Guest guest Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 This may seem off topic, but it is not. It is the same game, different day. Sharon K _http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/opinion/19thu3.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/opinion/19thu3.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin) Mr. Goes to War With KBR Published: June 19, 2008 In the annals of Iraq war profiteering, put down as one of the casualties. Four years ago, Army auditors notified Mr. , a Pentagon contract manager, that KBR, the Bush administration’s most favored defense contractor, could not adequately explain more than $1 billion in war billings. Mr. , a career civilian employee, did his duty: He confronted KBR and warned that unless they supplied credible justification, he would levy penalties of 15 percent on future work payments while also, needless to say, blocking any performance bonuses for the company. Whoops. Mr. was replaced suddenly by the brass in overseeing the contract and the Pentagon took the unusual step of second-guessing its own auditors by hiring an outside contractor to reconsider the claims from KBR. Such is the clout of the Texas-based company and largest Pentagon contractor in Iraq, once part of the Halliburton conglomerate so dear to the heart and wallet of Vice President Dick Cheney. Sure enough, KBR’s claims were soon unblocked. The contract Goliath got performance bonuses, too. The risks of bucking KBR from inside the defense establishment were disclosed by Mr. to Risen of The Times. “Ultimately, the money that was going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn’t going to do that,†said Mr. , now retired. The Pentagon insists that it had good management motives in reversing Mr. and heeding KBR’s warning that penalties would erode basic services for the troops. The military dares to maintain that Mr. was not taken off the job because of political pressure. Nothing much seems to have stood in the company’s way since Mr. was purged. KBR just snared a big piece of a new 10-year, $150 billion Iraq contract. **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Sharon - It is NOT off topic. In resolving this mess, it is necessary to look at the BIG picture, not a tunnel vision approach to this mess. You can't look at sick buildings and sick people in a small context, because that will not yield a solution. The docs are part of a big group. The drugs are part of a bigger group and the " testers " who drive both sides someplace in the middle. Only in people getting their arms around the " whole mess " will there be a solution. People did not " pay attention " for a long time and now the next generation are paying the price. > > > This may seem off topic, but it is not. It is the same game, different day. > Sharon K > _http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/opinion/19thu3.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin_ > (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/opinion/19thu3.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin) > Mr. Goes to War With KBR > > Published: June 19, 2008 > > In the annals of Iraq war profiteering, put down as one of the > casualties. Four years ago, Army auditors notified Mr. , a Pentagon > contract manager, that KBR, the Bush administration’s most favored defense > contractor, could not adequately explain more than $1 billion in war billings. > > > > > Mr. , a career civilian employee, did his duty: He confronted KBR and > warned that unless they supplied credible justification, he would levy > penalties of 15 percent on future work payments while also, needless to say, > blocking any performance bonuses for the company. > > > > > Whoops. Mr. was replaced suddenly by the brass in overseeing the > contract and the Pentagon took the unusual step of second-guessing its own > auditors by hiring an outside contractor to reconsider the claims from KBR. Such is > the clout of the Texas-based company and largest Pentagon contractor in Iraq, > once part of the Halliburton conglomerate so dear to the heart and wallet of > Vice President Dick Cheney. > Sure enough, KBR’s claims were soon unblocked. The contract Goliath got > performance bonuses, too. > The risks of bucking KBR from inside the defense establishment were disclosed > by Mr. to Risen of The Times. “Ultimately, the money that was > going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn’t going to > do that,†said Mr. , now retired. The Pentagon insists that it had good > management motives in reversing Mr. and heeding KBR’s warning that > penalties would erode basic services for the troops. The military dares to > maintain that Mr. was not taken off the job because of political pressure. > Nothing much seems to have stood in the company’s way since Mr. was > purged. KBR just snared a big piece of a new 10-year, $150 billion Iraq > contract. > > > > > **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for > fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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