Army bungled management of Iraq support contract worth billions, GAO says

[UpInArms]

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/203/wash/Army_bungled_management_of_Ira:.shtml

WASHINGTON (AP) The Army botched planning and management of the multibillion-dollar contract to provide food and other services to troops in Iraq, congressional investigators said.

Investigators from the Government Accountability Office found a ''pattern of contractor management problems'' which led to cost disputes between the Pentagon and the contractor, Houston-based Halliburton. The GAO investigators also criticized Halliburton's staffing and accounting.

So far, the military has agreed to pay Halliburton more than $5 billion on the contract in question.

Separate federal investigations are looking into whether Halliburton overcharged the Army for fuel and meals and allegations that former Halliburton workers may have taken bribes from a Kuwaiti subcontractor.

Separately, a report from congressional Democrats said Halliburton charged the government $2.68 per gallon to import gasoline to Iraq from Kuwait, while a government agency did the same work for $1.57 a gallon. That cost the government an extra $166.5 million, the Democrats' report said.

...more...

Can you believe that Hellaburnin has been singled out again?

[struggle4progress]

1. kick

:kick:

[struggle4progress]

9. ... and again.

:kick:

[54anickel]

2. Whoa, the GAO has been rather busy lately.

[maddezmom]

5. between Halliburton overcharging and Pentagon under estimating

GAO's been very, very busy. :)

[Miss Authoritiva]

3. Is any other industrialized country as sloppy with its bookkeeping as

the United States? We're not going to be the world's lone superpower for long if such cronyism and institutionalized looting continue.

[truthspeaker]

7. Yes. Taiwan is pretty damn corrupt.

South Korea and Japan also, to a certain extent.

[TacticalPeek]

4. Why does arithmetic hate America?

The scandal-plagued Bush administration.

[maddezmom]

6. LOL

don't have enough money for housing, new trucks, etc....but Halliburton gets paid....and overpaid at that!!

[Bandit]

8. "a government agency did the same work for $1.57 a gallon. "

How could this be? We were informed that the only company on the face of the earth that could do this was Halliburton and that is why they received "No-Bid" contracts. If a government agency could do the job better and cheaper then why was Halliburton involved at all? D'oh Cheney was their CEO. I get it now.