14 Marines Killed in Iraq as President Bush Vacations

[Soback]

ROFL, For Nomad, there are no ABSOLUTES. The WORLD is a NON-ABOSLUTE place, where reason as he stated from another thread, sometimes does not matter because it does not make sence. ROFL what an oxymoron.

THAT, as you see Prez, is the results of shrugging reason, of deleting it from equasion, of turning your head on reality of things. The result is comparing apples and oranges by saying they are the same, by saying that "No one is innocent here, everyone acts according to his own selfish interests here..."

There are no innocents, not in the 9/11, not in Pearl Harbor, not even in WWII Germany, not the people under Sadam regime, it's all relative, depending from what side you look at it. NO, it's NOT Nomad. It's NOT realtive, THERE ARE TWO SIDES, ONE IS WRONG, ONE IS RIGHT, THE MIDDLE IS EVIL, AND THE REALITY IS THE FINALS JUDGE. Sadam - WRONG (or was he just running his country), Hitler - WRONG (or was he just running his country too?), 9/11 Hijackers - WRONG (or where they freedom fighters), Terrorists - WRONG (or is that just another way to prove a point), Gay marriage - WRONG (or is that just an alternative life style), Child molesting - WRONG (or is that just an alternative choice too), Murder - WRONG (or is that just another way of recreation) Oil for Food - WRONG (or were they just looking out for their interests). Are things relative Nomad or is there just right and wrong? Because from your argument, terrorists (Chechens for example) are just fighting for their country, Sadam - he was just a president running his country, Oil for food - well you guys (US) did it too, Gay marriage - well they are people too, you see Nomad, you can justify anything you want, it DOES NOT, HOWEVER, MAKE IT RIGHT. Learn it Nomad, WRONG is just that WRONG. Do NOT justify it. Stop it, because people WILL see, or I WILL show them.

[John Prezioso]

quote:

---

posted by Soback

...ONE IS WRONG, ONE IS RIGHT, THE MIDDLE IS EVIL ...

---

So true...

[Guest $iLk]

THE WORST OF HALLIBURTON: A Cheat Sheet

CHENEY MADE MILLIONS AS HALLIBURTON CHIEF, STILL RECEIVING COMPENSATION AS VICE PRESIDENT

Cheney Made Millions As Halliburton CEO. Vice President Dick Cheney was the CEO of Texas-based Halliburton from 1995-2000. In addition to providing a massive salary and bonus for only eight months of work in 2000, Halliburton's board of directors voted to give Dick Cheney a $20 million retirement package when he resigned. Cheney's compensation for the eight months of 2000 he served as CEO of Halliburton, according to the Associated Press, was "$4.3 million in deferred compensation and bonuses, and $806,332 in salary." (New York Times, 8/12/00; Los Angeles Times, 7/24/00; Associated Press, 7/18/02)

As Vice President, Cheney Has Received $2 Million From Halliburton. In his retirement package from Halliburton, Cheney was granted deferred compensation, which paid out his bonus and his salary from 1999 over a five-year period. So far as Vice President, Cheney has received nearly $2 million from Halliburton, and is expected to receive additional deferred compensation in 2004. ("Income: Type and amount," Schedule A, Standard Form 278, Richard B. Cheney Personal Financial Disclosure, 5/15/02; 5/15/03; Cheney Income Tax Returns; Associated Press, 6/15/04)

Congressional Research Service Said Cheney's Deferred Compensation Is Financial Interest. Cheney told NBC's Tim Russert that, "since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interests. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years." But, just days later, the Congressional Research Service released a report saying that federal ethics laws consider both Cheney's deferred compensation and his unexercised stock options as a lingering financial interest in the company. (NBC News, Meet the Press, 9/14/03; Washington Post, 9/26/03)

NO-BID CONTRACTS "COORDINATED" WITH DICK CHENEY'S OFFICE

Halliburton's No-Bid Contract in Iraq was "Coordinated" with Dick Cheney's office. In March 2003, the Pentagon awarded a subsidiary of Halliburton a no-bid contract worth up to $7 billion to help rebuild Iraqi oil fields. According to Time, an internal Pentagon e-mail said "action" on the contract was "coordinated" with the Vice President's office. A senior political appointee in the Defense Department acknowledged that he selected Halliburton for Iraq reconstruction work. Before awarding the contract, the official briefed White House staff, including Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's top aide. Los Angeles Times, 5/7/03; Washington Post, 2/10/04, 6/14/04)

