KBR cited in probe of electrocutions in Iraq.
By on Mar 20th, 2008 at 10:02 am
KBR cited in probe of electrocutions in Iraq.
The Houston Chronicle reports that “[a]t least a dozen soldiers and Marines have been electrocuted in Iraq over the five years of the war” and that “investigators now are trying to learn what role improper grounding of electrical wires played in those deaths.” At the center of the probe is private contractor KBR, a company that not only dodged $500 million in Medicare and Social Security taxes but also provided “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water to U.S. troops in Iraq.
Update Will Bunch has more.
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So? What’s Congress going to do about it? Nothing! Because they are complicit and corrupt and spineless, that’s why!
March 20th, 2008 at 10:20 amAs for KBR, blatant war protiteering approved directly from the top criminals of all, Bush/Cheney.
KBR has the distinction of being the only mafia licensed to do business.
The appropriate course of action would be for our Government, coming in 2009, to prosecute the offenders within this company, pursue back fees, pursue back taxes, issue fines, and ban them from being headquartered or practicing in the United States.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:20 amNothing unexpected from the crony capitalist buddies of Darth Cheney! Held unaccountable by the accountability administration (accountable if you are an underpaid public school teacher or a corporate whistleblower, that is).
March 20th, 2008 at 10:21 amEveryone needs to watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69EYLjpNR4
March 20th, 2008 at 10:21 amBut but but… they have such cute monogrammed towels!!!
March 20th, 2008 at 10:21 amSo?
March 20th, 2008 at 10:22 amKRR, Halliburton and other low-quality over-billing whores of private companies are also licensed to do business. It’s a multi-corporate mafia. KBR isn’t alone.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:23 amPlease read Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War by Dina Rasor, Robert Bauman, and Jonathan Alter to understand just what kinds of things these guys (and their ilk) did to our troops in Iraq!
March 20th, 2008 at 10:25 amJust read this over at Raw Story. KBR picked up the maint. contract and did an initial survey that found faulty grounding. Their argument is that they weren’t contracted to repair anything until breaks.
This is just one more ugly reality when we allow profit to be a factor in providing logistical support to our troops.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:25 amAnother view of things to come. A video by the group Ministry.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:27 amWatch in total astonishment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhETKM5lTh4
Five years, huh? Thanks for getting right on that.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:34 am/sarc
I’ll bet anyone $1 that those electrocution deaths are not counted among the 3992.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:37 amI don’t know that there’s a direct correlation, but I would think that companies who are willing to form offshore subsidiaries in order to dodge taxes are going to do everything it takes to dodge regulations of all kinds. If a company is known to be so beholden to their bottom line that they are willing to violate the tax code then we should assume they will also violate OSHA, electrical codes, building codes, plumbing codes, and, in the case of KBR, the basic tenets of human decency.
All government contractors, especially military contractors, should abide by the tax code at a minimum. We should not do business with any US-based company that is incorporated overseas or employs shell corporations. To do otherwise is simply to pad the pockets of war profiteers.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:43 amThey mistakenly picked up the Abu Ghraib wiring plans. Innocent mistake….
Cheers,
March 20th, 2008 at 10:44 amIf KBR got their contract without bidding because they were the only vendor able to meet the requirements of the job, it sounds like there’s a golden business opportunity here for other corporations looking for government business. Surely another conglomerate could retool their resources for this line of work and do a better job than KBR.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:48 amgood_golly Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 10:43 am
12. Such non-hostile injuries/accidents are counted. http://icasualties.org/oif/BY_DOD.aspx. Keep your $1.
Hell, no! I’m sending you a check…
Goofy Goon
Under the Bridge, Wrong side of the tracks
Dubyaville, USA
What’s your zip?
March 20th, 2008 at 10:49 ammissmolly Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 10:48 am
There’s lots of companies that do and can do what KBR does. They just lack one thing… a Dick Cheney.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:50 amgoon_golly Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 11:05 am
16. KBR and its predecessors have been doing contract work for the U.S. military since at least WWII. The KBR contract at issue (LOGCAP) is not a “no bid” contract.
Oh, well, that’s different. Makes shoddy workmanship perfectly OK.
Now about Al Qaeda and Iraqi oil . . . when will you be explaining that ability to gain enormous revenue without production or sales?
March 20th, 2008 at 11:19 amHuh. Guess it’s not enough that they’re poisoning our troops — they have to electrocute them too.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:45 amThis story doesn’t surprise me, it just confirms that everything that this administration and it’s affiliates do with electricity is an exploit against the human race.
EM Weapons
Database Breaches
Vote Tabulation Devices
Email
Telco Snooping
Video Surveillance
The FCC
Everything they touch
March 20th, 2008 at 11:50 amCan’t the troops just use bottled electricity?
March 20th, 2008 at 11:54 amgood_golly Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 11:59 amMarch 20th, 2008 at 11:40 am
20. Why do you assume that Al Qaeda’s Arab allies have no experience with oil production or sales? Sounds like a bad assumption to me.
If only someone had thought of this before we invaded, removed Saddam who was keeping al-Qaeda out of Iraq while at the same time refusing to plan adequately for his replacement…
Oh wait, I thought of that… along with every other thoughtful human being on the planet.
Why do you assume that the only way to remove Saddam was through an invasion? Sounds like a bad assumption to me.
Bad assumption? gg and other koolaid drinkers don’t have solid ground to stand on. Bad assumption? “6 days, 6 weeks but I doubt 6 months”. “60 billion will pay for this”. “Iraq oil will pay for the war”.
Bad assumptions? gg, you are on the side of bad assumptions.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:06 pmKBR took over the maint. of this site. They conducted a survey. They found faulty wiring but did not correct it. They knowingly put our troops at risk.
To defend them Good Golly is to turn your back on the soldiers that you say you support. You put a company over the lives of our soldiers.
Your words on terrorism are hollow when you don’t point out the disgrace that KBR has been.
FYI KBR got out of military support for many years and didn’t get back in until Cheney ran it.
You are a fake patriot if you allow KBR to continue with shoddy performance when, at the same time, you scream for the support of the soldiers for this “War on Terror”.
A sad, hollow, transparent fake patriot.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:11 pmMcWars Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 10:23 am
KBR, Halliburton and other low-quality over-billing whores of private companies are also licensed to do business. It’s a multi-corporate mafia. KBR isn’t alone.
Why do you think Cheney was in the Middle East over the last week.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:27 pmI would think that companies who are willing to form offshore subsidiaries in order to dodgesohbet
March 28th, 2009 at 9:47 pmBedava mp3 indir
cet
taxes are going to do everything it takes to dodge regulations of all kinds. If a company is known to be so beholden to their bottom line that they are willing to violate the tax code then we should assume they will also violate OSHA