U.S. Has Spent $100 Billion On Private Contractors Since Iraq Invasion

reply to post by DarthAmerica


where are you located in iraq? my brother is on a contract in urbeil right now

alot of those corporations that get hte money are american corporations so i dont see why people complain about. I mean corporations are what maintain our economy and why america is number 1. All of that money goes back to the economy which is why its getting stronger with every passing day.

Normally, I wouldn't agree with anybody about this but I did watch Iraq for sale and have seen things from within. There are a lot of contractors in Iraq. There are a good number of foreign contractors (not from the US) in Iraq and that is what kind of makes me question how big this figure is. Most FoB's (Forward Operating Bases) have dinning facility's with workers from foreign countries. The people who wash our laundry are from foreign countries. They even started bringing in workers from foreign countries to post in the towers guarding the FoBs (It doesn't sound great but FoBs rarely get attacked directly this late in the game).

There are a lot of American contractors too and they get paid but that's a lot of money. I don't think we can cut down on the amount of contractors in Iraq until we cut down on the amount of troops in country but maybe, just maybe they might want to do an assessment of where the money is going. The Army buys MRE's for soldiers in the states, they shouldn't pay more for them in Iraq. The food in Iraq is great. Sometimes that's the only thing you have to look forward to but if they are paying $100 per meal then they should start looking for a company that can get the same meal over there for less money.

reply to post by tigpoppa


This is true that the American cooperations are getting paid the big bucks. I'm sure they don't pay the foreign workers in the dinning halls all that much. On a side note I am glade the aren't American's, but if you have ever had a foreigner cook you food you would understand why. They are happy to be making the money they are making and they put so much effort into making the food. I would much rather have them make my food than some American teen working at Macdonald's.

Anyways, a lot of the access money that goes into the pockets of the rich are not going to get spent like it's going to the average American. I dunno how to say it if anybody can help me out , or tell me I am wrong. But I believe they are less likely to spend it in a way that would help the American economy. Think about it this way, the money an American soldier is going to make is going straight to the American economy. A soldier is going to get home and buy a car, pay bills, go to the bar on the weekends. I'm not so sure about the rich.

The ratio of contractors to military has always been roughly 180,000 private to about 120,000 with the surge it went up to about 150,000 military.

Cheney sold his sold his shares years ago, but has options.

This war is estimated to cost, at the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM 3 trillion dollars with interest rates and exchange rates at last years levels - and is more likely to be about twice this. (Former head of the World Bank and Nobel Economist Stiglistz).

The payment to contractors includes massive British firms and many other companies from the coalition.

The payments to the contractors are a form of tariff - the government sponsors their own companies through this means - disaster capitalism.

The problem with this is that they have borrowed almost the ENTIRE FUNDING for the Iraq war from foriegn - not so friendly - governments which now hold the US by the balls.

DArthAmerica
what about the contaminated water fiasco? 67 tanks out of 71, this is unacceptable..how ca you defend Halliburton?

thats a lie that man should be ashamed of himself for saying that our troops carry pathogens. Our soldiers are fighting for freedom and for america in iraq and this guy goes and slurs our fighting forces over lies.

if that was his job he did a bad one and no wonder they fired him since it was his fault!

Originally posted by TheOracle
DArthAmerica
what about the contaminated water fiasco? 67 tanks out of 71, this is unacceptable..how ca you defend Halliburton?

this is not about defending Halliburton. People got fired for that. People get fired for that. People make mistakes. Using your standards, we can blame every fast food company in America because at some point all of them have practiced bad health policy. In some cases people have died. That is an indictment of the individuals, not the company. When those individuals responsible are identified, they either get fired or put in jail. The same is true for private military contractors. If an error or fault is found, it will be corrected and appropriate changes will be made to keep it from happening again.

I've showered for the last 18 months and showers maintained by Kellogg Brown and root employees. I have not become sick and my only complaint would be the water temperature which is usually always hot no matter what because of the exposure to the sun. Beyond that a virtual army of third country nationals are employed at every base to keep the facilities clean.