SEVERAL CRITICAL AUDITS HAVE CRITICIZED HALLIBURTON'S WORK IN IRAQ

Halliburton Has Had Eight Critical Audits and a Criminal Investigation on Its Work In Iraq and Kuwait. Halliburton has had eight critical audits performed by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Coalition Provisional Authority's Inspector General and General Accounting Office into its work in Iraq and Kuwait. (Associated Press, 2/9/04; Rep. Waxman Letter, 8/24/04)

Halliburton Hasn't Accounted for Almost Half its Work in Iraq and Kuwait. According to a report by Pentagon auditors, Halliburton has not adequately accounted for more than $1.8 billion of work in Iraq and Kuwait, representing 43 percent of the $4.18 billion that Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root has billed the Pentagon so far. The Wall Street Journal reported "the latest Pentagon audit report underscores that KBR's billing problems remain widespread and could pressure Army officials to begin withholding substantial sums from the company." (Wall Street Journal, 8/11/04)

Pentagon Auditors Said Halliburton Overcharged Government by $186 Million. During congressional testimony, William Reed, director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, said Halliburton overcharged the government by $186 million for meals than were served to troops in Iraq. Four former Halliburton employees issued signed statements charging that Halliburton among other things, had paid $45 apiece for cases of soda and $100 per bag of laundry, and had abandoned nearly new, $85,000 trucks in the desert for lack of spare parts. (Houston Chronicle, 6/16/04; New York Times, 6/16/04)

Halliburton Gouged The U.S. Government For Oil And Troops' Food. The military investigated Halliburton and found that it overcharged for gas it imported into Iraq from Kuwait by as much as $61 million. In March 2003, the Pentagon announced it would withhold nearly $300 million in payments to Halliburton due to the company's overcharging on food contracts. (AP, 2/9/04, 3/17/04; Reuters, 2/23/04)

Pentagon Opened A Criminal Investigation into Halliburton. Pentagon auditors asked the Department of Defense to investigate Halliburton's activity in Kuwait, and in December 2003 the military ended its contract to with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root to import oil. On February 23, 2004 the Pentagon opened a criminal probe into Halliburton's price-gouging. (Associated Press, 2/9/04, 11/5/03; Reuters, 12/11/03, 2/23/04; New York Times, 12/10/03; Washington Post, 1/16/04, 12/31/04; Wall Street Journal , 8/3/04)

HALLIBURTON UNDER CHENEY BEING INVESTIGATED

Halliburton Is Under Investigation By Justice Department for Overcharging in the Balkans Under Cheney. Halliburton acknowledged in its quarterly filing that it is under investigation by the Justice Department over possible over billing on government services work done in the Balkans from 1996 through 2000, when Cheney was the Halliburton's CEO. The charges stem from a General Accounting Office report that found in 1997 that Halliburton billed the Army for questionable expenses for work in the Balkans, including charges of $85.98 per sheet of plywood that cost $14.06. A follow-up report by the GAO in 2000 found inflated costs, including charges for cleaning some offices up to four times a day. (New Yorker, 2/16/04; Associated Press, 4/9/03; New York Times, 8/6/04)

Justice Dept. Issued Subpoena Seeking Information of Halliburton's Role In Iran Under Cheney. Halliburton received an inquiry in 2001 from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department inquiring about operations in Iran by a Halliburton subsidiary. In July 2004, OFAC transferred the case to the Justice Department and a federal grand jury issued a subpoena to Halliburton seeking information about its work in Iran. Government officials told the Washington Post such cases are referred to the Justice Department only when there is evidence "intentional or willful" violations have occurred. (Houston Chronicle, 12/15/03; Halliburton Co. 10-Q, 5/7/04; Reuters, 7/19/04; Washington Post, 7/21/04)

