Army Official Ousted For Refusing To Approve $1 Billion In Questionable Iraq Funds

New York Times:

The Army official who managed the Pentagon's largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR, the Houston-based company that has provided food, housing and other services to American troops.

The official, Charles M. Smith, was the senior civilian overseeing the multibillion-dollar contract with KBR during the first two years of the war. Speaking out for the first time, Mr. Smith said that he was forced from his job in 2004 after informing KBR officials that the Army would impose escalating financial penalties if they failed to improve their chaotic Iraqi operations.

Army auditors had determined that KBR lacked credible data or records for more than $1 billion in spending, so Mr. Smith refused to sign off on the payments to the company. "They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn't justify," he said in an interview. "Ultimately, the money that was going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn't going to do that."

But he was suddenly replaced, he said, and his successors -- after taking the unusual step of hiring an outside contractor to consider KBR's claims -- approved most of the payments he had tried to block.

Army officials denied that Mr. Smith had been removed because of the dispute, but confirmed that they had reversed his decision, arguing that blocking the payments to KBR would have eroded basic services to troops. They said that KBR had warned that if it was not paid, it would reduce payments to subcontractors, which in turn would cut back on services.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[1differentdrummer]

It sounds like basic accounting. If you bill the army you ought to be able to prove the charges.

[researcher]

americans dont care as long as they can shop till they drop.

in a repubic the voters deserve their politicans.

almost everyone misses that little fact

no one wants to tell it like it is.

politicans want your vote so tell voters how smart they are and mass media wants your view to sell to advertisers for $$$$$$$$$$

capitalism at its best

another best kept secret capitalism must self destruct but not before the middle class is a thing of the past.

bet the capitalists wont tell you that one

[JiminNC]

What in the hell do we have to do to get the Congress to act on this flood of criminal activity?

[syllepsis]

The problem is that we have a self-proclaimed 'War president,' and there is consensus among historians that Congress is more willing to give the Executive Branch freedom to make decisions, and enlargement of Executive Priviledge,during wartime. That means its oversight mechanisms are crippled, and it would take a great amount of will on the part of legislators to prosecute these kinds of Executive Branch crimes (all of this is Executive Branch via the Commander-in-Chief clause). Essentially, it would involve impeaching the President.
The Administration knows that with its expanded war powers, it can shed a penumbra of Executive Priviledge pretty far down the chain of command, shielding Rumsfeld, his staff, the Sec of VA Affairs, etc.
Getting Congress to act on this, in terms of prosecuting these individuals responsible, requires impeachment, as the President can simply issue preemptive pardons for all involved, unless he is impeached first, and then convicted.
The best long-term solution is to impose strict limits on the Commander-in-Chief role. The temptation is obvious for a President to enlarge his or her power by creating a state of war. The Constitution provides Congress with power to declare and finance wars, but clearly that is not enough. I believe that some members of the ISG have turned to studying how the Executive can be held accountable for his or her decisions during wartime. As of now, the only recourse has been the Supreme Court .

[peterg76]

The heroes are stepping forward. The war profiteers are panicking.

[peterg76]

People can see the Republican reign of war on terror coming to an end. The heroes are stepping forward. The war profiteers are panicking.

[NTO08]

I believe we would be kidding ourselves that when 1 billion dollars in unaccounted expenses are approved, anything will be done to keep the war machine churning. Obama is but a blip on the radar screen. They will do what they have to do to keep someone like him from changing the status quo. If it means monkeying with the voting machines, so be it.

[fignozzle]

criminal
sooo criminal... i mean, that would be a crime in the USA.

[incontempt]

Hey...Whats that hitting the fan?

[GingerB]

Nothing but hot air. The war profiteering will continue unabated.

And our soldiers and veterans will continue to be the last priority, at least while BushCo remains in power.

[astro370]

This is outrageous!! how can they get away with so much fraud when so many Americans are struggling to pay the bills. Its sad to see what this administration has turned this country into.

[layman]

THUGS ARE LICENSED TO LOOT, RAPE, ENSLAVE THIS COUNTRY UPSIDE DOWN,
AND INSIDE OUT BY THIS ADMINISTRATION FROM HELL.

IT'S PANDEMONIUM.

[c1ee]

Such crimes, and people are more interested in bittergate, reverend wright, etc. This is the kind of thing people should be revolting over.

[thizzkid]

Thats why Wright said it do u think all that they are doing in the name of USA will make God bless America no matter how many times its sung no but that black man is crazy marine who operated on the president and went to war for this country he is no PATRIOT

[seemlessweb]

Brings to mind the Bob Dylan lines: "Steal a little and they throw you in jail; steal a lot and they make you a king."

[Erdgeist]

Quote: "They said that KBR had warned that if it was not paid, it would reduce payments to subcontractors, which in turn would cut back on services."

Let me get this right. If we don't pay the contractors what they want, they will, essentially, pick up and leave? Wow, how patriotic is that? And talk about cut and run. It is more like take the money and run.

[wadenelson1]

Real patriots, those Republican contractors. I'll bet they all wear flag pins on their lapels.

[KCFreedom]

Hey, I thought a GOP administration was supposed to look out for the "people's money".
Guess Dirty Dick gets a bigger bonus.

[RatgurlSD]

What I find MOST disturbing about this article is not that they have stolen this much money, but that they connived a 10-YEAR $159 Billion CONTRACT IN IRAQ from the government. What happens to that contract if we leave within the next 2 years? Does the government give them the equivalent money to buy out their contract? That's it, bleed the American taxpayers dry... 'cause we have SO MUCH More left to give :(

[AERO]

Can we hold somebody in elected office accountable? Impeachment would favor the Democrats in the coming election.

[JTyroler]

Maybe there's not enough available space in Federal penitentiaries.