We have to be realistic and not cherry pick arguments. Again, I work with these people, I depend on these people for things and I know who they are. They are regular hard-working people who just want to make a little more money by working in a dangerous environment. As for the middle and upper management, they provide a service in high demand by customer at a lower cost overall to that customer. It's strictly business. Nothing more, nothing less and all that implies.

-DA

I bet you that in times of war if the US and the UK economies 'stopped' any payments made to MPs or Congressmen , I.e Stopped their wages , I bet you that NO WAR's would start.
They wouldn't be getting any wages so no point going to fight a war, And if you stopped or paused all shares in companies that are privately owned that these people own shares of, again no wars .

reply to post by DarthAmerica

when you work with these contractors everyday, then you can come talk to me about who the biggest is and what's cheaper. Until then, you are greatly lacking any relevant material to support any of your rhetoric.

So basically no one on this thread is allowed to challenge your ridiculously ignorant viewpoint because we don't work for Halliburton?

Yeah... that's about as mature as the "I'm older than YOU are!" arguement.

Your a joke you know that? You really are. People present facts right in your face and you develop acute blindness.

I will attempt for the last time to put it as simply as it can be boiled down to for you:

You own a Corner Deli. It's total equity is solely comprised from you. Your hopeless at running this Deli.

You hire me, an experienced Deli manager to run your store. I become so good you hardly even work there anymore and you give me an increasing amount of the total owner's equity as compensation for my efforts to keep me happy there. (in addition to a salary)

Soon I own 83% of that Deli. I'm the daily manager, I'm calling the shots. The Deli is still in your name but your not even managing it on a day-to-day basis, in fact you don't even communicate to me.

Who would you say has control over that Deli? Who in a Court of Law would be proven to have the Deli as his asset beyond a reasonable doubt?

I see you've never taken a Business class either. Control is determined by the shareholder who has the majority amount invested in that company.

Whomever is the majority shareholder is, legally owns that company and has the legal right to change it's leadership and call the shots.


Get your head out of the sand once and for all. KBR is Halliburton beyond any doubt.

Halliburton has an 83% stake in KBR.
The CEO and CIO of KBR are former Halliburton employees and have a large stake in Halliburton.

Halliburton runs KBR as it's subsidiary, regardless of what it's website says.
Like their going to admit over the Internet they're still managed behind-the-scenes by Halliburton.

Sheesh you expect everything right there in plain view, spelled out for you don't you?

Contractors are screwing over the military and excessively profiting from the Iraq War through sheer negligence and a gross lack of standards.

READ:
bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com...
www.nytimes.com...
www.vanityfair.com...
bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com...
www.pdfdownload.org...
bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com...
bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com...
bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com...

Frankly I'm done talking to you.

Your arrogance makes talking to you about as bearable as arguing with with a German Shepard.

I could have thrown in a whole host of personal attacks in there too but I won't stoop to the idiot's level.


[edit on 13/8/08 by The Godfather of Conspira]

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira
reply to post by DarthAmerica

 

when you work with these contractors everyday, then you can come talk to me about who the biggest is and what's cheaper. Until then, you are greatly lacking any relevant material to support any of your rhetoric.

So basically no one on this thread is allowed to challenge your ridiculously ignorant viewpoint because we don't work for Halliburton?

Yeah... that's about as mature as the "I'm older than YOU are!" arguement.

Your a joke you know that? You really are. People present facts right in your face and you develop acute blindness.

Look, I can see trying to explain to you how this all works is a waste of my time. Go on and believe what you want. I KNOW what I'm talking about intimately as a matter of profession. If you think you know more than me then more power to you. I would suggest that with this vast array of knowledge you have you should volunteer yourself and come downrange. KBR does hire quite a bit and let me tell you they pay very well depending on what you have to offer. At least that way, when you post something, you will have a little bit of familiarity with what you are speaking about. We call that technical competence. Try it and see.

