KBR Named In Report On Soldier Illnesses

Contaminated Water Found At Iraq Posts Operated By Former Halliburton Subsidiary

(AP)  Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says.

A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.

The Defense Department's inspector general's report, which could be released as early as Monday, found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.

It was impossible to link the dirty water definitively to all the illnesses, according to the report. But it said KBR's water quality "was not maintained in accordance with field water sanitary standards" and the military-run sites "were not performing all required quality control tests."

The report said KBR took corrective steps and was providing adequate water quality by November 2006. But military units at the two sites they controlled were still failing to perform required quality control tests and maintain appropriate records by that time.

"Therefore, water suppliers exposed U.S. forces to unmonitored and potentially unsafe water," at the military sites by late 2006, the report said.

The problems did not extend to troops' drinking water, but rather to water used for washing, bathing, shaving and cleaning. Water used for hygiene and laundry must meet minimum safety standards under military regulations because of the potential for harmful exposure through the eyes, nose, mouth, cuts and wounds.

The KBR sites were Camp Ar Ramadi, Camp Q-West and Camp Victory. The military sites were Logistics Support Area Anaconda and Camp Ali.

The inspector general's study confirmed AP reports on the contaminated water in early 2006 and provided additional details on the scope of the problem at the Iraq bases. In January that year, interviews and internal company documents disclosed the problems at Ar Ramadi and showed that KBR employees could not get the company to inform base residents.

Halliburton Co., then KBR's parent company, disputed the allegations even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails. In March 2006, the AP obtained an internal Halliburton report that, in one instance, the company missed contamination that could have caused "mass sickness or death" at Ar Ramadi.

The report said the event at Ar Ramadi could have been prevented if KBR's reverse osmosis units on the site had been assembled, instead of relying on the military's water production facilities.

Halliburton is the oil services conglomerate that Cheney once led. Congressional Democrats long have complained that KBR has benefited from its former ties to Cheney.

KBR, responding to the inspector general's report, said its water treatment "has met or exceeded all applicable military and contract standards." The company took exception to many of the inspector general's assertions. "KBR's commitment to the safety of all of its employees remains unwavering," the company said in a statement to the AP.

KBR provided water treatment to U.S. troops under a large-scale defense contract that also included housing and food to soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Djbouti and Georgia.

The military has "taken the appropriate measures to correct the problem and ensure we provide the appropriate oversight of the system," said Navy Capt. James Graybeal of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. troops in the Middle East.

North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, who has led Democratic inquiries into contracting abuses in Iraq, said the inspector general has backed up what those earlier hearings uncovered. "KBR was not doing its job" and U.S. forces had water that did not meet Army standards, Dorgan said.

"I think it's outrageous that KBR tried to deny that there was a problem, especially when it turned out that there were dozens of U.S. troops reporting water-related illnesses," he said.

The inspector general investigated the 2006 reports at Dorgan's request.

The inspector general's report said some troops noticed problems with the water. Between October 2004 and May 2005, troops at Camp Ar Ramadi said bathwater was discolored and had an unusual odor. The report said KBR failed to treat the nonpotable water and monitor water quality during the same period.

At Camp Q-West, KBR inappropriately delivered chlorinated wastewater for showers and latrines without informing military preventive medicine officials, the report said. "KBR did not monitor or record the quality of water at point-of-use containers before April 2006, even though the ... contract required the company to do so," the report added.

Medical records for troops at Camp Q-West indicated 38 cases of illnesses commonly attributed to problem water. These include skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections and diarrhea. Doctors diagnosed 24 of the cases in January and February 2006, the same period when medical officials warned of a rise in bacterial infections at the base.

In addition, military medical records - tied to no particular base in Iraq - showed 26 cases of food and waterborne diseases, including hepatitis, giardiasis and typhoid fever.

Read the Inspector General's Report.

[singingrick]

Support our troops?

Halliburton/KBR overcharge American taxpayers by millions and then give our troops water that''s not fit for animals to drink.

[iceman_1960]

"KBR Named In Report On Soldier Illnesses"
---------------------

Just the sight of D*ick Cheney gives me diarrhea.

[samrensho]

Hey, make Shooter and Shrub use that water. Cheney already looks like an abscess ready for lancing. It might even shrink that hemorrhoid in the oval office.

[cast_outfear]

KBR Named In Report On Soldier Illnesses

[iceman_1960]

When Republicans say "Support the Troops" of course they really mean "Support the War."

When it comes to funding first class health, educational and other benefits for veterans, the GOP says "NO !!"