SEC And Justice Department Investigating Halliburton Bribery Charges During Cheney's Tenure. A French judge is looking at whether Vice President Dick Cheney may have been responsible under French law for at least one of four bribery payments exchanged between a Halliburton subsidiary and Nigerian officials to obtain contracts for liquefied natural projects. Under French law, "the head of a company can be charged with 'misuse of corporate assets' for bribes paid by any employee -- even if the executive didn't know about the improper payments." Furthermore, the SEC, the Justice Department and the Nigerian government are also investigating the bribery charges against Halliburton. (Dallas Morning News, 1/25/04, 2/10/04; Associated Press, 2/4/04, 2/5/04, 2/6/04; Houston Chronicle, 2/7/04)

Halliburton Agreed to Pay $7.5 Million to Settle SEC Probe into Cheney-Era Accounting Practices. Halliburton agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a SEC probe of the company's accounting during the tenure of Dick Cheney. Halliburton failed in 1998 to disclose a change in the way it accounted for revenue from some construction work, the SEC said in a statement. The SEC said "the company misled investors and violated federal securities laws." (Bloomberg News, 8/3/04; Complaint of SEC vs. Halliburton Company and Robert Charles Muchmore Jr. 8/3/04)

JOHN KERRY'S PLAN TO REFORM THE DEFENSE CONTRACTING SYSTEM

The Bush Administration has created a mess in Iraq, and Halliburton has been a big part of the problem. Through fraud, waste and abuse, Halliburton has cost the U.S. taxpayer millions of dollars, more than enough money to pay for all the protective equipment our troops need. John Kerry has a plan to reform the defense contract procurement process to save taxpayer money, prevent these abuses in the future, and make sure that our troops get the best possible equipment and support. As president, John Kerry will:

1. Reform and Simplify the Contracting Award Process.

-- John Kerry will ensure fair competition for government contracts to obtain the best price and prevent political interference. He will enforce existing procurement rules and reverse the trend towards awarding sole source contracts, which runs counter to the Competition in Contracting Act and encourages patronage.

-- He will save taxpayer money by reassessing the reverse incentive contracts that reward companies that bill more. He also will explore ways to allow small and medium sized businesses to bid on parts of larger contracts.

-- He will simplify the contract procurement process. The current system is cumbersome and bureaucratic, with so much paperwork and so many regulations that many good companies will not bid on defense contracts. By streamlining the process, John Kerry will ensure that we get the best the private sector has to offer so we can give our military the best possible equipment and support.

2. Overhaul the Accounting Process.

-- The current lax system for accounting for government funds has allowed companies like Halliburton to profit at the expense of our taxpayers. John Kerry will implement a comprehensive system to keep track of expenditures and ensure that all taxpayer dollars are accounted for and spent wisely.

-- Unlike the Enron-style accounting that currently exists at the Pentagon, John Kerry will ensure that there is full transparency in the accounting process by making sure the government does its own accounting instead of outsourcing these activities to third parties.

-- In order to facilitate Congressional oversight of the accounting process, Kerry will examine ways to provide government audits of contracts to Congress and the public in a manner that does not reveal proprietary information.

3. Punish Companies for Abuses and Violations of Law.

-- John Kerry will make sure the government does not reward law-breakers by ensuring that contracts are not awarded to companies that violate U.S. law.

-- He will enforce current law that requires the government to withhold payments from contractors that cannot justify their costs.

-- He will severely punish any firm that overbills or profiteers at the expense US taxpayer, and he will make sure that we tell companies that cheat the U.S. military: "You're fired."

Halliburton: A Litany of Waste, Fraud, Abuse -- and Friends in High Places

-- Waste and overcharging by Halliburton has cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars. Halliburton has massively overcharged the American taxpayer for its work in Iraq. In fact, they cannot even account for $1.8 billion in costs billed to DoD this is 43 percent of what they have billed under the LOGCAP contract. (Wall Street Journal, 8/11/04)