For ow however, our discussion is over. I have no need to get the last word in or prove anything further to you. When you spend more than a year fighting people who believe in things so strongly that they would die to make the point you learn that debating issues with people who are absolutely convinced of themselves is a rather futile thing.

These websites, news blurps and partial rumors you subscribe to are so inaccurate as to be laughable. There are reasons why you cannot know more than me about this. It's a proximity thing. Thats just the undeniable truth whether you like it or not. If it makes you feel better I'll say that just like other private businesses in the USA, in country, there are a lot of failed companies and mistakes being made. Some minor inconveniences and other absolutely egregious. So I do have more than a few issues with contractors even though I fully acknowledge the need for them. But, The really serious issues cannot be discussed here or with just anybody. Those issues are dealt with in private mostly. So go on and make mountains out of anthills with this trivial debate. I'll just accept that we don't agree and move on. The difference is though that my opinion actually matters with regard to KBR's and a few other contractors performance and they go through a lot to leave a good impression.

By the way, an analogy with a Deli is probably not the way I would relate a matter of war. But that's just me and what do I know.

Originally posted by tigpoppa
thats a lie that man should be ashamed of himself for saying that our troops carry pathogens.

Tell that to my friend who just retired after 20 years service AF... who brought home unknowingly one of those pathogens that infected his wife and put her into a coma (which she has come out of) and left him 70% disabled enough that he cannot even get a job with the post office, but not enough to get a full disability check...

You arm chair critics have no clue what its like in the real world

reply to post by DarthAmerica

So how many holdings does Haliburton have in Dubai?

America is not America anymore. America used to be all about options and competition within the country. There is no competition in the Iraq contract.
All the work is being fed to the companies who are in bed with the administration. Halliburton is a waste of money, so is KBR(which is a sub division of Halliburton), so is CACI, so is blackwater and those private contractors. They are a huge waste of money not to mention that the CEO is
sitting on a overpaid fortune. American tax payers pay the Halliburton CEO
well over $40,000,000.00 and for what? Contaminated water, $100 to wash every laundry bag(which the soldiers hate because they are returned uncomfortable), and cutting cutting corners.

These contractors are overpaid with taxpayer money when you can pay
a soldier to do the exact same job. In fact if soldiers did the work it would
be a lot better then Halliburton employees. why would I say that? Most of
those contractors are not going to be living in the same quarters as the soldiers, they sleep in luxury.

I am against the war. With all the money they are overspending they could have made the soldiers lives a little more luxurious. They are risking their lives everyday, I think they deserve a little better living quarters.

Originally posted by Equinox99$100 to wash every laundry bag(which the soldiers hate because they are returned uncomfortable), and cutting cutting corners.

These contractors are overpaid with taxpayer money when you can pay
a soldier to do the exact same job. In fact if soldiers did the work it would
be a lot better then Halliburton employees. why would I say that? Most of
those contractors are not going to be living in the same quarters as the soldiers, they sleep in luxury.

I am against the war. With all the money they are overspending they could have made the soldiers lives a little more luxurious. They are risking their lives everyday, I think they deserve a little better living quarters.

Again, another example of a vast misunderstanding of the facts. See the picture of me to your left? KBR washed it both before and after that mission and I was glad they did it and when it was given back I wrote on the survey that I was pleased with the quick turn around time. The surveys are SOP when you pick up your laundry. LOL Imagine that, people do our laundry for free and we usually get it back within a day! We are the most spoiled soldiers on the planet! Do you know who washes Iraqi clothes? No one and you can tell trust me. It's completely false that we hate KBR Laundry. Most soldiers use it gladly while others can use machines we have in our FOBs. And for Heavens sake it does not cost $100 per bag...lol. Jeez what are you doing, adding the entire cost to run KBR and dividing by the thousands of laundry bags they wash daily? And then have you considered what it takes to get a laundry bag washed in a warzone? Think about it. When I take my clothing to the cleaners back in the USA, I typically spend $20-$30 dollars. Factor in the differences imposed by a combat zone. There is much I am not telling you for obvious reasons but any hint of intelligence and some of this should be very obvious.