[gkc99]

All the KBR contractors were turned into employess of the KBR Cayman Island front, so KBR could avoid paying Social Security and Medicare taxes for them (and so they wouldn''t receive any benefits in those programs when they came back to the US)..

Otherwise it might have cut into Dik Cheney''s profits.

So what does the U.S. military expect when it uses these Third-World workers? Third World sanitation!

[perfect_love]

Soldiers have a lot of problems you would not believe!

[iceman_1960]

RE: "When Republicans say "Support the Troops" of course they really mean "Support the War."
-------------------

From August 2007:

"Bush Administration Fights Dem Plan to Boost School Aid for Vets

The Bush administration opposes a Democratic effort to restore full educational benefits for returning veterans, according to an official"s comments last week.

Senate Democrats, led by Virginia"s Jim Webb, want the government to pay every penny of veterans" educational costs, from tuition at a public university to books, housing and a monthly stipend.

Such a benefit was a major feature of the historic 1944 G.I. Bill, which put more than eight million U.S. soldiers through college and is now credited by historians as fueling the expansion of America"s middle class in the post-war era.

Keith Wilson, the VA official who oversees the education benefits program, told senators last Friday the proposal would make "administration of this program cumbersome," and its costs would "tax existing VA resources."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/administration-.html

But in recent years the benefit has dwindled; under the current law, passed in 1985, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can expect Uncle Sam to cover only 75 percent of their tuition costs. That''s not enough, say Democrats and veterans'' advocates.

[singingrick]

Support our troops?

Halliburton/KBR overcharge American taxpayers by millions and then give our troops water that''''s not fit for animals to drink.

[gkc99]

It all makes sense when you come to realize that Bushit, Darth, and the U.S. Fascist party just view U.S. soldiers as "usefull idiots", in Lenin''s words, to help them rake more embezzled money and war profits to hide in offshore bank accounts.

Is there any lower stinking lifeform than a Neocon-scum?

[sumarongi]

It''s not about performance, it''s all about the bottom line. How much money can we make if we cut corners regardless of standards and safety. We can increase our profit margin if we quit monitoring as often and heaven forbid we discard the product or downgrade it''s usefulness. Just imagine the loss if we have to replace the product or bring it up to specifications.
Why should we care about the consequences? After all, we''re sitting in our airconditioned offices sipping latte and chasing secretaries. So what if a few of the troops have an adverse reaction to our product, it just means we''ll sell more drugs to the military to fight the illnesses. Greed, the root of most problems in our system. HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH AMERICA?

[omega39-2009]

Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President *** Cheney''s former company, the Pentagon''s internal watchdog says.

Another feather in their cap for the idiots that walk around advocating deregulation and privatization. They probably spent $100/gallon for that water too.

[iceman_1960]

"Is there any lower stinking lifeform than a Neocon-scum?"
- Posted by gkc99 at 12:57 PM : Mar 09, 2008
------------

The tapeworm is.

Barely.

[cbsblogger]

The KBR scum need waterboarded, then deported to spend a lifetime in Iraq at their expense. They are traitors pretending to be patriots.

[sumarongi]

Of course they think they are patriots. They are upholding the American dream of getting rich at the expense of whomever they can screw over. Doesn''t matter whether it''s the troops overseas or the public at home. Greed, the downfall of America!!!!

[zootallures2]

But the execs of KBR have nice clean water in their swimming pools and that''s all that matters. And they''d like to thank the troops and US taxpayers for their sacrafice and defending their morning swim.

[joyous88]

Gee! Who would have thought that another group of greed driven republicans led by *** Cheney would care more about profit than about the troops?

Want four more years of this ?? vote McBush

[zootallures2]

Houston office. Funny, the rescue workers on 9/11 got a new communication system where all comunication went from New York, to Texas, then back to New York.

[excoachken]

This is simply the "Trickle Down" economic theory. They never designated exactly what was going to trickle down, but I think it went from the latrine to the drinking water. Thanks a lot Cheyney, and all the morons who voted for this administration in 2004..

[reel-crazy]

"Halliburton Co., then KBR''s parent company, disputed the allegations...."

The same old White House madness continues.

Did anyone think that they might actually ADMIT it?

[zootallures2]

And of course the Americans on the Titanic who were in the ocean after the ship was at the bottom, just told themselves and fellow passengers it was the great deck pool and the heaters will be coming on shortly.

[eddynewhope]

Hahahahaha - I love the US! War-mongering, torturing, treasonous, liars in charge with the sole purpose of making more money at all costs including our future, the environment, the constitution, etc. We have become the fat, stupid, lazy children of the real men and women who made this country great. We are incapable of contesting the criminal in the white house and as such, our Republic may be fatally undermined. The same people who profit billions from this war who donated 30 million dollars to *** Cheney are delivering poisonous drinking water to our soldiers for a grotesque profit. Treason!

