Reconstruction Corruption Watch IV

First, the company's own employee blows the whistle on its failure to use water purification equipment. And now a physician serving in Iraq ties an outbreak of bacterial infections among soldiers to foul-smelling water she noticed at Qayyarah Airfield West during the same time period.

As the Houston Chronicle reported on Friday, testing now confirms that water used by the soldiers to bathe and brush their teeth contained coliform and E. coli bacteria.

Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy Mann had the audacity to state that subsidiary (you guessed it) Kellogg Brown & Root provided water "consistent with the army's standards." This shouldn't come as a surprise since the company also dismissed larvae spotted by its own employee as "an optical illusion caused by a leak in the toilet fixture."

This is not a liberal, conservative or partisan issue. These are American soldiers, risking their lives, and being hindered by a company that is short on performance and long on excuses. And the lack of corrective action is simply staggering.

Dick Cheney--with all of his bluster about his support of the troops--should personally call for the pulling of his until-now favorite corporate son off of the job. What results does he see to justify the continuing funneling of contracts in its direction? Could it be the earnings reports? The stock's performance?

Our soldiers can no longer afford for this Administration and a Republican-controlled Congress to turn a blind eye to incompetence and egregious behavior. Only an independent War Profiteering Commission will keep up the pressure for answers and change. In the meantime, I urge shareholders to contact Halliburton and demand an end to the excuses. And all citizens should issue a call to their Representatives that Halliburton be replaced immediately.

Comments (17)

1. The whole purpose of lobbying is much the same as War: to spare no expense, whether public or privately financed, to force your will on an otherwise unwilling government official(s).

   Just as the only real answer to the problem of lobbyists' influence on government is to totally ban lobbying, the obvious answer to war profiteering, therefore, is to ban war altogether.

   Thus, I don't like the idea of a 'War Profiteering Commission' because it creates an illusion of the cost effective war, which doesn't exist and is an oxymoron.

   Posted by BECAUSEISAYSO at 04/10/2006 @ 4:13pm

2. Yes! This is not about one's party affiliation. This is about doing what every rational person will recognize as right and just.

   Our troops are being attacked by Iraqi insurgents. Must they also be attacked by agents of our own government?

   Posted by Scarabus at 04/10/2006 @ 5:37pm

3. Katrina,

   Thanks for keeping alive this most important topic.

   Bush told us to go shopping and apparently Halliburton's executives are part of the American society that took Bush's advice.

   Too bad the ACLU has not demanded information from the Pentagon's contract review division on their evaluation of Halliburton's water treatment operation in Iraq and contract compliance.

   The failure of the Republican-controlled House and Senate Armed Services Committees to investigate contract compliance/non-compliance by companies who were awarded major Pentagon contracts is abominable, and it should be denounced by Democrats.

   Posted by oraibi1952 at 04/10/2006 @ 6:33pm

4. Is this the same KVH, who says that we are fighting for a lost cause and that we are doomed to failure? but she supports the troops right.

   It is remarkable how she will be the troops champion, on certain issues that fit her poliltical agenda.

   Stop your FAKE call for action on behalf of those you despise!!

   You transparent outrage makes any decent american ill. By the way the water has been an issue for some time.

   I know explainations are lost on this audience, but what the hell. For a very long time in places like Afghan and remote areas of Iraq this is a problem. Why you ask incredously, shameless excuses, you no doubt cry out.

   It is mainly a matter of logistics, you see in remote areas, it is rather difficult to get water purifiers up to these places and once in place, it is rather a complicated piece of machinery, and it tends to break down and getting repair techs and spare parts becomes problematic.

   After all there is only so much space on the trucks and transport aircraft, what with all the other necessites. Mail, food drinking water, ammo, hummvee parts, computer parts, replacement equipment, etc. etc.

   So when it comes to transporting ammo and medical supplies or water to shower and shave with, well you see, i am afraid the old beans and bullets and medical supplies will win out. Is it a pain in the ass, to remember not to imbibe the water when you shower and brush your teeth, sure, but give me my allocation of 210 rounds, prefereably more, and have plenty of morphine on hand, just in case...............

   And i will happily ensure that i close my mouth when showering.

   You see ,"Amatuers talk tactics, while professionals talk logistics!!"