Also, WHAT SOLDIERS TO DO THE WORK OF HALLIBURTON? We are all either fighting or supporting the warfighters and some of us do both! KBR and other contractors make our lives easier by doing things we don't have manpower to do and its by far cheaper. Do you know how much a TCN makes? A typical month is in the low hundreds of USD. VERY LOW. These guys will worship the ground you walk on if you buy them a Monster Drink from the PX/BX because they really can't afford to fork over $2.50 for a soda! I feel bad sometimes when I think of how much they make considering the conditions they work in. I'll put it this way, it's so hot that some of them actually hang out in our showers to stay out of the weather. But where they are from, the meager salary is a small fortune. The U.S. Managers make more obviously, but not more than the average soldier in most cases. Did you know an E5 Mess Sergeant in the National Guard 92 series could easily make $60,000 to $70,000 depending on what state they live in? Do you know how much a KBR employee would make? PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR.

Back to living arrangements for a second. Living arrangements are a reflection of job requirement NOT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT. I'm going to share with you some photos...

How *most Soldiers live
After Occupying an Iraqi HAS...
media4.dropshots.com...
After getting settled in to permanent housing...
media5.dropshots.com...
media5.dropshots.com...

OK now compare to a KBR "ROB"...
(I edited out a friend)
media5.dropshots.com...

...OK all of those are from FOBs. The room sizes are clear and infact the KBR rooms are a tad smaller. There is a reason they pay American KBR employees so much. They work and live in very harsh conditions for loooong hours. So please, lets not make up ad spread falsehoods about Soldiers or KBR. Again, I am here to explain this to you. The Media is fooling you with biased reports which are exacerbated by blogs where gatherings of the ignorant speculate in complete error about what is happening here from the most minute issue all the way to things like why we are here in the first place.

I don't have the figures now but I'll get back to you about laundry cost per bag. Look, people, you need to unlearn all that crao you have been feeding yourselves about the war. I sympathize with you to a certain extent because I know how poorly reported the facts are. I also know the administration has run a HORRIBLE PR campaign. In there defense, some of the why could not be officially discussed. But over all the PR is probably the worse I've ever seen. Almost as bad as the Iraqi Information Minister...lol. A combination of things have greatly hindered your ability to make accurate informed judgments. If you only knew the truth you would not be so against this war.







[edit on 13-8-2008 by DarthAmerica]

I tend to agree with the clueless civilians.

Why even have the 92G mos if as you just said yourself we can pay a foreign national to do it?

Why pay a platoon of Infantry when we can pay a squad of ex special forces blackwater contractors to do the same job?

I will say that it has gotten a lot better. When the war first started the Army was handing out millions and getting little in return. Check out the firm Custer battles if you think I'm blowing smoke.

Now contractors are necessary in some cases missile defense is a prime example. Most of the contractors i work with are prior service with 20 years experience easy. They provide outstanding support and advice and are always more than willing to provide guidance to myself and my co workers.

EDIT FUN FACT! A contractor was the one that pointed out that the water in whatever fob that was, was in fact contaminated. I think he was either removed when he threated to go to the Army or he was relocated.

[edit on 13-8-2008 by havingfun]

Again, another example of a vast misunderstanding of the facts. See the picture of me to your left? KBR washed it both before and after that mission and I was glad they did it and when it was given back I wrote on the survey that I was pleased with the quick turn around time. The surveys are SOP when you pick up your laundry. LOL Imagine that, people do our laundry for free and we usually get it back within a day!

Free? Free for you maybe, but why should people be overcharged for something that could be done by the soldiers for extra income? What about testimonies by several ex-Halliburton employees?

