US sues contractor KBR over Iraq bills

[Tx4obama]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government sued KBR Inc., the largest contractor in Iraq, on Thursday over what prosecutors say were improper charges to the Army for private security services.

Houston-based KBR Inc. is a former subsidiary of Halliburton Co. It recently won a new contract potentially worth more than $2 billion for support work in the country.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington charged that KBR and 33 of its subcontractors used private armed security at various times from 2003 to 2006. The suit claimed KBR knew under the terms of its contract the company could not bill the U.S. government for such services but did so anyway.

While the lawsuit is a contractual dispute, the case highlights what became a confusing question in the U.S. occupation of Iraq: What authority did private contractors have to carry weapons and use force in the unstable country?


Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ_CONTRACTORS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-04-01-19-08-24

[JanusAscending]

1. OK...now this is change we can believe in!

Is Obama sly as a fox or what? He is more informed and in tune than we give him credit for!!

[subsuelo]

4. PM me when the war criminals from the previous admin are locked up

[pundaint]

2. How did they recently win a $2B contract?

[Lorien]

3. good question. nt

[flyarm]

5. Just wait a little bit and they will change their name and get a new giant contract

that you will pay for!!

anyone here remember Blackwater????????

[provis99]

6. what a complete losing suit for the government.

There are a multitude of ways to go after KBR and Halliburton, and they choose this? Are the government lawyers working in collusion with KBR? The government is going to lose this suit, because KBR will argue its facilities were inadequately protected by the army, as per their contract (they were). They were thus forced to hire mercenaries (they did). It says right in the article.

The government is going to lose this, and wind up giving KBR a ton of money in punitive damages.

Could they be any more in Cheney's pocket than that?

What the hell is Obama thinking?

[cap]

8. not if those services were paid for by the US government and explicitly written into the contract

I think Obama's got them by the short hairs. I don't think any government contracting officer wrote a task order specifically authorizing those security services. KBR was just authorized to provide logistics services under LOGCAP. Not security services. You use federal contract money for any other purpose than what was written in those task orders or contracts and it is fraud.

KBR can hire any security services it wants as long as it does not use contract money to pay for them. Otherwise, it should have used whatever services that the US military chose to provide for their security. Or, like many companies, you leave a war zone because it is unsafe. That's why a lot of jobs that KBR does were formerly military ones because they are too dangerous in a war zone.

Blackwater was subcontracted to provide these security services and KBR billed the government through the LOGCAP program.

I think KBR got away with stuff because everyone knew Cheney was still involved and no one wanted to cross Cheney.

[OnyxCollie]

16. Incorrect.

The LOGCAP contract that KBR has is a cost-plus contract. If security is needed, it is added to the cost of the contract, just as Defense Base Act workmans' compensation insurance (which goes to AIG, among a few other companies) gets added to the contract.

[cap]

23. Not true... I've worked on government cost plus contracts

and actually looked into LOGCAP for a company that I was working for that does government logistics. You can't do whatever you want on those contracts. It is simply that you contract for certain goods and services and ONLY those goods and services are covered by that contract. In other words, if the contract is for tanks, you can only sell tanks not ice cream to the government. LOGCAP is for the purchase of logistics not security or military intelligence. LOGCAP is not an open purchase order although the way KBR ran it, I can understand the confusion!

Cost plus simply states that the government will pay for the cost of those services plus a certain percentage. It was impossible for KBR to lose money on that contract.

[saigon68]

12. He isn't thinking-- he's throwing a bone to Big Oil

To strip mine the continental shelf

[rasputin1952]

13. Contract law is different from tort law or criminal law...

Using contract law, can lead to investigations and charges in criminal law. Contract law is the best way for the government to recover funds in this particular instance. Who knows what will come of this?

using the correct law to recover funds is essential if the government wants to win in this case. I don't want my tax money going to KBR as they rip of the country. As the case unfolds, there could be criminal charges. In the mean time, I support what the gov't is doing in this case.

[Tx4obama]

7. Videos regarding the missing 23 BILLION DOLLARS in Iraq, etc. that everyone should see....

Anyone that hasn't seen the older 10 videos on Alan Grayson's (Grayson for Congress) website should take some time and watch them:

http://www.graysonforcongress.com/page.asp?PageId=5

if you click on the link above then all the vids will play one after the other automatically.

Enjoy :)

[pnorman]

9. Thanks!

I was looking for those videos!

[SpiralHawk]

10. "Move along. Nothing to see here." - Republicon War Cronies

"Smirk." - xCommander AWOL (R)

[NecklyTyler]

11. One can only hope that Cheney gets to see the inside of a jail cell before he dies

[rasputin1952]

14. They better hurry then...

his little briquette of a heart won't last much longer...;)

[progressoid]

21. One will have to hope for a long time

cause it ain't gonna happen.

[lib2DaBone]

15. ..and while they are at it.... get back the $100-a-case soft drinks they charged the taxpayers

[kpete]

17. US sues contractor KBR over Iraq bills

Source: Associated Press

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 1, 7:08 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The federal government sued KBR Inc., the largest contractor in Iraq, on Thursday over what prosecutors say were improper charges to the Army for private security services.

Houston-based KBR Inc. is a former subsidiary of Halliburton Co. It recently won a new contract potentially worth more than $2 billion for support work in the country.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington charged that KBR and 33 of its subcontractors used private armed security at various times from 2003 to 2006. The suit claimed KBR knew under the terms of its contract the company could not bill the U.S. government for such services but did so anyway.

While the lawsuit is a contractual dispute, the case highlights what became a confusing question in the U.S. occupation of Iraq: What authority did private contractors have to carry weapons and use force in the unstable country?

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100401/ap_on_bi_ge/us_iraq_contractors

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. KBR should have been fired from Iraq. They are corrupt like their masters

Halliburton KBR are a front for corruption. The US and Iraqi government should get rid.

[Botany]

19. Cost plus no bid contracts and they had problems?

Cheney started the war to make money.

[OnyxCollie]

20. Dupe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4329490

[gratuitous]

22. Well, it's not like KBR will lose government funding

Misappropriation of funds, electrocuting soldiers, bribery, malfeasance, murder, it's all just business. KBR's next contract will pay for the fines imposed for their misconduct under this contract. But ACORN gets punked by a punk? Cut their funding, cut it NOW!