"GAO: Army Bungled Iraq Contract Management"

[GreenPartyVoter]

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.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040722/D83VKQT80.html