Another former employee said Halliburton purchased soda for $45 per case and laundry bags for $100 each.

Employees billed the government for work even when they sat around and did nothing all day. These employees spent weeks in Iraq with virtually nothing to do, but were instructed by Halliburton to bill the government for 12 hours per day for seven days of work.

Halliburton also billed the government $1 million to house 100 employees for three months at a Kuwaiti hotel. Those costs could have been dramatically lower if tents, instead of a hotel, were used to house the employees. But a former employee said Haliburton's "corporate culture is one of intimidation and fear." Consequently, any vocal criticism of over-charging U.S. taxpayers is met with scorn and indignation.
SOurce

We are paying for their luxuries, you may not care that your country is
slowly sinking in debt but I do.

We are the most spoiled soldiers on the planet! Do you know who washes Iraqi clothes? No one and you can tell trust me. It's completely false that we hate KBR Laundry. Most soldiers use it gladly while others can use machines we have in our FOBs. And for Heavens sake it does not cost $100 per bag...lol. Jeez what are you doing, adding the entire cost to run KBR and dividing by the thousands of laundry bags they wash daily?

My friend...do go do your research on KBR before making statements like that. You may think you know what you are talking about but I have been researching the company for a loong time now.

And then have you considered what it takes to get a laundry bag washed in a warzone? Think about it. When I take my clothing to the cleaners back in the USA, I typically spend $20-$30 dollars. Factor in the differences imposed by a combat zone. There is much I am not telling you for obvious reasons but any hint of intelligence and some of this should be very obvious.

The contracting can go to soldiers instead of KBR. It would be the exact same thing but instead of paying them extra you guys would earn the money.

Also, WHAT SOLDIERS TO DO THE WORK OF HALLIBURTON? We are all either fighting or supporting the warfighters and some of us do both! KBR and other contractors make our lives easier by doing things we don't have manpower to do and its by far cheaper.

Do you even know why KBR has employees? Because they are receiving a bigger paycheck then they should be. Are you telling me that by increasing pay for being a soldier it would not attract more civilians to join? That is how Blackwater gets their employees, and that is how KBR gets their employees.
Spending the money to recruit more soldiers would be a much better long term investment that using it on KBR.

Do you know how much a TCN makes? A typical month is in the low hundreds of USD. VERY LOW. These guys will worship the ground you walk on if you buy them a Monster Drink from the PX/BX because they really can't afford to fork over $2.50 for a soda! I feel bad sometimes when I think of how much they make considering the conditions they work in. I'll put it this way, it's so hot that some of them actually hang out in our showers to stay out of the weather. But where they are from, the meager salary is a small fortune. The U.S. Managers make more obviously, but not more than the average soldier in most cases. Did you know an E5 Mess Sergeant in the National Guard 92 series could easily make $60,000 to $70,000 depending on what state they live in? Do you know how much a KBR employee would make? PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR.

Employee's...hardly. They contract workers so they don't pay them as much. Look the whole chain is not corrupt, just the top is. They are war profiteers whether you agree or not. The US government should have put a cap on how much they can profit.

I know Iraq is hot you do not need to inform me. I am an Iraqi.

Back to living arrangements for a second. Living arrangements are a reflection of job requirement NOT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT. I'm going to share with you some photos...

How *most Soldiers live
After Occupying an Iraqi HAS...
media4.dropshots.com...
After getting settled in to permanent housing...
media5.dropshots.com...
media5.dropshots.com...

OK now compare to a KBR "ROB"...
(I edited out a friend)
media5.dropshots.com...


...OK all of those are from FOBs. The room sizes are clear and infact the KBR rooms are a tad smaller. There is a reason they pay American KBR employees so much. They work and live in very harsh conditions for loooong hours. So please, lets not make up ad spread falsehoods about Soldiers or KBR. Again, I am here to explain this to you. The Media is fooling you with biased reports which are exacerbated by blogs where gatherings of the ignorant speculate in complete error about what is happening here from the most minute issue all the way to things like why we are here in the first place.