-- Egregious overcharging includes: $186 million for meals not served at U.S. military mess halls (which Halliburton has admitted to); $61 million in gasoline overcharges; $100 charges per bag of laundry, $45 cases of soda; charging for empty truck convoys (termed by drivers as "shipping sailboat fuel"); and $85,000 trucks torched because of blown tires. The firm also paid its contractors in Iraq at rates 2-10 times what U.S. soldiers make, and even charged the government for adding the firm's logo to hand towels. (Knight Ridder, 6/14/04; Reuters, 12/11/03; New York Times, 12/10/03; NBC 8/26/04; CBS, 12/11/03)

-- GAO report found "significant problems" in nearly every area of the Halliburton contract in Iraq. The GAO found ineffective planning, inadequate cost control, insufficient training and a pattern of problems with controlling costs, meeting schedules, documenting purchases, and overseeing subcontractors in LOGCAP program. The GAO also found that Halliburton's requisitions "frequently lack sufficient documentation" and that Halliburton "does not have good control over its subcontractors." (GAO-04-854)

-- The Halliburton situation has gotten so bad that the military is now planning to take the Iraq portion of the LOGCAP contract away from Halliburton and breaking it up into smaller parts which would be open to competitive bidding. (New York Times, 9/8/04)

-- Proper procedures were not followed in awarding the no-bid contracts to Halliburton. The GAO found that the Pentagon "overstepped" competition laws by assigning additional work outside Halliburton's existing logistics contracts (LOGCAP), specifically finding that the initial order for oil infrastructure contingency planning in Iraq given to Halliburton was not within the scope of its underlying contract. A contract that was meant to be about feeding and housing US troops turned into a no- bid multi billion dollar oil services contract for Halliburton. (GAO- 04-869T)

-- The "Cost-Plus" structure of the contracts with Halliburton was ripe for abuse. The structure of the contracts covers the costs of the company, plus a guaranteed profit percentage, meaning that the more the firm and its subcontractors bill, the more profit they make. (CNN, 3/25/03)

-- Cheney still receives compensation from, and has financial interests, in Halliburton. Cheney received $33.7 million from Halliburton when he left in 2000. As Vice President, Cheney continued to receive deferred compensation from Halliburton. His 2001 income tax return shows that in 2001 he received a $1,598,977 bonus from Halliburton. According to a report by CRS, Cheney also received $205,298 from Halliburton in 2001, $162,392 in 2002 and $178,437 in 2003 deferred compensation. ("Income: Type and Amount," Schedule A, Standard Form 278, Richard B. Cheney Personal Financial Disclosure, May 15, 2002, May 15, 2003, May 15, 2004)

-- CRS concluded that federal ethics laws consider both Cheney's deferred compensation and his unexercised stock options as a lingering financial interest in Halliburton. Yet Cheney said on Meet the Press: "Since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." (Meet the Press, September 14, 2003)

-- There are numerous investigations into an array of violations of law by Halliburton and its subsidiaries while Cheney was CEO - - including doing business with Iran, potentially in violation of U.S. sanctions, a $180 million bribery scandal in Nigeria, and fraudulent accounting practices Cheney had to testify about in 2004 and for which Halliburton paid a $7.5 million penalty. Halliburton also used a foreign subsidiary to do business with Iraq during the 1990's. While this was technically not illegal, Cheney said during the 2000 campaign that "I had a firm policy that we wouldn't do anything in Iraq, even arrangements that were supposedly legal." (Bloomberg, 6/11/04; New York Times, 2/7/04; SEC, 8/3/04; Houston Chronicle, 12/15/03; Office of New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson)

-- Contracts "coordinated" with Dick Cheney's office. Leaked emails show that officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense "coordinated" with the Office of the Vice President on the issue of awarding Iraq contracts to Halliburton, contrary to public claims made by VP Cheney and in violation of federal codes that seek to keep political officials outside acquisition issues. (Time, 5/30/04; LA Times, 5/7/03; WP, 2/10/04, 6/14/04)

In the last two years of the Clinton administration, Halliburton spent more than $1.2 million lobbying in the Senate and House; during the first two years of the Bush/Cheney administration, they spent $600,000, while receiving 3 times as much in government contracts. (Boston Globe, 3/27/04)

http://www.usnewswire.com/ 202-347-2770

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20..._1n15halli.html

WASHINGTON ÔÇô Halliburton Inc. paid lavishly for common items such as soda, laundry and hotels in Iraq and Kuwait and then passed the inflated costs along to taxpayers, according to several former Halliburton employees and a Pentagon internal audit.

