KBR gave troops ice tainted with ‘traces of body fluids and putrefied remains.’
KBR gave troops ice tainted with ‘traces of body fluids and putrefied remains.’
A former technician who worked for contracting company KBR in Iraq has filed a class-action lawsuit saying the company “exposed everyone at Joint Base Balad in Iraq to unsafe water, food and hazardous fumes from the burn pit there.” Joshua Eller’s suit includes particularly disturbing charges about KBR’s indifference to proper sanatization and the disposal of human remains:
The lawsuit also accuses KBR of shipping ice in mortuary trucks that “still had traces of body fluids and putrefied remains in them when they were loaded with ice. This ice was served to U.S. forces.”
Eller also accuses KBR of failing to maintain a medical incinerator at Joint Base Balad, which has been confirmed by two surgeons in interviews with Military Times about the Balad burn pit. Instead, according to the lawsuit and the physicians, medical waste, such as needles, amputated body parts and bloody bandages were burned in the open-air pit.
“Wild dogs in the area raided the burn pit and carried off human remains,” the lawsuit states. “The wild dogs could be seen roaming the base with body parts in their mouths, to the great distress of the U.S. forces.”
Just yesterday, 16 Indiana National Guard soldiers sued the scandal-ridden company for knowingly allowing them to be exposed to a toxic chemical while serving in Iraq.
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oh – but they probably all drive around with those stupid yellow “Support the troops” stickers on their cars – disgusting
December 4th, 2008 at 10:30 amOh my God. I feel sick.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:35 amAnd for this they got a no-bid contract? Surely we could have found someone to poison our troops more efficiently and at a lower cost.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:41 amThere needs to be a Congressional investigation into KBR and they will need to pay restitution and refund the taxpayers for this atrocious “business”. They are the scum of the earth.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:44 amWhat do we really expect from people who are willing to wage pontless war, support pointless war, and profit off of pointless war? Compassion for other human beings who intended to serve their country in a time of necessary war?
These sociopaths know no depths to their greed and disregard for anyting but money. Disgusting.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:44 amDisgusting but not a surprise.
KBR -> Halliburton -> Cheney
Seems all the shit keeps pointing to Cheney. As shellyT says, a full investigation needs to occur, followed by prosecution of those the investigations lead to.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:48 amAmerican automakers part of the American tradition have to ponder bankruptcy and beg for help, but corrupt defense contractors like KBR are financially sound. We have devolved big time.
But Tim Geithner probably thinks KBR is a team player, so they’re going to be on the government’s payroll for some time. (Sorry, couldn’t help it.)
December 4th, 2008 at 10:50 amThe Republicans say they support the troops, and then treat them like trash. Sometimes I think they are just evil. Bring them all home NOW.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:50 amIf the executive food services at KBR were run by KBR employees, and I was an executive there, I would definitely eat off-site.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:00 am“Wild dogs in the area raided the burn pit and carried off human remains,”
Ahem…excuse me… whose human remains? Why are they being burned in a refuse pit? On an Army base?
December 4th, 2008 at 11:00 amBut but but… KBR has those cute little hand towels!!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:02 amThis is not all that unusual.
In a war-zone, the military is often lax about such things as sanitation and the proper disposal of remains, especially those of the ‘enemy.’
The thing here is that the “contractors” are making money off the suffering they themselves perpetrate on the troops.
Just as the corpoRats are making PILES of money off imprisoning criminals.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:02 amThe Republicans say they support the troops, and then treat them like trash. Sometimes I think they are just evil.
They’d cut off their nose just to spite their face.
Really no different than tribal self-mutilators.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:03 amWhy are they being burned in a refuse pit? On an Army base?
See #12…We don’t have much regard for ‘human’ remains that aren’t those of “our own.”
December 4th, 2008 at 11:04 amWe need to strongly resist the impulse to ‘put it all behind us’. We need to delve into all the instances of the sort of abuses that have been SO prevalent these past 8 years so that we never go down this road again. We need to understand that this sort of thing did not happen in a vacuum; the preconditions for this sort of abuse were carefully and intentionally created by a philosophy which we’ve seen fail utterly.
Greedy private contractors with corrupt ties to partisan ideologues do not, in fact, serve the public good better than dedicated career civil servants. Magical thinking does not, in fact, alter reality. Trees falling in the woods make noise even if when they fall half way around the world while we’re distracted by shiny objects and ‘runaway brides’.
Fully investigating and documenting the abuses of these past years is not ‘rubbing it in’ or ‘piling on’ or ‘beating a dead horse’, it is LEARNING from our experience and that may be the only real good to come from these past 8 years.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:05 amBut Tim Geithner probably thinks KBR is a team player, so they’re going to be on the government’s payroll for some time. (Sorry, couldn’t help it.)