I don't have the figures now but I'll get back to you about laundry cost per bag. Look, people, you need to unlearn all that crao you have been feeding yourselves about the war. I sympathize with you to a certain extent because I know how poorly reported the facts are. I also know the administration has run a HORRIBLE PR campaign. In there defense, some of the why could not be officially discussed. But over all the PR is probably the worse I've ever seen. Almost as bad as the Iraqi Information Minister...lol. A combination of things have greatly hindered your ability to make accurate informed judgments. If you only knew the truth you would not be so against this war.

I did not say anything about the soldiers or KBR contractors. I am grateful you are there and risk your neck so I don't have to. You are watching our
backs from Iraq so let us watch your backs from here. I have done a huge research about KBR. Their contractors are regular human beings but the top of the chain is corrupt.

Goodluck and stay safe!

reply to post by Equinox99


Alright, alright lets get started today. You said...

Free? Free for you maybe, but why should people be overcharged for something that could be done by the soldiers for extra income? What about testimonies by several ex-Halliburton employees?

First of all we aren't being overcharged. You can say that as often as you like however you haven't provided ANY PROOF WHATSOEVER to support that claim. Until you do stop saying things you can't prove. Also, ex-employees say a lot of things. I know ex-KBR employees and their opinions depend on their relationship with the company prior to departure. Thats just like any other job in the world and just like your words, hearsay. Show me with facts. PROVE that we are being over charged. Finally and you people need to stop doing this as it shows you aren't paying attention. WE DON"T HAVE EXTRA SOLDIERS TO DO THIS. Again, we don't have extra soldiers. One more time, we don't have extra soldiers to do this. The U.S. Military is deployed around the globe and locked in combat in the middle east. We do not have extra soldiers to do this.

We are paying for their luxuries, you may not care that your country is
slowly sinking in debt but I do.

OK, I don't want to talk about U.S. Debt. Off topic and you don't understand it. Debt is the way business works. The myth that the U.S. is in some kind of financial bind due to debt is a bald face lie. We have a $14 trillion dollar economy that is growing and has been for decades. If you "bought" your home with a home loan, you are in debt too. Is that a bad thing? No. It will take you 30 years to pay it off typically except that you will never ever have too! Also, the return on investment is so good that when you decide the get rid of the property, the appreciation far exceeds the amount of debt if you were wise in your purchase. It is no different for the USG. We have an incredibly robust economy that is getting stronger.

With regard to the tent idea vs a Kuwaiti hotel. I wonder if any research was done to support that statement? If so, then, they should have known that cost the tax payer $111 dollars a day per employee. Virtually nothing compared to the alternative. You see, the other option would have been to put them on a FOB like Camp VA, Camp Beuhring or a base like Camp Arifjan or Ali Al Salem Airbase. Let me tell you, there isn't room for that in existing housing so that means the government would have had to set up or provide additional housing for them. You can't just throw these people in a GP medium. They would need AC and transportation to and from the work site. They would need meals which means eating in the DFAC. The cost of that would easily exceed $1,000,000 and you would be stuck with the maintenance of the housing long after the 3 month stay was over. Moreover, how do you think the tent materials get to Kuwait and then the FOBs? Just shipping in the building materials alone makes it not worth it.

Lets look a one neglected crucial thing. KBR employees are not soldiers, they are civilians. Regular folk. They work for us BY CHOICE. So, if you subject them to uncomfortable living arrangements, what do you think that would do with regard to their incentive to come here in the first place? If they wanted to live the life of a soldier they could have enlisted! Business has a responsibility to make working for them attractive to employees. Whoever brought up the cost of that hotel is ignorant, biased and hasn't done a cost benefit analysis or breakdown. And you people are accepting and believing these bogus unfounded allegations like lambs being led to mental slaughter. Think Think Think.

