Soldiers Accuse KBR Of Knowingly Exposing Troops To Deadly Toxin In Iraq
Soldiers Accuse KBR Of Knowingly Exposing Troops To Deadly Toxin In Iraq
Controversial military contractor KBR has racked up quite a record of endangering the lives of U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq. Over the years, the former Halliburton subsidiary has been accused of everything from giving troops ice tainted with “traces of body fluids and putrefied remains” to ignoring warnings of unsafe wiring that led to troop deaths.
Earlier this month, attorneys for 16 members of the Indiana National Guard filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that they “knowingly exposed the soldiers to a cancer-causing toxic chemical.” In a special report last night, CBS News revealed that KBR knew of the toxic exposure to hexavalent chromium long before it informed the guardsmen:
Now CBS News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger months before the soldiers were ever informed.
Depositions from KBR employees detailed concerns about the toxin in one part of the plant as early as May of 2003. And KBR minutes, from a later meeting state “that 60 percent of the people … exhibit symptoms of exposure,” including bloody noses and rashes.
Gentry says it wasn’t until the last day of August in 2003 – after four long months at the facility – that he was told the plant was contaminated.
Watch it:
After receiving a briefing on the case on Monday, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) told CBS that “KBR has a lot to answer for“:
“Look, I think the burden of proof at this point is on the company,” Bayh said. “To come forward and very forthrightly explain what happened, why we should trust them, and why the health and well-being of our soldiers should continue to be in their hands.”
In a statement to CBS, the company denied all charges, saying, “We deny the assertion that KBR harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition.” According to CNN, “an estimated 275 American soldiers may have been exposed to the chemical” at the KBR water plant, “over a period of months through mid- to late-2003.”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Such is the sacrifice our troops must make in order for the war profiteers to accomplish their mission.
Suck it up for GW, boys!
Sickening. Literally.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:24 pmGet Erin Brockovich on it, that is literally the same chemical she dealt with.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pmAfter this poor guy’s body gives out on him, chalk up another death to Cheney’s account.
¶ AIO
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:28 pmGee, a company that was part of Dick Cheney’s Haliburton doesn’t give a shit about the troops. Who could have thought this was possible? Did Dick personally train these idiots in the art of f@cking American troops and making profit from their sacrifice? It sure would make sense considering that Dick hates the troops more than al quaeda does. This company needs to have their assets frozen and their contracts torn up for a start. Long jail sentences for every upper level war profiteer and heavy fines (take everything) would be a good next step. Dick Cheney…leaving the mark of the devil in his wake wherever he has been.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:30 pmAfter receiving a briefing on the case on Monday, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) told CBS that “KBR has a lot to answer for“:
And don’t hold your breath that the DINO Bayh does anything about it.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:35 pmThis is the main problem with “modernizing” the military by contracting out to private capitalists the jobs the military used to do. The primary consideration for capitalist corporations is profit and if it means poisoning troops to receive a little more profit, that is what is going to happen!
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:35 pmHopefully Obama will put this on the Justice Department’s “to do” list.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pmOk, so far I believe KBR has been accused of rape, electricution, poisoning and lets not forget thos $100.00 monogrammed had towels. What’s next, murder. Guilty of all probably. Held accountable, not likely.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 pmThe price of freedom. It’s too bad that soldiers had to die, and lose arms/legs/skulls in under protected vehicles and be exposed to toxins and eat putrefied human remains, but they did have to.
There is no sacrifice. I repeat, no sacrifice, too great to keep little george’s ego intact. It’s the least we can do to support that great man. Come on you ingrate Americans, he even gave up GOLF! (Well, almost gave it up. Gave it up for the most part. It’s the symbolism that counts)
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pmWhen we criticised the reckless decision by this administration to put the troops in harm’s way, then the Bush cultists were up in arms, crying “why do you hate the troops?”.
But when one of the Bush cronies actually engages in (criminal) activities that can do actual harm to the troops, then it’s “but.. but.. they volunteered!”.
The Bush loyalists are such a hypocritical, idiotic, contemptible lot.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:51 pmMy country, where are thee,
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:52 pmSweet land of liberty,
For thee I weep;
Land of its citizens cursed,
To fatten someone else’s purse,
As we go from worse to worst
Let fascism creep!
I’m so angry about all this, angry and sick at heart that these monsters have been allowed to rape and kill and steal and destroy America – literally!
And now, I hear people say, “oh, it’s over, let it go, move on” – and that makes me even more angry and sick at heart, that these monsters will have gotten away with it all.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pmA reich-wing leaning company put profits above the health and well being of those they were to serve??? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Oh, wait…
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 pmI hear you Annie. The bastards count on the “Look forward not behind us” get out of jail free card they know is coming. I sincerely would like to see trials and, if found guilty of treason, a life in prison. Send a message to the next lying POS (are you listening Jeb?)who would ruin our country for his petulant tantrums. How much damage can a person do and get away with?
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pmQuestion is why are private contractors doing the jobs of soldiers anyway? And why didn’t anyone question this closely?
I forgot, the Dems don’t question too closely, they follow.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 pmI wonder why the Iraq operations didn’t work out so well (besides corruption)?
Here’s a stimulus: stop paying billions to these demons and seize their assets immediately.
Local terrorist organizations for sure.
We could just pay al-Qaida to do it, probably for less dough.
