[Peace-discuss] fuel and Haliburton

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

As a long time Army officer and NCO I wonder how come the Army supply system 
can't provide for their own needs as they always did before......

but then since Gulf War 1 Haliburtion income has been a primary objective. It 
sure must be nice when our VP who sets up the wars can ensure his company 
gets rich from war! 




Army Sides With Halliburton on Iraq Fuel
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Filed at 1:45 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army apparently has sided with Halliburton in a 
dispute over the company's charges for fuel delivered to Iraq.

The Army Corps of Engineers official overseeing the contract wrote to 
superiors last month that Halliburton followed correct procedures and got the best 
price for the gasoline supplied by a Kuwaiti company. But a corps spokesman said 
Tuesday the corps had not totally exonerated Vice President Dick Cheney's 
former company of allegations of overcharging.

Pentagon auditors have questioned whether Halliburton subsidiary KBR 
overcharged the Army by more than $60 million for gasoline it shipped from Kuwait to 
Iraq. Halliburton has denied wrongdoing and said it saved the Army more than 
$100 million by suggesting buying some of the fuel for Iraq more cheaply in 
Turkey.

The decision to back the company's assertion on the fuel-supply issue was 
first reported in Tuesday's editions of The Wall Street Journal.

The fuel from Turkey cost more than $1 per gallon less than the fuel KBR 
bought from the Kuwaiti supplier, the Altanmia Marketing Co. Halliburton says it 
had no choice but to pay the higher price because Altanmia was the only fuel 
supplier approved by the Kuwaiti government.

``We believe KBR delivered fuel to Iraq at the best value, the best price and 
the best terms,'' Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said.

The Defense Contract Audit Agency said Tuesday it was waiting for Army 
contract managers to certify that Halliburton paid the best price for the fuel. The 
agency will issue its ruling on the issue after getting the information from 
the Army, the DCAA said in a statement.

While the Army hasn't told the Pentagon auditors of its findings, a contract 
manager backed Halliburton's arguments in a memo to his boss Dec. 19.

Contracting officer Gordon Sumner wrote that KBR ``obtained adequate price 
competition'' for the fuel and ``continued to negotiate the best price 
possible.'' Sumner wrote that Halliburton had tried to get a cheaper price but Altanmia 
and the Kuwaiti government refused.

Sumner's memo recommended that Halliburton's future deliveries of Kuwaiti 
gasoline and kerosene be exempt from U.S. rules requiring the submission of cost 
information. Kuwaiti law prevents the disclosure of such information, Sumner 
wrote.

Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers approved that exemption the same day.

Auditors from the DCAA said KBR may have overcharged the Army by $61 million 
for fuel it bought from Altanmia and delivered into Iraq between April and 
October. President Bush said last month he expected Halliburton to repay the 
money if it was found guilty of overcharging.

Critics say Halliburton had no reason to hold down costs because of the way 
the Army pays for the company's services. The contract guarantees Halliburton 
will be reimbursed for all of its expenses, plus an additional profit equal to 
between 2 percent and 7 percent of those costs.

In other words, if Halliburton overcharged by $61 million, its profits from 
that overcharging would be between $1.2 million and $4.3 million.

Democrats have seized on the dispute to criticize the Bush administration for 
its ties to Halliburton and have called for more investigations of the 
company. Cheney quit as head of the company in 2000 to become Bush's running mate 
and Halliburton executives donated thousands of dollars to Bush's campaign.

``Instead of cutting off the contract and launching an investigation into 
this sweetheart contract, Halliburton gets a pass,'' Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 
D-N.J., said Tuesday. ``It has become clear that taking care of corporate cronies 
at the expense of the public's trust is the priority of the Bush-Cheney 
administration.''

Cheney and Pentagon officials say the vice president has no control over the 
awarding of contracts. The contract to deliver gasoline to Iraqi citizens is 
part of Halliburton's contract to rebuild Iraq's oil industry. The contract 
grew out of Halliburton's deal to provide emergency logistical services to the 
Army.

Halliburton continues to supply fuel to Iraq's civilian market under the Army 
contract while another Pentagon agency, the Defense Energy Support Center, 
prepares to take over that job. The Army hopes to replace Halliburton's contract 
to rebuild Iraq's oil industry through a competitive bid process which should 
be complete later this spring. 

On the Net:

Halliburton: www.halliburton.com