005-2006 federal issued credit card fraud and theft.
Remember this is our taxpayer monies that is being stolen and used by gov employees to buy themselves ipods, laptops and other goodies for home use.
Nice perk of the job if you can get it, we certainly cant if we work for a private company, we would get arrested for theft, sued and thrown in jail.
5.74 billion dollars stolen by government workers estimated, can you say a complete culture of corruption going on !
were these sixteen BIG server computers which each costs $100,000 exported illegally to whoever,
or are they stashed away somewhere in the US being used by some fundie christians or Republican party workers for dubious purposes !
dadams @ 10:
What I cant understand is why these greedy bastards continue to steal so much money from the us treasury. When they die, AND EVERYBODY DIES, they cant take one red cent with them. They go into the ground without any of their ill-gotten gains. Besides, what good will all that money do them in HELL??!!
If you speak out agaisnt the administration or thier friends you get pounded, all bush cares about is loyalty. Ability is not neccesary.
And remember the Bustamante case. She tried to make the Bush administration adhere to federally-mandated bidding processes, so got canned. She observed the "rule of law" but got steamrolled by the lawless, anti-American thugs in the Bush administration.
gallery @ 25:
Why should they even try to cover up their criminal activities? They are not held accountable to anyone. Congress is totally inept and worthless. Throw all the bums out! I was so excited when Nancy Pelosi became the first speaker of the house. She and Harry have been nothing but disappointments.
Time for a strongly worded memo, I guess.
cg the 2nd @ 27:
It's more like he who has no nose, let alone nose plugs ...
Everybody who had anything to do with overriding that decision belongs in prison. Any uniformed people who were involved should be courts martialed, reduced in rank to private, dishonorably discharged and sent to Leavenworth.
Privatization is nothing but theft from the American People. Privatization always ends up costing many times more than doing it ourselves (through OUR government). For some things, it is insane to "privatize". I'll be glad to see all these crooks hit the streets next january. All these privatization contracts need to be voided at that time, which should be easy legally, since they are all basically criminal enterprises that were established through criminal intent by criminal means.
“You have to understand the circumstances at the time,” Jeffrey Parsons, executive director of the Army Contracting Command, said. “We could not let operational support suffer because of some other things.”
Yeah, you know? It was like CRAZY. I mean I HAD to waterboard her before I killed her. And you know, that bank just looked so fucking THREATENING to my family. It was like, you had to understand the circumstances, like you know, where my head was at. So I killed a bunch of people and stole some money. We had to make sure my operational support didn't suffer.
Or Dick mighta got pissed, too, you know, and like fired my sorry ass like he did that other asshole. Cause Dick is our boss of the Pentagon and Halliburton and we're all one big happy fucking family. So like, you don't fuck with us. I mean hell he only lost his job, the big fucking whiner.
You had to know where our HEAD was at at the time. (Stop that up the ass bit.) Cause this IS another really good, "unimpeachable" defense of the kind we're so fond because we say the shit, like Chinese oil drilling off of Cuba, and like who the hell is going to question us and actually try to figure out how much we're lying, stealing, cheating and murdering?
You see what happens to journalists in Chechnya? Eh. We just bribe 'em here. Much more civilized.
Please note that Halliburton spun off KBR last year, so KBR is no longer part of Halliburton. It hasn't changed the way KBR operates and, God knows, Halliburton is still up to its usual tricks, but in the interests of accuracy (which is what this is all about), one shouldn't talk as if Halliburton and KBR are one and the same.
1billion of tax payer money going to WHAT?!? a little oversight and accountability is completely expected, but clearly we're not, and we won't get that, as taxpayers. and let's not forget folks, that the GOP did not investigate, as far as I know, any of these contracts, or hold oversight hearings or anything like that while they had the reins of power in Congress. that's a failure of leadership. and the Dems have showed leadership with holding hearings and rooting out potential corruption and bringing sunlight to these issues. with McCain in charge expect and receive NOTHING on oversight, but with Obama as Prez there will be answers sought. yes it is that simple.
"So, the only way to provide services to the troops was to approve $1 billion in payments for a Halliburton subsidiary that the company couldn’t substantiate?"
Yes. Republicans refer to phenomena like this as "fiscal responsibility."
Corrector is correct. KBR is not part of Halliburton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton
and here's the cast of liars, thieves and murderers at KBR:
http://www.kbr.com/corporate/corporate_governance/board_of_directors/ind...
..."Mr. Utt serves on the National Petroleum Council, which provides advice and analysis to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. "
Cheney eats his shit for breakfast. Then vomits it up for Dumbya to munch.
When he was a senator during WW2, Harry Truman won respect for overseeing contractor spending. At that time it was considered a good thing when someone was watching the taxpayer's money.....sort of a position of trust.