[xraytwonine]

all supplies & equipment is made and provided by the lowest bider; adding irresponsible and immoral captialism to the picture....you do the math.

[zootallures2]

And of course the Americans on the Titanic who were in the ocean after the ship was at the bottom, just told themselves and fellow passengers it was the great deck pool and the heaters will be coming on shortly.

"It''s the f-ing deck pool you conspiracy looney m-f-ing losers! This ship cannot sink! It can''t f-ing sink do you f-ing hear me!"

LMAO!

[stn_sage]

Considering all the ways that Bush/Cheney/GOP have hurt our military, NOW we find out that they have to endure poisoned drinking water, too?! ENOUGH already!
Bring them home.

[zootallures2]

Considering all the ways that Bush/Cheney/GOP have hurt our military, NOW we find out that they have to endure poisoned drinking water, too?! ENOUGH already!
Bring them home.

Posted by stn_sage at 02:09 PM : Mar 09, 2008

Yea, Bush just read your post and is signing the order right now.

[rowdytexan2]

In my home area, we have 10 young soldiers we are supporting! We are having to send them personal items, like shaving equipment, soap, underwear and socks, band-aids, and all basic personal care items. All items that are supposed to be purchasable by our troops from Halliburton suppliers! NOT for Halliburton to give them, but be able to purchase them! They have not seen these items in months!

KBR and Halliburton are totally ripping this country off with their no-bid contracts!

Wake up America!

[singingrick]

One more example of what happens when you elect a bunch of fake Christian, con-artist, bumper sticker patriots to run the country.

[rlenham-2009]

Obviously the person who wrote this article (and most of those who post nasty comments here) knows absolutely nothing about epidemiology. The purpose of this article is not to report but to cast aspersions. In a country like Iraq, in a base camp environment it is amazing the reported illnesses are so few. There is no real way to connect these small numbers with the "facts" reported here and it is a mark of how poor journalism has stooped to to think otherwise.ways the small number of reported

[trillion1]

Amazing that someone will take the side of a crooked contractor over the well being of the troops. This water story is actually old news.

[liberalme]

supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President *** Cheney''s former company, the Pentagon''s internal watchdog says.

And the neocons call us "Unamerican??? Even if only 1 soldier got sick from this wate--that is still unacceptable!

Ahhhhhh can you feel the love from the Bush administration?

Americans are disposable better yet, people are disposable that scum.

[andrew_693]

but werent these soldiers the ones that voted for bush? weren''t these the ones that always called anyody who likes clean water, air and trees "communists and pinkos etc? they loved KBR, cheney, bush, haliburton, enron, NRA etc.....I say add oil to the water, and let god decide who lives and dies , I heard that prayers can move mountains and clean colons. I heard that they get payed really well for going to iraq, so since they don''t like the healthcare plan of the democrats, than maybe they can use their own money to cure all the diseases they will come back with, if they come back at all. Let me rephrase that, maybe KBR;s job is that they don''t come back, because they might become witnesses to the *** that is coming with the withdrawal.

[stn_sage]

Response to rlenham:
Please go back and re-read the newsarticle. You seemed to have missed the import of it! First, the review was conducted of the DOD''s Inspector General''s office, not some extreme leftwing group with a political agenda! Second, this implies samples,testing,and comparison against potable water supples,not GOP science of "it''s so because we say so". Third, it''s over a very lengthy period of time,
and hence, represents a pattern and not an aberration or isolated event. And fourth, we commentors need not be epidemiologists to understand that the points I have cited---and others unmentioned---make it relatively clear to an extreme high degree of probability, that the water is bad! So--

Rather than attack the mentality of the commentors who are really concerned about this situation or CBSnews for bringing it to our attention, how about understanding it, then supporting our troops by making some comment(s) that might help them?! Okay?!

[liberalme]

but werent these soldiers the ones that voted for bush? weren''''t these the ones that always called anyody who likes clean water, air and trees "communists and pinkos etc? they loved KBR, cheney, bush, haliburton, enron, NRA etc.....I say add oil to the water, and let god decide who lives and dies , I heard that prayers can move mountains and clean colons. I heard that they get payed really well for going to iraq, so since they don''''t like the healthcare plan of the democrats, than maybe they can use their own money to cure all the diseases they will come back with, if they come back at all. Let me rephrase that, maybe KBR;s job is that they don''''t come back, because they might become witnesses to the *** that is coming with the withdrawal.
Posted by andrew_693

Can you provide the names of the soldiers who "voted for Bush"? Or, even--how many voted for Bush?

