by Deb Cupples | The Army Times reports:
"A Georgia man has filed a lawsuit against contractor KBR and its former parent company, Halliburton, saying the companies exposed everyone at Joint Base Balad in Iraq to unsafe water, food and hazardous fumes from the burn pit there....'”
This is not surprising, given some of the things that Halliburton/KBR allegedly did in the past while under government contract.
For example, a Pentagon audit report found that Halliburton/KBR overcharged us taxpayers $108 million for importing fuel into Iraq [See the redacted report: to see what was redacted, click on the blackened text].
In 2003, Halliburton/KBR reportedly over-billed us taxpayers $67 million for troops' meals. (CNN) In 2008, Army auditors found that KBR did not have credible records to support about $1 billion in spending. (NY Times)
I could go on with examples, but let's get back to the recently filed lawsuit. The Army Times continues:
"Eller filed his claim after he deployed in February 2006 for 10 months. The lawsuit claims he developed skin lesions that subsequently spread, filled with fluid and burst. He said they went away, then reappeared, followed by blisters on his feet that made it painful for him to walk. He said they healed, but continue to return every three to four months.
"Then, Eller said he experienced vomiting, cramping and diarrhea, and continues to suffer severe abdominal pain.
“'Plaintiff witnessed the open air burn pit in operation at Balad Air Force Base,' the lawsuit states. 'On one occasion, he witnessed a wild dog running around base with a human arm in its mouth. The human arm had been dumped on the open air burn pit by KBR.'”
Reportedly, KBR failed to test potable water used for showers and allowed swimming pools to be filled with bad water. But it wasn't just the water: it was also the food and ice. Army Times continues:
"Eller also accused KBR of serving spoiled, expired and rotten food to the troops, as well as dishes that may have been contaminated with shrapnel.
“'Defendants knowingly and intentionally supplied and served food that was well past its expiration date, in some cases over a year past its expiration date,' the lawsuit states. 'Even when it was called to the attention of the KBR food service managers that the food was expired, KBR still served the food to U.S. forces....'
"The lawsuit also accuses KBR of shipping ice in mortuary trucks that 'still had traces of body fluids and putrefied remains in them when they were loaded with ice. This ice was served to U.S. forces.'”
Making matters worse, Halliburton/KBR management allegedly tried to prevent employees from talking to government auditors and threatened retaliation if employees did spill the beans. You can read the rest of the Army Times story here.
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Official Says U.S. Can't Effectively Manage War Contractors
* High Cost of Private Contractors
* Contractor Supplies Bad Ammo, Gets Hundreds of Millions
* Contractor Gets $30+ Million but Built Nothing
* "Billions over Baghdad": Poor Accounting Enabled Waste & Fraud
* DoD Rewarded Bad Contractor Performance?
* Shoddy Work by Contractors Killing US Troops?
* Inspector General Blocked Investigations re: Waste & Fraud?
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