Talk to any idiot and ask them if they even know what Halliburton does and they reply that they are an oil company. At that point I just sigh and tell them they are too stupid to even complain about Halliburton if they do not even know what they do.
I am sick of STUPID PEOPLE!!
Surprise, surprise. Look who fronted this toilet paper.
Oct. 25, 2004, 7:02AM
Investigation of federal contract program urged
Agency's official accuses the Army of breaking rules in awarding work to Halliburton
By ERIK ECKHOLM
New York Times
WASHINGTON - The top civilian contracting official for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, charging that the Army granted large contracts for work in Iraq and the Balkans without following rules designed to ensure competition and fair prices to the government, has called for a high-level investigation of what she described as threats to the "integrity of the federal contracting program."
The official, Bunnatine Greenhouse, said that in at least one case she witnessed, Army officials inappropriately allowed representatives of Halliburton to sit in as they discussed the terms of a contract the company was set to receive.
Her accusations offer the first extended account of arguments that roiled inside the military bureaucracy over contracts with the company.
Left out of decisions
In an Oct. 21 letter to the acting Army secretary, Greenhouse said that after her repeated questions about the Halliburton contracts, she was excluded from major decisions to award money and that her job status was threatened.
In response, Army officials referred her accusations to the Pentagon's investigations bureau for review and promised to protect her position in the meantime.
Greenhouse, 62, is a veteran of military procurement and serves the Corps of Engineers as the principal assistant responsible for contracting — the top civilian overseeing the agency's contracts. She also has chief responsibility for reviewing adherence to the Pentagon's elaborate rules, intended to shield awards from outside influence and to promote competition.
The contracts to Halliburton, a Houston-based conglomerate once headed by Dick Cheney before he became vice president, have stirred controversy and charges of favoritism because some contracts were granted on an emergency basis, without competitive bidding.
The company's operations in Iraq, involving work for more than $10 billion, have also been dogged by charges of overbilling and waste and have been an issue in the presidential campaign.
Questionable charges
The Pentagon has asserted that, as the invasion of Iraq began, Halliburton was the only company able to provide services with the required speed and secrecy. But Pentagon auditors later questioned the company's billing practices and found examples of reckless spending or unjustified charges.
Halliburton has denied wrongdoing, saying it has performed well in a war zone and that many of its critics are politically motivated.
Greenhouse's lawyers sent the letter on her behalf to the acting secretary of the Army, Les Brownlee, calling for an investigation of what the letter describes as threats to the "integrity of the federal contracting program." They sent copies to several congressional committees, and a copy was provided to The Times by a congressional staff member.
Result of complaint
In a response dated Oct. 22, Robert Fano, a senior lawyer in the Department of the Army, said that the acting secretary had referred her letter to the Pentagon inspector general "for review and action as appropriate" and that he had directed the Army Corps of Engineers "to suspend any adverse personnel actions" against Greenhouse.
Some of the contracts Greenhouse says she questioned, including a noncompetitive agreement with the Halliburton subsidiary KBR in early 2003 for Iraqi oil repairs that was initially worth up to $7 billion over five years, have already attracted debate in Congress.
In the resulting firestorm, the contract was later shortened to one year and supplanted by a competitive process, just as Greenhouse had recommended initially.