Change we can believe in! YES! Yes we can …(what? I never heard)
December 4th, 2008 at 11:05 amThe human remains burned in the pit and carried off by dogs were probably amputated parts.
I can’t believe I had to type that. Compassionate conservatism, ladies and gentleman. Humble foreign policy as well.
Does KBR qualify as a biological terrorist organization?
December 4th, 2008 at 11:15 amI wonder if these war criminals and profiteers will ever be held accountable for their crimes against humanity. The braindead media keeps covering up their crimes making them look like our saviors and protectors. This is pathetic!
The idiot has the audacity to walk out of his presidency with his head held high. Laura Bush says that people have expressed their gratitude for her husband keeping them safe. Shameless losers! How much pain, anguish, and loss are we willing to sustain for these criminals? How much is enough?
December 4th, 2008 at 11:15 amThese idiots put a couple bucks in the wallets of the ‘have-mores’ and that enables them to remain in office and walk out with their heads held high having trashed everything this nation stands for. Shameful, pathetic, I’ve had enough of this!
I hope KBR is put out of business. Our soldiers deserve so much better than this! I’m outraged!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:16 amSounds like that “privatize the military operations” is working out just dandy. /snark off
December 4th, 2008 at 11:26 amGet some video of the dogs.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:33 amTie dick’s head down tight and prop his eyelids open with toothpicks.
Play that video 24 inches from his face on an endless loop.
Good gawd, I hate him .
The Rolling Stones Sweet Neo Con
How come you’re so wrong
My sweet neo con…. Yeah
It’s liberty for all
‘Cause democracy’s our style
Unless you are against us
Then it’s prison without trial
But one thing that is certain
December 4th, 2008 at 11:37 amLife is good at Haliburton
If you’re really so astute
You should invest at Brown & Root…. Yeah
Be outraged all ye want, but the fact of the matter is, everyone of these lowlifes are going to walk away with Medals of Freedom for their actions. Bush, Cheney, and their buddies will walk away from this with smiles upon their faces and overstuffed bank accounts, while declaring “Victory” in Iraq. And there is not a damn thing you can or will do about it, so quit whining!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:40 amlarkohio Says:
The Republicans say they support the troops, and then treat them like trash. Sometimes I think they are just evil.
Apparently you don’t understand Republicans. They live in opposite land. Take what they say and think exactly opposite and you get the truth.
Support the troops = F the troops
Smaller Government = Huge Government increases
Balanced budget = Break the Bank
Personal Responsibility = I’m sorry the intelligence was bad
Peace = War
Its really pretty simple once you get the hang of it.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:53 amThey should put “Mr. Yuck” stickers on them…yah think?
December 4th, 2008 at 12:01 pmThe FDA and EPA can’t even maintain health/contamination standards properly in the US.
Even if private contractors like KBR weren’t involved this sort of thing would still have happened—unless of course the US had gone in with more troops (as Gen. Shinseki recommended) because then they’d have support units directly answerable to the combat units and the chain of command, so any instances would have been addressed very quickly.
I’m reminded of Gulf War I and it’s infamous ‘Syndrome’.
Will we see an Iraq War Syndrome too? If so it may be both more complicated and yet simpler then its predecessor.
If I recall the GW Syndrome roughly resulted from a combination of exposure to Depleted Uranium and all the vaccinations the soldiers were given, but I don’t remember any allegations of other contaminants concerning food and water.
In Iraq the Pentagon seemed to replace the GW vaccination regime with NCB suits, so no sickness resulted from those.
DU seems to be less of an issue but that may be because US troops have been less exposed as (perhaps) there was less enemy armor to fight against this time around ( DU is all about armor penetration).
It has been reported that radiation-exacerbated conditions are much higher in the Iraqi population than before the invasion and occupation, and as an obvious source of increased radiation would be from DU munitions used by aircraft, tanks and artillery fired into populated areas occupied by ‘insurgents’ whilst US troops ‘commute’ from the Green Zone to ‘contact’ zones, and back their exposure to DU contamination would presumably be less than that of the general population forced to live (and die) in the contaminated target areas.
Assuming all this to be the case, it would be ironic (?)
for the US military to have replaced one form of sickening contamination with another with the latter and present form being entirely predictable avoidable whereas the former was largely unpredictable.