Democrats in the House of Representatives, who are feuding with House Republicans over whether the spending should be publicly aired at a hearing today, released signed statements yesterday by five ex-Halliburton employees recounting the high-priced spending.

Those former employees contend that the politically connected firm:

Lodged 100 workers at a five-star hotel in Kuwait at a total cost of $10,000 a day while the Pentagon wanted them to stay in tents, like soldiers.

Abandoned $85,000 trucks because of flat tires and minor problems.

Paid $100 to have a 15-pound bag of laundry cleaned as part of a million-dollar laundry contract in peaceful Kuwait. The price for cleaning the same amount of laundry in war-torn Iraq was $28.

Spent $1.50 a can to buy 37,200 cans of soda in Kuwait, about 24 times higher than the contract price.

Knowingly paid subcontractors twice for the same bill.

Halliburton is already under fire for allegations of overcharging the Pentagon for fuel and soldiers' meals. The latest accusations center on whether Halliburton properly keeps track of its bills from smaller subcontractors, Pentagon auditors said in a month-old report released yesterday by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

The 36-page report by the Defense Contract Audit Agency said that Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root had a billing system that was "inadequate" and had numerous deficiencies and billing misstatements and that KBR didn't follow laws and regulations relating to spending and recordkeeping.

Statements by the whistle-blowers ÔÇô five of whom were identified ÔÇô and the government's audit report "portray a company and a contracting environment that has run amok," Waxman wrote in a letter to Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., yesterday.

Wendy Hall, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Waxman's allegations were politically motivated. "This is the 35th news release about Halliburton from the congressman's office since March 2003," Hall said.

One former Halliburton subcontracting manager, Marie deYoung, said in her signed statement that she had seen "significant waste and overpricing."

"When I attempted to properly verify invoice terms before setting up payment authorization, I was chastised," said deYoung, a former Army captain and chaplain who resigned from the company last month.

According to deYoung, Halliburton's financial staff lives at the five-star Kempinski Julai'a Hotel and Resort in Kuwait. "For a three-month period, the Kempinski hotel charged almost $1 million to house 100 Halliburton employees. By comparison, it costs less than $200,000 a year to lease tents that could house 400 soldiers . . . .The military requested that Halliburton move into tents, but Halliburton refused."

David Wilson, a former convoy commander for Halliburton, and James Warren, a Halliburton truck driver, described instances in which new $85,000 Halliburton trucks were "abandoned or torched" if they suffered from minor mechanical problems.

In his letter to Davis, Waxman charged that since House Republicans won't let the whistle-blowers testify today, the congressional committee is "not fulfilling its obligation to protect the taxpayer from waste, fraud and abuse."

David Marin, a spokesman for the committee, said Davis was "disappointed and flabbergasted" by Waxman's letter, adding that the committee had spent hours talking to the six individuals.

Marin said Republicans "simply had not had the time to properly flesh out, corroborate, investigate the many and wide-ranging claims that these individuals have made."

Rep. Henry A. Waxman Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives

December 9, 2004

Fact Sheet

Halliburton's Iraq Contracts Now Worth over $10 Billion

The value of Halliburton's Iraq contracts has crossed the $10 billion threshold. Halliburton has now received $8.3 billion in Iraq work under its LOGCAP troop support contract and $2.5 billion under its no-bid Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) contract, a total of $10.8 billion.

The mounting value of the contracts has been accompanied by a growing list of concerns about Halliburton's performance. Over the last year, government auditors have issued at least nine reports criticizing Halliburton's Iraq work, and there are multiple criminal investigations into overcharging and kickbacks involving Halliburton's contracts. Former Halliburton employees have testified before Congress about egregious instances of over billing. Despite these concerns, the Bush Administration continues to reject the recommendations of its auditors that 15% of Halliburton's LOGCAP reimbursements be withheld until the company can provide better substantiation for its charges.