Of course they’ll have to investigate, and probably find they did such a heckuva job poisoning they deserve a bigger contract.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 pmThis is why I got out, and will continue to piss all over the letters they send me to join up again.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pmThis is what they pay for instead of healthcare.
“We can’t find money for SCHIP… it has some flaws as well… KBR is developing a special health program for our troops, so we’ll pay them and hope it goes well.”
This is treason! And that doesn’t even count what the Iraqis have the right to claim against these organizations.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pmThis is reprehensible. And please keep in mind this water plant was not drinking water for troops or civilians. It was for the oil wells. So they could get oil flowing again.!!
KBR has a “let’s just do it till we get caught” management style. Then once caught they claim “DoD contractor immunity”.
I just hope that this new administration is going to put a stop to this. KBR is not the only ones at fault here. DoD has some responsibility here as well for the lack of oversight. KBR has been allowed to run amuck.
I recently received an emailed report about Chrom-6 at Baghram AFB in Afghanistan. Are we going to have to wait for dying soldiers and civilians to sue KBR before we hear about that?
What about the detonated depleted uranium exposure? When is the DoD going to come clean about that?
There is so much more that we aren’t even aware of. Hopefully the Army’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CID) has opened an investigation into this.
Ms Sparky
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pmhttp://mssparky.com/
When he dies can someone tell me how that would not be considered murder?
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pmTHIS is why the world needs trial lawyers. No wonder there’s a new commercial out badmouthing them and spewing on about “frivolous lawsuits”.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pmI’d bet that if you push hard enough for answer, a neocon would admit that private industry comes before the troops.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 pmMercenaries are the lowest of scum. That this administration chose mercenaries over the army displays an enormous hatred of our troops (the money spent on these filthy mercs would have provided the services within the military, and at a lower cost in money and mistakes).
mercenary companies operating in the US should be illegal, and taken to trial for every single infraction of US and international law.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:52 pmMcWars Says:
I’d bet that if you push hard enough for answer, a neocon would admit that private industry comes before the troops.
As I recall — they get paid more than our military, AND they get more (federal) money when they are injured than our regular troops. It is clear who is the prefered soldiers in this administration.
I despise mercenaries.
D E S P I S E
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pmCageyCretin
Agreed, Cagey. The troops have handled IEDs, and they can handle logistical duties. Let them do what what they’re well trained to do.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:57 pmHey now, this is gonna cut in to those NO BID CONTRACTS profits.
Bush will just pardon them anyway…
…it’s not like he really cares about the Troops or anything.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:59 pmCageyCretin Says:
As I recall — they get paid more than our military, AND they get more (federal) money when they are injured than our regular troops. It is clear who is the prefered soldiers in this administration.
I despise mercenaries.
D E S P I S E
You’re well alert to despise them. We want adequate pay for all of our troops, especially those at the lower ranks doing the grunt work. But our troops are especially valuable because they carry out a wide range of duties — listed and unlisted — and civilians contractually limit their services for, as you mentioned, much higher pay.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 pmDon’t expect anything to happen with this case until at least after Jan 20, 2009. At that time, the issue should move from being one of a civil lawsuit, to a criminal investigation. Bayh’s statement about “…the burden of proof at this point is on the company,” under a criminal investigation and trial becomes the prosecutor having the burden of proof (which happens to be the way the U.S. justice system works). There’s enough evidence right now to prosecute and convict. A criminal investigation should not only uncover those directly involved, but those who sought to cover this information up.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pmThe responsibility for this debacle lies squarely at the feet of Cheney.
War profiteer, liar, and enemy of the US Constitution.
Bring on the war crimes trials. Cheney first.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:29 pmSo here we have another Cheney death watch. This man is truly one evil specimen of a human being.
KBR is just the kind of company he would be associated with as a subsidiary of Haliburton. This company sponsored by Cheney and the State Department have run rough shod over the men and laws and espcially any morality. Time after time despite the cheating and violations they never were kicked out. They got new contracts even with such egregious actions.
Let’s not leave the State Department or the Army out of the blame. They made no demands and asked no questions. This kind of oversight is supposed to come from the top. And like all leadership and sense of decency, if it’s not at the top the whole organization there is nothing.
There is so much for this administration to answer for, it is almost incomprehensible.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:06 pmKBR. Juden.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:19 pmWords cannot discribe the disgust, anger and hatred I feel for these people. They are the lowest of the low. There’s a special place in hell for the KBR’s of this world right next to child molesters and rapists.
My wife often asks, “:How do these people sleep at night?”
With the help of a few scotches and Ambien, they sleep just fine thank you with no small comfort afforded by the tally on their balance sheets.
-AF
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 pmAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
Cr +6. The health effects have been known for quite some time. (in fact, it is one of the reasons you can’t get CCA treated wood anymore). OSHA has long established safety levels. So to imply anything along the lines of “we didn’t know” or “we didn’t monitor the levels” is pure BS.
Of course, we’re dealing with a no-bid contract with no oversight and guarantees of immunity. So what are the victims whining about ?
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:52 pmWhen profit is the underlying motive, humanity goes out the window. The bottom line ceases to be real people’s lives, it becomes only the quest for the almighty dollar, or yen, or Euro…
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:36 pmIt is not enough to sue this company and it’s (at that time) parent company Haliburton out of existence, we must destroy–personally–every officer of the company. They should hang for war profiteering or go to the Hague for war crimes.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:50 pmWhat enough says + take all their money and give it to the V.A., or even give it directly to the troops who survived the travesty called Haliburton.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:05 pm