by D. Cupples | We've known for a while that some government contractors charge high prices. Now, it seems that some contractors failed to properly do the jobs that we taxpayers handsomely paid them to do. The Associated Press reports:
"Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using 'unmonitored and potentially unsafe' water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog said.
"A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq."
"The Pentagon's inspector general found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.
"It was impossible to link the dirty water definitively to all the illnesses, according to the report. But it said KBR's water quality "was not maintained in accordance with field water sanitary standards" and the military-run sites "were not performing all required quality control tests."
"'Therefore, water suppliers exposed U.S. forces to unmonitored and potentially unsafe water,' the report said."
Memeorandum has other commentary.
Related BN-Politics Posts:
* High Cost of Private Contractors
* "Billions over Baghdad": Poor Oversight Enabled Waste & Fraud
* DoD Rewarded Bad Contractor Performance?
* Yet Another Contractor Bilks Taxpayers
* Justice Dept. Official Turned Blind Eye to Contractor Fraud?
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