Value of the Contracts

Halliburton has several major contracts in Iraq. The largest, called the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), is a cost-plus contract to provide support services to the troops. As of December 2, 2004, the value of Halliburton's Iraq task orders under LOGCAP was $8.26 billion. (1)

The second largest Halliburton contract is the cost-plus RIO contract to restore and operate Iraq's oil infrastructure, which Halliburton was awarded on a no-bid basis in March 2003. The value of the work Halliburton performed under this contract is $2.51 billion. (2)

The combined value of these two contracts is $10.77 billion. This is significantly more than any other contractor has been awarded in Iraq. For example, the maximum value of Bechtel's Iraq infrastructure contracts is $2.8 billion. Halliburton will reap profits of between $133 million and $424 million on its two contracts. (3)

The actual value of Halliburton's Iraq contracts is likely higher than $10.77 billion. In January 2004, Halliburton received a follow-on oil contract for southern Iraq worth up to $1.2 billion. The Administration has not disclosed the value of the work given to Halliburton under this contract.

Investigations and Audits

At the same time that the value of Halliburton's contracts is increasing, auditors are finding extensive problems with Halliburton's billings, and criminal investigations of Halliburton and its employees continue.

Auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General (CPA IG) have repeatedly and consistently criticized multiple aspects of Halliburton's activities in Iraq. In nine different reports, these government auditors have found widespread, systemic problems with almost every aspect of Halliburton's work in Iraq, from cost estimation and billing systems to cost control and subcontract management.

Key findings from these audits include the following:

# In December 2003, a DCAA draft audit reported that Halliburton overcharged the Defense Department by $61 million to import gasoline into Iraq from Kuwait through September 30, 2003. (4)

# On December 31, 2003, a DCAA "Flash Report" audit found "significant" and "systemic" deficiencies in the way Halliburton estimates and validates costs. According to the DCAA audit, Halliburton repeatedly violated the Federal Acquisition Regulation and submitted a $2.7 billion proposal that "did not contain current, accurate, and complete data regarding subcontract costs." (5)

# On January 13, 2004, DCAA concluded that Halliburton's deficiencies "bring into question [Halliburton's] ability to consistently produce well-supported proposals that are acceptable as a basis for negotiation of fair and reasonable prices," and it urged the Corps of Engineers to "contact us to ascertain the status of [Halliburton's] estimating system prior to entering into future negotiations." (6)

# In a May 13, 2004, audit, DCAA reported "several deficiencies" in Halliburton's billing system that resulted in billings to the government that "are not prepared in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and contract terms." DCAA also found "system deficiencies resulting in material invoicing misstatements that are not prevented, detected and/ or corrected in a timely manner." The report emphasized Halliburton's inadequate controls over subcontract billings. The auditors "identified inadequate or nonexistent policies and procedures for notifying the government of potential significant subcontract problems that impact delivery, quality, and price" and determined that Halliburton "does not monitor the ongoing physical progress of subcontracts or the related costs and billings." (7)

# On June 25, 2004, the CPA IG found that, as a result of poor oversight, Halliburton charged U. S. taxpayers for unauthorized and unnecessary expenses at the Kuwait Hilton Hotel. According to the IG, the overcharges would have amounted to $3.6 million per year. (8)

# A July 26, 2004, CPA IG audit report found that Halliburton "did not effectively manage government property" and that the company's property records "were not sufficiently accurate or available to properly account for CPA property items." The IG "projected that property valued at more than $18.6 million was not accurately accounted for or was missing." (9)

# In July 2004, GAO found ineffective planning, inadequate cost control, and insufficient training of contract management officials under LOGCAP in Iraq. GAO reported that, when Halliburton acted as a middleman for the operation of dining halls, costs were over 40% higher. (10)

# In an August 16, 2004, memorandum, DCAA "identified significant unsupported costs" submitted by KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, and found "numerous, systemic issues . . . with KBR's estimates." According to DCAA, "while contingency issues may have had an impact during the earlier stages of the procurements, clearly, the contractor should have adequate supporting data by now." When DCAA examined seven LOGCAP task orders with a combined proposed value of $4.33 billion, auditors identified unsupported costs totaling $1.82 billion. (11)