My friend...do go do your research on KBR before making statements like that. You may think you know what you are talking about but I have been researching the company for a loong time now.

The contracting can go to soldiers instead of KBR. It would be the exact same thing but instead of paying them extra you guys would earn the money.

I have done the research to include going over there and putting my physical body over there. What have you done, surf the web? LMAO.

Again, here we go with contracting soldiers. We don't have the man power for this. The U.S. Military was downsized during the 1990's and we are paying the price for that now. Also, it is not the "exact same thing". You can't work soldiers the way you do a contractor. If you did retention would drop.

Do you even know why KBR has employees? Because they are receiving a bigger paycheck then they should be. Are you telling me that by increasing pay for being a soldier it would not attract more civilians to join? That is how Blackwater gets their employees, and that is how KBR gets their employees.
Spending the money to recruit more soldiers would be a much better long term investment that using it on KBR.

Real brief, you don't seem to understand what soldiers do. We fight wars. Contractors support the war effort. We also meet our recruiting goals as is. Attracting more civilians is not a problem. Also, you do not get to determine if anybodies paycheck is too big. The market decides that.

Employee's...hardly. They contract workers so they don't pay them as much. Look the whole chain is not corrupt, just the top is. They are war profiteers whether you agree or not. The US government should have put a cap on how much they can profit.

We are all war profiteers. I agree and support that. I volunteered to go to war and part of the motivation was the financial benefits which for me are substantial. You think I'm doing this for free? Also, its silly to suggest putting caps on profits. What are you some kind of communist or socialist? It's like the entire concept of business is foreign to you. Contractors are here to make money and that's it. We, the USG, take advantage of that to achieve our objectives. Things like transporting us, training us managing logistics...

media4.dropshots.com...
media4.dropshots.com...
media5.dropshots.com...
media3.dropshots.com...
media3.dropshots.com...
media3.dropshots.com...

...nothing bad about them.

Some people don't like to read the evidence no matter how many times it's presented.

Here's some more:

The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced Wednesday that it had reached an $8 million settlement with KBR over allegations that the company overcharged the US Army for support services provided during operations in the Balkans in 1999 and 2000. According to a DoJ statement, KBR continues to provide services to the military in the region.

The Justice Department would not reveal how much KBR, a construction and engineering company, was originally accused of overcharging.

"The Department of Justice remains committed to vigorously pursuing allegations of procurement abuses affecting the military," Peter D. Keisler, an assistant attorney general, said in a statement announcing the settlement.

According to the settlement, in return for paying the government $8 million, KBR will admit no wrongdoing.

source

That last line really sticks in my craw - "According to the settlement, in return for paying the government $8 million, KBR will admit no wrongdoing."

Some apparently think it's OK for corporations to rip off the taxpayer and also seem to think they are business experts without showing a shred of evidence to support any of their theories.

Personally, I don't believe for a second the wild stories about "being there" but that's just my opinion - perhaps the member didn't get served any of the dirty food:

The Pentagon repeatedly warned contractor Halliburton-KBR that the food it served to US troops in Iraq was "dirty," as were as the kitchens it was served in, NBC News reported Friday.

Halliburton-Kellogg Brown and Root's promises to improve "have not been followed through," according to a Pentagon report that warned "serious repercussions may result" if the contractor did not clean up, the television network reported.

The Pentagon reported finding "blood all over the floor," "dirty pans," "dirty grills," "dirty salad bars" and "rotting meats ... and vegetables" in four of the military messes the company operates in Iraq, NBC said, citing Pentagon documents.

The report came as President George W. Bush fended off Pentagon reports that Halliburton-KBR overcharged 61 million dollars for gasoline it sold the military in Iraq. Dick Cheney ran Halliburton for five years until becoming vice president.

Bush said that if an overcharge were found, the money should be paid back.