The only ones who get paid ''really well" are the non-soldiers--or the companies (friends of Cheneys)say perhaps Blackwater to name one--our soldiers are cheated of simple bonuses.

Andrew Andrew what branch of the service were you in?

[missingamerica]

supporting our troops by making some comment(s) that might help them?! Okay?!

Posted by stn_sage at 03:33 PM : Mar 09, 2008

You mistake the intentions of the vast majority of the people who bandy about seeming aspersions like "liberal" on this board.

They are not now and never were concerned about this war or the well-being of our troops; just like KBR, Halliburton, and Cheney, they are all about protecting the profit-making potential this war represents.

If people believe that our troops are being mistreated by "whatever" corporation, that might hurt "whatever" corporation''s bottom line, which such seemingly "conservative" posters hold to be of vastly more import than any human life other than their own.

Hence, the instantaneous accusations of "left-wing", "liberal", or whatever.

[sowathought]

One more example of what happens when you elect a bunch of fake Christian, con-artist, bumper sticker patriots to run the country.

Posted by singingrick at 02:36 PM : Mar 09, 2008
What is a real Christian or should I say who is a follower of Christ

[jwind11]

upplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President *** Cheney''''s former company, the Pentagon''''s internal watchdog says.

And the neocons call us "Unamerican??? Even if only 1 soldier got sick from this wate--that is still unacceptable!

Ahhhhhh can you feel the love from the Bush administration?

Americans are disposable better yet, people are disposable that scum.

Posted by liberalme at 03:09 PM : Mar 09, 2008

and yet you worry about what cindy mccain looks like without makeup on....pathetic

[jwind11]

thats right ladies and gentleman, liberalme, she worries about what cindy mccain looks like without makeup on....she actually posted that....amazing

[jesusrose4us]

A Christian is someone who was self and has now admitted to it and needs Gods help through Jesus Christ!

[walt1944-2009]

Another example of the "private" sector BIG BusINESS giving the military what it needs to survive and defend itself, and all with the blessing of the Great Emperor Bush II and every neocon Fascist Nazi Republican out there. This is how the Great Emperor Bush II "supports the troops", but then again what would expect from a deserter!!!

The crooks running Halliburton and KBR ought to be pretty thankful they weren''t doing this when Truman was President. He would have had them all SHOT as TRAITORS!!!!! The Great Emperor Bush just pats them on the "arse" and tells them "Good Work, keep that profits flowing!"!!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, McCain????

[hotpaulie]

I hope King George addresses this incident. Because God knows if the terrorists had contaminated the water supply he''d be hootin'' and hollerin''.

[conviction_]

Hey! who''d said there was a problem called SELF.

[liberalme]

jwind11, you trying to defend KBR and their poisoning of soldiers?

Posted by FloydZepp

I don''t respond to her anymore--any kind of response is a win for her.
She has no obvious knowledge on any topic---like Bush she has no redeemable talent but to antagonize.

Poor poor wind(bag) another failed attempt at gaining any kind of attention.

[spy-vs-spy_]

Was the water contaminated by Self?

[tibu987]

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." Susan B. Anthony

[nofearinlove]

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." Susan B. Anthony
Posted by tibu987 at 04:29 PM : Mar 09, 2008

Was she speaking from self or did she know the power of Christ!

[nofearinlove]

This Self guy has been getting a lot of bad press lately.....
posted by FloydZepp at 04:36 PM : Mar 09, 2008
Yea! Since He is the one causing all the problems!

[liberalme]

Yes the water was contaminated by Self! But it can be made clean through Me, as my post implies!

Posted by BloodofJesus at 04:22 PM : Mar 09, 2008

Are you saying our troops contaminated the water themselves and knew it? And before they drank it they were supposed to pray for God to clean it? What else would "self" mean?

[liberalme]

She`s STUCK on This !Last week She talked about this OVER & OVER !jwind(bag) is jealous because C.McCant`s boobs are bigger than hers!!

Posted by laborsvoice at 04:47 PM : Mar 09, 2008

LOL you''re right--sounds sort of like autistic or savant--repeating the same thing over and over.

[liberalme]

She`s STUCK on This !Last week She talked about this OVER & OVER !jwind(bag) is jealous because C.McCant`s boobs are bigger than hers!!

Posted by laborsvoice at 04:47 PM : Mar 09, 2008

I know--that article was here a couple of weeks ago--we were all throwing out silly stuff--but she really must have liked mine!