Now, you lose your job. The Buck Apparently Stops With The Contractor.
It's kinda late to be outraged about this - who hasn't known this has been going on!!?? This is why we have wars in the first place - so those who run the military/industrial complex can stuff their wallets. They care not whose son or daughter dies, or how many innocent "civilians" are killed or maimed in whatever country they choose to invade.
This is what war is and always has been about - so the rich can get richer and the poor can die thinking they're patriots. I just weep......
Reslugs = Crooks and Criminals.
Yo, E Rocks! @ 29:
And, should be hit hard with the same tarriffs we hit every foreign corporation! Not to mention, Halliburton should be subject to international laws and trade regulations.
Rat this criminal war-profiteering outfit out to the Hague!
I read this story somewhere else in the last day or so.... I was stunned by the lameass nearly maudlin Jr. high rationale offered regarding 'some other things'.... by some pr flack from army HQ.
Like WHAT fucking 'other things' would take presidence over providing the best material support for U.S. forces in the field with ligitimate oversight in place?? And if these soldiers and marines, guardmen and airmen aren't getting the freaking top rated backup support to prop up prosecution of this so called mission then how exactly does this burning up tax dollars with nothing to show for it enhance 'operational support'???? Substandard latrines in inadequate numbers and contaminated drinking water, just to name two examples alone, is not my idea of top rated material support.... Nevermind the piss poor body armor and unarmored humvees we sent our men and women into combat with on the front end of this clusterfuck.... Someones going to chime in, 'but thats been fixed!!" Whopdeefucking dooo... BFD, tell it to those who already paid the ultimate price up front for this little pissy oversight dammit!!!
I'm thinking heaven forbid we should prevent KBR unfettered access to our tax dollars just because they can't justify what they are doing with the money... OF course we are all aware of the sub-standard material support these civilian contractors are providing in spite of attempts to quash that info from getting out or minimize the pr fallout when it does.......But according to the brass up the army chain, that's not suppose to be any issue to look at anyway??? So ya end up asking yourself... Self? Twas it nobler to give the tax money in sole source contracts to KBR and a few other chosen ones to blow as they wish or just light a match and burn those tanking U.S. dollars in the back yard with the rest of the trash..... Seems to me as far as what the troops are actually getting out of any of it... Burning it or bending over and spreading my cheeks while handing it to these private vendors amounts to about the same thing...
I got one more thing to say about all this tripe... I can't let this pass... The flacks statement goes on with this plaintive plea... quote "you have to understand the circumstances at the time"...
unquote. And I'm thinking well that sounds earily like some other lame ass mea culpas I heard... We've ALL heard variations on this theme before... In a different venue, some different uniforms, seemingly earnest people running their pieholes and you end up hearing something along these lines.... "You haf to understand der circumstances at ze time.. Ve were zust following orders ya".....
See what I mean? If that doesn't jog the old critical thinking circuits, try this variation and see how you feel... " you have to understand the circumstances at the time, we were just killing (jews/arabs/christians/niggers/spics/wops/queers/honkies whatever etc), you see"... Get it? These mea culpas and weak ass excuses don't stand up to the slightest scrutiny...because it's the same tiredassed usual non explanatory excuse regardless of window trimming trotted out by all those who have no real principle to stand on to defend themselves and their actions with... "you have to understand" and "we couldn't allow blah blah blah blah blah blah, operational support suffer... What patently obvious bullshit.... I guess they figure the dumbing down of the schools has allowed them to pass this shit off and we'll just swallow it..... It's almost as pathetic as the average ten year old telling ya, Dad/Mom; I couldn't do my homework because of 'other things'....... yea right.... All in all, just makes me want to smack the piss out of some politician or army suit with rank and no experience other than pushing paper and sucking off higher brass to get ahead.............JD
Supporting the troops, Republican style!
When people are afraid of their government, the people are in big trouble. It should be the other way around ...
The revolution is coming. When people can't heat their homes, get safe food or even basic health care, the collapse of crapitalism will be at hand.
Soon Bush Haliburton, Black Waster Kbr will be FINEd
after Bush looses his NAZI Grip
and Obama puts the screws to these criminals
haliburton head quartes in saudi arab waht the hell
As I've said before, this has been the largest redistribution of wealth in history - from the working and middle class to the scions of industry especially the war profiteers. Our government is just a shell. That's why we can't figure out where the killer tomatoes are coming from. There is no government - we can't afford one and the war profiteering at the same time.
dadams @ 10:
And Bush is trying to find Osama Bin Laden...... yeah right.... looks like he and cheney are taking a very lucrative way fighting "war on terror".
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