If there is to be an ‘Iraq War Syndrome’ it could be ’sourced’ to a combination of PTSD (from multiple unproductive tours), existing mental/physical conditions ( from the lowering of recruitment/re-enlistment/re-deployment standards) and the local environment. I imagine these variables would thus allow the military authorities to easily claim the ‘real’ cause of a soldier’s subsequent health problems as unique and out of their control–as DoD already has done.
Indeed it might be that the DoD itself that will label any and all claims as ‘Iraq War Syndrome’ precisely so they can shoot each one down as being too complex to assign specific cause and thus specific liability for a given condition–thus absolving them of any responsibility beyond the immediate consequences of an obvious physical wound—which incidentally the Dod has just recently redefined as deserving of recognition and post-combat medical support ONLY if the soldier is injured by DIRECT FIRE.
In other words if for an example an IED blows-up your Humvee and you get crushed and burned in the wreckage, instead of simply being shot in the ass with a 7.62 mm bullet the Army will pay for an inflatable ass-cushion whilst you recover, but not for physiotherapy and skin grafts because an IED is not direct fire and thus not ‘combat related’.
Given that new standard of liability and responsibility towards injury in an ATTACK the chances of a solider being able to claim against the Pentagon to pay for a colonoscopy as a result of drinking contaminated water provided by KBR will be nil.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:07 pmAnother proud record for Dick Cheney and the Halliburton crony capitalist crime syndicate.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pmPlease, President Obama, do not let contractors like KBR continue to get away with harming our troops. This story makes me sick to my stomach. Support our troops, indeed.
You know, when the military did things for itself instead of contracting out to private businesses, they didn’t have these sorts of problems. I think that it is high time we eliminate government contractors for the military and have our own troops do the jobs that overpaid KBR employees are screwing up.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:10 pmthanks KBR, for turning the troops into cannibals.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:12 pmThis dfoesn’t suprise me. Shoot, KBR has a rape problem on top of that.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:15 pmhttp://www.thenation.com/doc/20080505/houppert
A comission focusing on all government privatization needs to be done when Obama takes office to make people realize that the private sector isn’t always the cheapest and most effecient way to get things done.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:33 pmWow, and we got extra protein in our ice because we gave a no-bid contract immune from Congressional oversight.
Think what tragedy could have occured if there had been oversight or at least token bids.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:35 pmmmm people guspatcho nom nom nom
December 4th, 2008 at 4:28 pmPlease use the word “privatization” in these stories. Because that’s what this is, a bunch of cheap greedy bastards making money doing lousy work.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:53 pmThis is the most disgusting thing that I’ve ever heard.
Not even able to make a joke about it.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:59 pmI’m stunned by this story and I have no idea why it isn’t the lead story of every news report in the country!
This is just a snapshot of the morally bankrupt, reckless mentality that has come from our government and is yet another atrocity that perfectly reflects the Bush administration. The leader sets the tone and this is a perfect example of the careless and reckless disregard, disrespect and contemptuous conduct of the current leadership of the United States of America. It’s pure filth.
If American soldiers were responsible for their fellow soldiers this story would not have happened. Private contractors don’t give a shit about our soldiers and this is good example of how the leader sets the tone because its crystal clear that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and the Republican leadership didn’t give our troops a second thought. When Cheney convinced Bush into going along with him, I’m sure he added, “Our troops all enlisted in the military, it’s not like we’re making them go, for these guys war is a choice. Don’t forget the US has an all volunteer military. (wink, wink) They know what they are getting into, they want to fight.”
I’m getting worried that the Obama administration does not have the will to investigate and prosecute those responsible for corruption, torture, fraud and the deaths of innocent people. This has been a conspiracy and manipulation of our Constitution and laws have been broken. The conduct of this government will weaken our government and our country unless these people are held responsible for their crimes. That’s it.
We should let our elected officials know, it is not an option to vote for someone who does not have the will to hold these people accountable for their actions and pursue justice for this country.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:02 pmThis is truly sickening. First of all they send our brave service men and women to do their dirty neocon deed against people who, on the whole are peaceful and have done nothing against the US, then we hear and see how they have inveigled our troops into committing heinous crimes against humanity, and then we hear of the no-bidder criminals committing these crimes against our troops. I bet the likes of Cheney sports several “Support Our Troops” ribbons; made in China, on the big fat SUV he takes to exchange the dollars he Halliburton has stolen, for Euros.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:29 pmThis is three year old news. Including the news that water was so tainted that when they showered and washed their clothes, their skin broke out in open sores and soldiers got sick.
Or how about the electrical problems in the showers. Soldiers were electrocuted while taking showers. How about the soldiers whose boots were held together by duc tape because they were not furnished new boots when the old ones wore out. They were not delivered as promised by contractors. Or how about the times when food was not delivered and soldiers had to buy food to eat from Iraqi citizens. Or how about guarding empty contractors trucks. Contractors are paid to deliver goods by truck. When there were no goods to deliver the trucks went out anyway so they could charge the tax payers for the trip.