   Katrina, my dear, you are an Amatuer.

   Posted by CPT at 04/10/2006 @ 6:56pm

5. CPT - No clean water, but plenty of Taco Bell and Subway on the bases.Also, is New Orleans remote? I heard they are drinking green water on the new Coast Guard setup down there, and living in trailers.

   Posted by hvmiller at 04/10/2006 @ 7:36pm

6. My name is CPT and I'm an apologoholic.

   I find it necessary to apologize on behalf of a lying, torturing, murdering President.

   I find is necessary to apologize on behalf of a corrupt, stealing, ethically challenged, spend crazy republican controlled Congress.

   I now find it necessary to apologize on behalf of a massive corporation that charges for clean water but doesn't provide clean water, simultaneously endangering American troops and bilking American taxpayers.

   My name is CPT. I'm an apologoholic and I have a problem.

   Posted by freedomplease at 04/10/2006 @ 7:36pm

7. Is this the same KVH, who says that we are fighting for a lost cause and that we are doomed to failure? but she supports the troops right.

   Posted by CPT 04/10/2006 @ 6:56pm

   You said it, CPT. If one has reached the conclusion that the US army can't win the war in Iraq, isn't calling for the withdrawal of those troops - as KVH has done repeatedly - a way of supporting the troops? Isn't demanding clean water for the troops a way of supporting them?

   You might find this hard to believe, but most people who are critical of the war do not want to see American soldiers killed - they just want all of this pointless killing to end. Is that so difficult to understand? Would it be so hard for you to swallow if the US army admitted defeat and came home, thus saving thousands of American and Iraqi lives? Would you rather see those brave but misguided soldiers fight on until last man standing?

   Posted by Amsterdam69 at 04/10/2006 @ 7:48pm

8. CPT, you forget this is a war of CHOICE. I can MAYBE understand situations as you describe, in a war that is being fought in defense. However, we ALL know this is a war of CHOICE. Bush shouldn't have declared his war until we could get all the requiste supplies (armour being one small example).

   So take your tired rhetoric and go play with the little Army figurines that are probably on your recruiting desk.

   Oh and what about your Halliburton sob story about them fixing your heater in Afghanistan? That seems like such a luxury in war. You not complaing about that are you? Didn't think so.

   Posted by BlueTexan at 04/10/2006 @ 7:50pm

9. They have literally told our soldiers..."Go eat shit" How far or long are we willing to go with this administration?

   Posted by Paisano at 04/10/2006 @ 7:57pm

10. You see ,"Amatuers talk tactics, while professionals talk logistics!!"

    Katrina, my dear, you are an Amatuer.

    Posted by CPT 04/10/2006 @ 6:56pm

    Actually professionals talk personnel, intel, ops and logistics.

    tactics would be a function of all four

    as is strategy

    Posted by Will C. at 04/10/2006 @ 10:40pm

11. don't ya'll just think CPT is adorable?

    Posted by Will C. at 04/10/2006 @ 10:41pm

12. Haliburton's shares are up 10% in the last 5 trading days!

    Posted by yanagigoshi at 04/11/2006 @ 01:46am

13. "Haliburton's shares are up 10% in the last 5 trading days!"

    I know...

    I'm a share holder = )

    That's great news isn't it !

    Todd

    Posted by Oksportsguy at 04/11/2006 @ 10:29am

14. Todd, as a shareholder, are you going to contact them and express your disgust that they are supplying our troops with contaminated water? Afterall, because you're a shareholder, its really like YOU'RE supplying them with disease-ridden water. That doesn't seem like supporting the troops to me.

    Posted by LClaire at 04/11/2006 @ 11:21am

15. What is our purpose for our troops in Iraq now ???? To store order ??? This is not happening..What have we accomplished other than stirring up a hornets nests and cause civil war with no government to intervene..To build roads and schools ??? We have religious groups and volunteers that do that....How much security here in the USA do you think we could have bought with the same amount of money spent on this war in Iraq ? GW can say nothing else other than to say things are going well over there....

    Posted by djmarch at 04/11/2006 @ 2:48pm

16. Another call for another independent commission to investigate another outrage perpetrated by the "absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely" Bush Administration?

