Halliburton serves the troops dirty food--for $28/day!!

[Mairead]

The Pentagon repeatedly warned contractor Halliburton-KBR that the food it served to US troops in Iraq was "dirty," as were as the kitchens it was served in, NBC News reported on Friday.

Halliburton-Kellogg Brown and Root's promises to improve "have not been followed through," according to a Pentagon report that warned "serious repercussions may result" if the contractor did not clean up.

The Pentagon reported finding "blood all over the floor," "dirty pans," "dirty grills," "dirty salad bars" and "rotting meats ... and vegetables" in four of the military messes the company operates in Iraq, NBC said, citing Pentagon documents.

The report came as President George W. Bush fended off Pentagon reports that Halliburton-KBR overcharged US$61 million for gasoline it sold the military in Iraq. Dick Cheney ran Halliburton for five years until becoming vice president.

The company feeds 110,000 US and coalition troops daily at a cost of US$28 per troop per day, NBC said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/12/14/2003079545

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. And this was the company that was given the contract

without competative bidding.

[Bandit]

19. Didn't you know they are the only company in the world that is capable

of delivering dirty food to out troops. Support our troops indeed. That is the logic for no bid contracts. They are the only company capable of doing the deed. :shrug: What Americans will believe is amazing.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Being the good conservatives that they are

They made a slick TV commercial telling us taxpayers how rightously they were spending our money. The rubes swallowed every second of it. However, I haven't seen the commercial lately. Is that like turning the light on in the kitchen and watching the cockroaches hide? You mean, this administration can only rely on secrets and lies? Please spread the word, and if one disagrees with you, insist that one proves otherwise.

[Q]

3. The problem with privatizing parts of the military or government....

...is that you lose more than a few layers of accountability. I realize than Republicans have convinced many Americans that government workers are overpaid and 'lazy'...but all my experiences with them have shown that they're held to a much higher standard than private contractors in many cases.

- This is the future of your government. Get used to it if the DLCers or Bush* retains power after 2004.

[bobthedrummer]

22. Private Military Company/PMC link

http://www.icij.org/dtaweb/icij_bow.asp?Section=Chapter&ChapNum=2

[OldSoldier]

4. How do they get "blood all over the floor"...

when they buy the meat frozen in cases?

I guess this is better than Halliburton serving the troops no food, like they were doing at the beginning of this contract, but not by very much. I do wonder how much food poisoning we're seeing in theater.

This is the first war that has used privatized mess halls, and obviously it ain't working. The military (except for the Air Force, who has used privatized mess halls for years, but the Air Force is fussy about how well its troops eat and would have terminated the KBR contract three days after it was let if they'd have had the chance) used troops as cooks for centuries, especially in wartime (when even the Air Force uses military mess personnel). And now we know why.

[zubeneshamali]

5. Sounds like they need to "clean up" their act

Wonder if this might be the root cause of Gulf War Syndrome and some of the other afflictions that the US troops have experienced in recent months.

[mrbill]

6. $28 a day for food????

hope the troops are getting some lobster and nice prime omaha steaks.

more likely they are eating gruel.

[dusty64]

7. How much more can

they get away with? Any chance this whole dirty scandal about the truth of Halliburton will be known now?

[OneTwentyoNine]

8. WTF,it takes Taipe to be a Halliburton watchdog??

God,what the hell happened to this fucking MEDIA in the US??


David

[nostamj]

11. uh, read the article... this was an NBC Evenings News

report.

I saw it Friday night, and commented on it here in connection to the larger Haliburton story...

cable "news" is 100% worthless, but there is still some good reporting on the evening news broadcasts.

[OneTwentyoNine]

12. Yeah....I know it says NBC

I didn't see the story on Friday,and I'll be damned if it ever made our paper which I read cover to cover every day. The gasoline rip-off was in there but nothing about their food contract.

Thats why I was wondering why it takes Taipei to put this into print. Never mind,I already know the answer.

David

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. and over charged taxpayers buy $67 million for that rotten food..just

as they overcharged $61 million to taxpayers for gasoline
halliburton stole $128 million in last 3 months....and this is only what we know of...how much more have they stolen?

how convient that saddam was ...ahem...only just found now that this was front page news
i hate bush/cheney

[Braden]

10. serious repurcussions include another $222mm contract

[LTR]

13. This is what the right considers "Supporting the troops"

Some support.

First, hosing veterans on benefits, and now this.

Looks like that arguement is dead. The Bush Administration and the neocon movement favor treating the troops like shit.

Read THIS thread on your show, Rush Lowbrow!

[NewJeffCT]

16. local media made Bush out to be a hero in regards to Haliburton

The local media here in CT treated Bush like a hero for demanding that Haliburton pay the gov't back for overcharging us.

[LTR]

18. It's all talk, no action

'Scuze my while I hurl.

:puke:

[frogfromthenorth2]

14. Rename the company HalliDIRTon ???

eom

[Padraig18]

15. For $28/day, they better be serving STEAK, ffs!

If they're not eating VERY well on $28/day, something is MASSIVELY wrong! :wtf:

[OldSoldier]

25. Possible expenses involved in the $28/troop/day thing

Transporting the food from Texas to Iraq. Even though soldiers in Europe are forced to suffer through eating Danish dairy products and European produce, we'll have nothing but high-quality Texas food for our fighting troops.

Paying each cook a thousand dollars a day, tax free. I'm not kidding here.

Greasing a few palms along the way to ensure that the Iraqi "rebels" and "insurgents" (you know, the guys who used to be the Iraqi Army until George Bush fired them all) don't shoot up the convoys and take the food for themselves.

[Cooley Hurd]

17. Hey! Mops and cleansers and O'Cedar sponges cost $$$...

...and that additional overhead would mean less $$$ for the board members' Christmas bonuses. What are you... anti-Christmas???

[Deja Q]

20. Wait a mo', I budget for $7 per day, WTF is going on?!

$28 per troop per day? What are frack are the troops eating? Filet of Mignon? Escargot? Caviar? Top prime beef?!

There's much more overbudgeting going on, methinks...

[proud patriot]

21. This is what I was thinking too

:grr:

[Deja Q]

23. And I'm paying retail prices, no less - Halliburton-KELLOGG-Brown_Root

probably gets wholesale or better prices...

It's sad, very sad... these companies are supposed to be prime examples of capitalism and they're no better than despicable thieves and criminals, with an appointed president who openly caters to them. Absolutely outrageous and disgusting. :cry:

[phiddle]

24. Let's introduce a bill in Congress to

feed the troops schoollunches. We'll then see school lunches improve!