by Damozel | In these tough economic times, it's nice to know that military contractors ---a/k/a the only people in America actually to profit from the war in Iraq --- aren't likely to end up on the dole.
Apparently the Department of Defense intends to carry on rewarding military contractors who behave badly, just like a crazy person who thinks that if something doesn't work you should go on doing the same thing even more.
The AP (via Memeorandum) reports that former Halliburton subsidiary KBR has just been awarded a $35 million contract for 'major' electrical work, even though it is even now under investigation for the electrocution deaths of two US soldiers in Iraq. We discussed the electrocution deaths of those Iraq soldiers in Iraq here and here, remarking:
Two of our young soldiers....[were] 'horrifically' killed while swimming or showering because 'poorly grounded wiring short-circuited'? Electrocuted like death row inmates, mind you, only without the safeguards to prevent such a death from being cruel beyond even the tolerance of my death-penalty supporting fellow Americans for inflicting pain on the guilty. While swimming! And showering!
And why? Because someone forgot to tell one of the companies being paid immense sums to do the electrical work that electrical systems must be properly grounded. Funny, even I know that, and I can't even work out how to operate my microwave.(BN-Politics May 2008)
And:
Back in March, Congressman Waxman wrote the Defense Department, 1) asking "about the deaths of 12 service members in Iraq from accidental electrocutions," and 2) asking for "all reports and communications regarding improper electrical grounding in facilities in Iraq."
As of July 18, the Defense Department still hadn't completely fulfilled Waxman's request...
Congressman Henry Waxman's House Oversight Committee is (once again) demanding answers. In a July 18 letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Waxman wrote:
"According to the February 2007 'Iraq Safety Assessment' prepared by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), there were 283 electrical fires at facilities maintained by KBR in a five-month period from August 2006 through January 2007.
"One of these electrical fires killed two people at Forward Operating Base Speicher, while another destroyed the largest dining facility in Iraq at Camp Al Asad. The DCMA report described the widespread electrical problems at KBR facilities in Iraq as a 'major challenge' and the 'primary safety threat, theater wide.' The report asserted that 'the three primary causes of these fires' are '[i]mproper insulation, substandard equipment purchases (such as light fixtures), and heavy usage.'" (BN-Politics July 2008)
For those inclined to shrug and say, "C'est la guerre" when it's somebody else who pays the price--- Republicans, in other words, who would rather "support" the troops with words than deeds --- my colleague points out that the same taxpayers who would rather give their out-of-work fellow Americans a stone than bread seem not to notice when their "dollars" get sucked into the vortex to line the pockets of the only people in America who have profited from the Iraq War.
Now...taxpayers may have to compensate victims or their families for deaths or injuries caused by contractors' shoddy work. Does that seem fair?
Make no mistake, someone should pay if shoddy work caused deaths and injuries, but why should it be...taxpayers?
Why not hold accountable those contractor(s) that actually did the shoddy work? (BN-Politics July 2008)
I have no idea, but at least some Democrats are bestirring themselves to take action in re: this most recent insult to taxpayers, American troops in Iraq, and the families of those who died of electrocution. Note that I'm not even mentioning the Jamie Leigh Jones rape case --- oh, er, oops. Most of the time, I expect, KBR takes good care of its own people.
According to the AP, a couple of Democratic senators --- Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Bob Casey (D-Pa) --- are already on the case. Dorgan has said that the contract is 'inappropriate.' (AP) Casey is asking the Army Corps of Engineers for an assessment.(AP) Meanwhile KBR spokesperson, the unsinkable Heather Browne, says what she always says: KBR is 'committed' to quality. (AP)
More at Memeorandum on how easily we forgive and forget.
Read more here about KBR's adventures in Iraq --- adventures that you, my friends, have funded and are apparently destined to go on funding unless something is done.
Hearing on Electrocuted Soldiers and Electrical Fires in Iraq: Apparently, No one is Responsible (Aug 2008)
How KBR Got Paid $1 Billion in 'Noncredible' Costs (Jul 2008)
KBR Bans the Use of Cell Phones by Employees Just Because They Can? (Aug 5, 2008)
Shoddy Work by Military Contractors Killing US Troops? (May 2008)
Step in the Right Direction: Judge Decides KBR Rape Case Should Go to Court (May 2008)
Halliburton/KBR: Getting us Taxpayers Coming and Going (Mar 2008)
See generally:
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