The company feeds 110,000 US and coalition troops daily at a cost of 28 dollars per troop per day, NBC said.

source

Halliburton/KBR have been doing this for a long time - and getting away with it, even when helping deal with emergencies:

There have been no shortages of stories about how KBR has been over charging the military on Iraq-related contracts and then, and this is just precious, threatening to cut off the services they are suspected of overcharging for if the bills weren’t paid.

Well it seems overcharging might be standard operating procedure at KBR. The Department of Defense Inspector General thinks the same thing occurred with KBR’s clean-up efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

The Pentagon Inspector General said he could find no documentation in Navy contracting files to back up KBR claims it paid fair and reasonable prices to subcontractors that served meals in New Orleans.

“The prices KBR agreed to pay were greatly inflated,” the 86-page audit said.

“The Navy paid approximately $4.1 million for meals and services we calculate should have cost $1.7 million, more than a $2.3 million difference,” said the audit, signed by Assistant Inspector General for Acquisition Management Richard Jolliffe.

[….] Altogether, the audit requested that the Navy seek refunds of at least $8.5 million for “inappropriate” payments to KBR.

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and they really are raking in a fortune - which is probably why cheney held on to his stock options, only giving up a part of them:

The oil services company Halliburton, largely through its subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root, has received more revenue from government contracts in the last year than from 1998 through 2002.

In 2003, when the company had record revenue of $16.3 billion, Halliburton received contracts from the Department of Defense worth $4.3 billion, while in the previous five years it obtained less than $2.5 billion from the military, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.

Although figures are not yet available for 2004, government revenue is bound to increase as a result of the contracts the company has won for work in postwar Afghanistan and Iraq, which so far potentially totals $11.4 billion. Some of that work was actually awarded earlier; many of the company's contracts extend for multiple years.

In 1998, Halliburton's total revenue was $14.5 billion; that year, the company got contracts from the Pentagon worth $284 million. Two years later, revenue had dropped to just under $12 billion while work under DoD contracts more than doubled. In 2002, DoD awarded Halliburton tasks worth $485 million while the company's revenue was $12.6 billion.

Of the more than 150 American companies that together have received U.S. government contracts potentially worth more than $51 billion for postwar work in Afghanistan and Iraq, Halliburton is by far the largest recipient of contracts awarded in the two countries.

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and that's from 2004 - it's gone up since then!

But hey, when you have friends in the whitehouse, anything goes:

On Tuesday, May 10, 2005, and without a hint of shame, the Bush administration awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) $72 million in bonuses for its "very good" and "excellent" work in Iraq. Excuse me? Just two months ago, the Justice Department indicted a KBR manager for "major fraud against the United States" under the same LOGCAP contract for which KBR is now being awarded bonuses. According to the indictment, former KBR manager Jeff Mazon billed the U.S. more than $5.5 million for $680,000 worth of work. In other words, Mazon inflated KBR's bill by over 700 percent. By the way, that LOGCAP contract is a cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. That means Halliburton/KBR supplies an indefinite quantity of supplies for an indefinite period of time, its costs are fully reimbursed, and it get paid an additional amount of 2 to 7 percent of those costs. Good work, if you can get it. Bush & Co. decided to award KBR over $72 million in bonuses despite the fact that senior Halliburton/KBR officials perjured themselves before the House Committee on Government Reform back in July of 2004. At the time, the Committee was investigating allegations that Halliburton/KBR employees were taking kickbacks under the LOGCAP contract. At the hearing, Halliburton/KBR representatives testified, under oath, that none of their thieving employees were managers. Oops. According to the federal indictment, Mazon was KBR's Procurement, Materials and Property Manager. Aside from the LOGCAP contract, Halliburton/KBR has bilked and defrauded the U.S. for millions of dollars on other contracts associated with the "rebuilding" of Iraq. Investigations by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), revealed that Halliburton/KBR overcharged the U.S. no less than $212 million under its Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) contract. The Bush administration awarded the RIO contract to Halliburton/KBR without asking for competitive bids.

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I think that pretty much proves the point - not that those with an axe to grind will bother to read it