Report, testimony claim over $1.4b Halliburton abuse

RAW STORY

Scrutiny of Halliburton dealings with the U.S. military intensified today, as military and professional witnesses lambasted the company, and a report by two prominent Democrats and backed by a military audit priced the alleged abuse at over $1.4 billion.

Speaking at a hearing held by hill Democrats, Bunnatine Greenhouse, a procurement official from the Army's Corps of Engineers, launched a scathing attack on the actions of Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. "I can unequivocally state," Greenhouse told lawmakers, "that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR represents the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career."

"The Office of the Secretary of Defense ultimately controlled the award of the RIO contract," Greenhouse said, "and controlled the terms of the contract that was to be awarded even over my objection to specific terms that were ultimately included in the contract." Greenhouse claimed that procedures normally handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were taken over by the State Department. "I observed, first hand, that essentially every aspect of the RIO (Restore Iraqi Oil) contract remained under the control of the Office of the Secretary of Defense."

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