Toll Rises -- At Least 18 U.S. Troops Electrocuted in Iraq

Since January, with the death of Ryan Maseth in Iraq -- and the heroic quest for answers by his mother, Cheryl Harris-- I have been writing about the issue of U.S. troops in Iraq and allegations against KBR and the military. Today Sen. Bob Casey released the following statement after being informed by the Pentagon's Inspector General that 18 individuals have been electrocuted in Iraq -- the number rises every month -- and that the IG is now subpoenaing KBR for additional documents.

I'm pleased that the vigilance of Cheryl Harris and the work of the Congress has spurred more movement by the Department of Defense to address the deadly problems of accidental electrocutions. It is also a positive step that the IG has expanded their investigation to not just look at the death of Ryan Maseth, but to also investigate all deaths caused by faulty wiring.

Unfortunately, we learned today that an updated total of 18 Americans have died in Iraq, with one of the two additional deaths an electrocution while taking a shower, the same manner in which Ryan Maseth died. The changes undertaken by the Pentagon have come too late and should not have required this much effort to achieve. By now, I would have hoped to see greater progress on inspections of facilities in Iraq.

In a separate letter from the DoD, Casey learned that only 45% of temporary facilities and 65% of the grounding rods supporting permanent/temporary facilities have been inspected so far even though the general order mandating such inspections came out shortly after the death of Maseth.

According to the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Staff Sergeant Maseth died when the electricity in the shower facility short-circuited because an electric water pump on the rooftop was not properly grounded. An initial investigation by the DOD's Criminal Investigative Division office found that the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) was aware of the electrical safety hazard posed by this shower facility prior to the death of Staff Sgt. Maseth.

Cheryl Harris was originally told that her son had died because he had carried a hair dryer into the shower area.
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Greg Mitchell's new book on Iraq and the media includes several chapters on "nonhostile" deaths and suicides in Iraq. It is titled "So Wrong for So Long."

Comments

[fussygorilla]

LIES, LIES, LIES. Don't believe that these soldiers were electrocuted. It was reported yesterday on Press Tv that 21 soldiers in Iraq, members of the 57th unit of the Airborn Division had committed suicide of whom 16 have died and the other 5 are being treated. It also was reported that afterwards, their bodies were shot with bullets in order to tell their families that they were killed in battle.

[Jacksonian]

Those officials at KBR and their co-conspirators in the military deserve nothing less than prison sentences appropriate for first-degree manslaughter and/or second-degree murder. Will there be any accountability, any justice, from this Bush administration and its cronies? It appears unlikely.

[hopeless277]

The American people realize that the expense of proper wiring in a war zone far outweighs the cost in lives of American soldiers. To expect that work be done 'up to code' in showers in Iraq in not only unrealistic but does damage to the war effort. Our troops know that the minute they set foot in Iraq or any other war zone they are expendable for the greater good. In this case the greater good being the profits of politically connected contractors like KBR and Halliburton. These fine men and women serving our country in the Global War on Terror willingly give their lives to make America a safer and more profitable nation. We could never have invaded and occupied Iraq without the cooperation of these contractors. To now expect them to perform miracles is beyond the pale. They are the model of patriotism and as such should be revered, not persecuted.