    Reality check time: that Republican Congress sitting in Bush's pocket will never, ever, ever allow any kind of investigatory commission to happen unless it's to revisit some sin of the Clinton Administration. (I'm surprised the Ken Starr Chamber has not been revived for that purpose; then again, Clinton and the Bush family have become bosom buddies, so George may be cutting Bill a break.)

    Since the light of day is blocked from shining in Congress, what is the possibility of bringing legal action against Halliburton for endangering the lives of American fighting forces (beyond, that is, the needless endangerment Bush has put them in with his boneheaded war of aggression)? It worked for Ronnie Earle in Austin when he got an indictment for Tom DeLay, didn't it? In fact, maybe we can get Ronnie to bring an indictment against Halliburton. They're in the same state, right?

    As an Army veteran of an earlier era, I wonder what I would have done as a soldier in Iraq. I know I would already be living in fear that the next civilian to approach me might be wearing a suicide bomb. Then, on top of that, to contract a horrible case of the Halliburton Shits while on guard duty? Hell, I think I would file a lawsuit against Halliburton myself when I got back into the world.

    Posted by elcomputo at 04/13/2006 @ 4:12pm

17. You might find this hard to believe, but most people who are critical of the war do not want to see American soldiers killed - they just want all of this pointless killing to end. Is that so difficult to understand? Would it be so hard for you to swallow if the US army admitted defeat and came home, thus saving thousands of American and Iraqi lives? Would you rather see those brave but misguided soldiers fight on until last man standing?

    Posted by AMSTERDAM69 04/10/2006 @ 7:48pm

    Okay, here's the dilemma: Now that the Dub has gotten his war, by default the U.S. forces have become the police force for Iraq. (The Iraqi police forces? They seem to be either Shiite death squads or scared, incompetent rentacops so desperate for income they would risk the wrath of insurgents.) Pull out the U.S. troops, and the general consensus is that Al Queda-types would further inflame the Sunnis and the Iranians would move to support the Shiites. The current bloodbath could turn into a massive bloodbath.

    We may ask whether this would have happened anyway when Saddam and his family were overthrown, as they would inevitably be. We may ask whether the American invasion would have made any difference in this outcome. I don't know. I just know that the invasion was unjustified, has caused unnecessary deaths, has been horribly expensive, was botched, gave this country a black eye in the opinion of the world's nations, furthered the recruitment of Muslim terrorists, etc., etc.

    Yes, I think we should get out, if only for our own self-interest. We face the prospect of $5/gal. petrol in the near future because, let's face it, the American Empire is in decline at the same time that oil reserves are being depleted, and we lack our earlier ability to control our inflow of oil. Staying there isn't going to give us control of the Iraq oil reserves (the only logical reason I can think of for Bush's invasion); heck, we can't even get control of one city in Iraq much less its oil pumping infrastructure. If oil was the object, this has been a very bad, very expensive "investment." Time to cut our losses.

    On top of that, it is inevitable that we will soon be going through a period of high inflation. Remember the inflationary 1970's? I do. I can recall having a mortgage at 18% interest. That inflation was the result of two things: the Arab and Iranian oil embargos and the fallout from spending on the Vietnam War.

    History repeats itself. We will again be having to pay the bills on an absolutely unnecessary war at the same time that oil-producing nations will increasingly be putting the squeeze on us.

    But getting back to Iraq today, what if the expected bloodbath does come when we pull out our troops? Won't we feel terribly guilty? What could we do to relieve that? Here's my plan:

    We take every Iraqi who fears for his or her life, and we put them aboard transport planes. We issue them all parachutes, airdrop them on Mexico, and tell them they're free to cross the border into the USA will all the other illegal immigrants. There will be jobs awaiting them in poultry processing plants and behind America's lawnmowers. There will even be Bush evangelicals awaiting them at the border to assist them in their journeys on the condition that they swear off Islam and become born again Christians.

    Oh, hell, just let them into the USA without all the parachuting and born again business. It will make us feel a little less guilty having them here. And if the experience of bringing in the Vietnamese is any example, we will gain some great Middle Eastern restaurants and get a crop of brainy kids who will help relieve our national brain drain.

    And to help us feel even better, we will be freeing up the few troops that would be needed to participate in an international force to intervene in Darfur.

    Sound like a plan?

    Posted by elcomputo at 04/13/2006 @ 5:03pm