# On November 23, 2004, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (formerly the CPA IG) examined a $569 million LOGCAP task order and found that Halliburton "did not provide . . . sufficiently detailed cost data to evaluate overall project costs or to determine whether specific costs for services performed were reasonable." The IG concluded that the Army "did not receive sufficient or reliable cost information to effectively manage" the task order. (12) Multiple criminal investigations of Halliburton's Iraq contracts are also ongoing. The Justice Department is investigating Halliburton's admission that two of its employees received up to $6.3 million in kickbacks to steer LOGCAP subcontracts to a Kuwaiti contractor. (13) The Defense Department Inspector General, the FBI, and the Justice Department are investigating allegations of fraud and overcharging for gasoline under the RIO contract. (14)

Disclosures by Former Employees and Independent Experts

The concerns expressed by government auditors have been corroborated by the testimony of former Halliburton employees. Over the past year, six former employees came forward publicly to provide Congress with information about egregious overcharges by Halliburton. Others have contacted congressional staff privately to echo these concerns. For example:

# Marie deYoung, a Halliburton logistics specialist, testified about subcontracts under which Halliburton paid $45 per case of soda and $100 per 15-pound bag of laundry. Ms. deYoung also disclosed that Halliburton did not comply with the Army's request to move Halliburton employees from a five-star hotel in Kuwait, where it cost taxpayers approximately $10,000 per day to house the employees, into air-conditioned tent facilities, which would have cost taxpayers under $600 per day. (15)

# Henry Bunting, a Halliburton procurement officer, described how he and other buyers were instructed to split large purchase orders into multiple purchase orders below $2,500 in order to avoid the requirement to solicit multiple bids. Supervisors routinely told the employees responsible for purchasing: "Don't worry about price. It's cost-plus." (16)

# David Wilson, a convoy commander for Halliburton, and James Warren, a Halliburton truck driver, testified that brand new $85,000 Halliburton trucks were abandoned or "torched" if they got a flat tire or experienced minor mechanical problems. Mr. Warren brought these and other concerns to the personal attention of Randy Harl, the president and CEO of KBR. He was fired a few weeks later. (17)

# Mike West, a Halliburton labor foreman, described how he and other Halliburton employees spent weeks in Iraq with virtually nothing to do, but were instructed to bill 12-hour days for 7 days a week on their timesheets. In addition, his superior directed him to buy unnecessary equipment, telling him: "Don't worry about it. It's a cost-plus-plus contract." (18)

Similarly, independent experts have criticized Halliburton's inflated gasoline prices under the RIO contract. Phil Verleger, a California oil economist and the president of a consulting firm, said of Halliburton's price: "It's as if they put the gasoline on the Queen Mary and take it around the globe before they deliver it." (19) Jeffrey Jones, until recently the Director of the Defense Energy Support Center, stated: "I can't construct a price that high." (20) Another expert, who asked that his identity not be disclosed, characterized Halliburton's prices as "highway robbery."

Failure To Withhold Funds

Reflecting the growing problems with Halliburton's Iraq contracts, government auditors have recommended that the Army begin to withhold partial payment to Halliburton under LOGCAP as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. On August 16, 2004, DCAA strongly encouraged the Army to begin withholding 15% of Halliburton's reimbursements, stating, "It is clear to us KBR will not provide an adequate proposal until there is a consequence." (21) On November 23, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction supported this recommendation with respect to the $569 million LOGCAP task order it attempted to audit. (22)

Instead of following the advice of these independent auditors, the Army has refused to withhold payments for the last eight months. To the contrary, the Army has given Halliburton multiple extensions to provide the adequate cost estimates and supporting data needed to finalize the terms of the contract.

Notes

(1) U. S. Army Field Support Command, Media Spreadsheet for AFSC LOGCAP (Dec. 2, 2004).

(2) U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Frequently Asked Questions: Engineer Support to Operation

Iraqi Freedom (Oct. 7, 2004).

(3) Under Halliburton's cost-plus contracts, the government reimburses the company for its actual costs and then pays an additional fee. For LOGCAP, Halliburton receives a base fee of 1% of its costs and an additional award fee of up to 2%. This yields a profit range of $83 million to $248 million. For RIO, Halliburton's base fee is 2% of its costs and its additional award fee is up to 5%. This yields a profit range of $50 million to $176 million.