There have been so many stories about this over the years of this war. And finally some investigations are being done. Bush wanted no oversight. So nothing was done. Now that he is out of office, they are just beginning to start investigating. This is the tip of the iceberg.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:18 pmF-ing A-holes. Let’s make sloppy joes out of the Halliburton/KBR execs. I’d dig in…
December 5th, 2008 at 12:36 amSending our brave VOLUNTEER enlisted men and women into an unnecessary and unjustified war without proper protection or planning?
Awarding illegal no-bid contracts to companies already under investigation who further endanger those in uniform?
Cutting funding for body armor, education, health care for children, the elderly, and our returning troops, in order to give enormous tax breaks to the wealthiest people in the world?
Allowing millions of jobs to be sent overseas while Americans are losing their homes and health insurance?
Fostering wholesale pollution of our planet while handing over trillions of taxpayer dollars to executives whose ineptitude ran their own companies into bankruptcy?
My blood is boiling! I feel like my head is going to explode, and I can hardly keep from throwing up. What happened to America? How could we let this happen? All of it. It is beyond comprehension! The citizens of other countries of the world, whose media actually tells them the TRUTH are perfectly justified in considering us the worst example of civilized society in modern human history. If they collectively decided to rid the Earth of the vile plague that the USA has become, who could blame them? Fortunately for us they are, hopefully, not as morally and ethically bankrupt as we have become, so they simply shake their heads in disgust and disbelief and thank God that they are not us. Please, please, please let them have pity on us until, hopefully, a man of intelligence and integrity can assemble an administration with the will and desire to forge a government entity that has the resolve and determination to undo what we have allowed to be done.
At the end of 2001 we had a level of collective, global respect and support that had never been seen before, and probably never will be again. And then we stood by and watched it be pissed away, along with freedom, liberties, and security by the Devil and his puppet, for the sole purpose of enriching further those who already had anything and everything anyone could ever want, at the expense in life and livelihood of every honest, decent, compassionate human on the planet.
May God have mercy on us, but not those responsible. While there is surely a special place in Hell reserved for them, we owe it to everyone who has suffered on their behalf to ensure that justice is done, and they get a severe and incessant sampling of what awaits them, for the rest of their time on Earth! Sorry, but I’m more than a little fed up!
December 5th, 2008 at 5:14 amKBR isnt always the bad guy. I can tell you first hand that if ice was transported in equipment that had remains of any kind, it was military equipment that was operated by the military. ON THE GROUND IN IRAQ the most careless, dangerous, reckless people (other than the iraqis) is the military. As for the burning pit in Balad: That is another military fumble. If KBR was told to build an incinerator and didnt, they didnt get paid for it. Now before you start the attacks, I think KBR is probably the most crooked corporation in the world. The electrocuted soldiers and the bad water was KBRs fault. On top of overcharging for supplies and the work THAT WE DID EXACTLY OR BETTER THAN THE MILITARY SPECs. ok begin
December 5th, 2008 at 10:14 amDoes anyone know how I can get in touch with the person who is in charge of this class action? I’d like to sign up immediately.
Whats really messed up, is that I spent a year on this base and can attest to the nasty air and the dirty water. We(a couple of guys I hung out with on the base) took a home test kit to test the water and it failed the test. This was the purified water that we received from the water supply station on the edge of the base. We showered in this water, drank it when we ran out of bottled water, and cooked our food with it, all while breathing air that was tainted from the burn pit. Not only did we breath in all of the trash, but we breathed in all of the biological waste from the CSH (the Hospital) to include body parts that were burned. I just wonder now what kind of cancers I’m going to have and how long the VA will deny the claims like they have our older brothers and sister from Vietnam with their agent orange. Once are military men and women are used up, throw them away. WTF?
December 5th, 2008 at 5:34 pmAnd they are heavily involved in the opium trade. How else do all the drugs get here! Not by the few dealers who happen to get away with it. Companies like, and especially, KBR bring it in. They are doing a lot more than “supporting our troops”. And, Dick Cheney is in the thick of it. He’s made a fortune and continues to. You’d think he’d protect his interests better than allowing such unprofessional sloppy handling of simple sanitation.. These are thugs and should all, including Cheney go to prison and be made to pay all the money they made for all the death their dirty deeds have caused here and abroad.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:30 amThis is absolutely disgusting. I have no idea what else to say.
December 7th, 2008 at 10:56 pm