(4) Department of Defense, DOD News Briefing (Dec. 11, 2003). The minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee later determined that the total overpayment to Halliburton through April 1, 2004, was $167 million. See Minority Staff, Committee on Government Reform, Halliburton's Gasoline Overcharges (July 21, 2004).

(5) Defense Contract Audit Agency, Audit Report No. 3311-2004K24020001 (Dec. 31, 2003).

(6) Defense Contract Audit Agency, Status of Brown & Root Services (BRS) Estimating System Internal Controls (Jan. 13, 2004).

(7) Defense Contract Audit Agency, Audit Report No. 3311-2002K11010001 (May 13, 2004).

(8) Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General, Federal Deployment Center Forward Operations at the Kuwait Hilton (June 25, 2004).

(9) Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General, Audit of the Accountability and Control of Material Assets of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad (July 26, 2004).

(10) Government Accountability Office, DOD's Extensive Use of Logistics Support Contracts Requires Strengthened Oversight (July 2004).

(11) Memorandum from Defense Contract Audit Agency to U. S. Army Field Support Command (Aug. 16, 2004).

(12) Memorandum from Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Task Order 0044 of the Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program III Contract (Nov. 23, 2004).

(13) House Committee on Government Reform, Hearings on Unprecedented Challenges: Contracting and the Rebuilding of Iraq (June 15, 2004).

(14) Letter from John R. Crane, Assistant Inspector General, Department of Defense, to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (June 30, 2004); FBI Investigating Contracts with Halliburton, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2004).

(15) House Committee on Government Reform, Hearings on Contracting and the Rebuilding of Iraq: Part IV, 108th Cong. (July 22, 2004).

(16) Senate Democratic Policy Committee, Hearings on Iraq Contracting Abuses (Feb. 13, 2004).

(17) House Committee on Government Reform, supra note 15.

(18) Statement of Mike West (June 6, 2004).

(19) The High Price of Gasoline for Iraq, NBC News (Nov. 5, 2003).

(20) Army Eyes Halliburton Import Role in Iraq, Associated Press (Nov. 5, 2003).

(21) Defense Contract Audit Agency memorandum, supra note 11.

(22) Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction memorandum, supra note 12.

Someone doesn't know how to use Google.

[Guest $iLk]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Prez:

Silk-

You are completely entitled to your opinions, and I respect them as they are yours. I think you are 100% wrong, but I respect your opinions.

But for the love of all that is holy, please stop caliing yourself "conservative". As a conservative myself, I find it a tad insulting...

---

Yeah I guess to qualify as a Conservative I would have to verbally fellate a President who has grown the size of government larger than it's ever been, who has increased both defense and discretionary spending to the highest levels in history - and being the first president to do so since Jimmy Carter.

I'd have to support a President who uses the lives of American soldiers in furtherance of PNAC Neo-Conservative policy by using our troops as a tool of war, rather than defense.

There was no valid reason to invade Iraq. UN resolutions mean dick. We had already helped starve a half million Iraqis.

Now in your quest for "LOL JUSTICE FOR SADDAM!" we have thousands of killed/wounded American soldiers supporting the rise of a new Islamist theocracy and setting back human rights in the region 50 years. All the progress that Iraq's women have made is now gone.

There's nothing Conservative about this President.

[Guest $iLk]

And before dismissing my Halliburton information as "LOL LIBERAL TALKING POINTS" you should look that 80% of the information is sourced to either the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Pentagon.

[Guest Capn Crunch]

Bush needs a vacation, he's spent a LONG time f$%*ing this country up.

[John Prezioso]

Ahh, the intellectual buttefly flutters into another thread...

[Guest Capn Crunch]

Bush doesn't care how many soldiers he KILLS....he sleeps very well at night knowing tha God put him in this position

[John Prezioso]

Troll.

[Guest Capn Crunch]

still not getting the significance of the troll monicer.. do you not like the fact that Bush doesn't care about how many soldiers he's killed?