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Return to Article: Senate Democrats to hold hearings on contracting abuses in Iraq

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  I find this entire situation offensive and wonder just what if anything will come of it. After all, politicians rely on monetary contributions from some of these companies involved in shady dealings and many will not pursue the moral principle determining just conduct and these hearings will be a valuable waste of time and come to a standstill with no resolution. Those of us who have been down range have seen firsthand the heinous abuses, fraud and phenomenal amount of waste by contractors. I bitterly resent my hard earned tax dollars funding the insatiable appetites of money hungry contractors sacrificing the needs of those serving down range to line their own coffers. There are some reputable contractors down range....but, for the most part; there are those who look upon the military as the 'sacrificial lamb' by making promises without follow-thru, furthering their own cause and exerting no interest in performing the function for which they are receiving large quantities of money. If Congress is just offering an illusory promise to penalize contractors for circumventing their obligations under contractual requirements, mismanagement and illegal activities in SWA without the bothersome debate and open decision [for penalizing, imposing fines, imprisoning and blackballing] that are the staples of our democracy, then by all means, cease their rumblings and do what they were elected to do....which, thus far has not been much. There should be no negotiation when dealing with many of these contractors aware of their illegal behavior and not depicting one ounce of remorse or concern.

  CAE Posted April 30, 2008 8:48 AM
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  Prior military, have/had family & friends serving over in Iraq and Afghan. . . the fear of not being properly prepared with essential equipment, food so foul we sent care packages 2x a month, and the inappropriate way soldiers were treated by American civilians on teh other side of the world in war . . sickens me and worries me about not only their safety, but the ability defend whatever else we are now doing over there, because it is not about American shores and it's citizens anymore, it is about a CASH COW for civilian businesses.

  Lauren Posted April 29, 2008 9:33 PM
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  And we keep voting them in. Yet some of us still gratuitously point fingers at the other while standing self-righteously on their own bad policy. They make mistakes, we move ahead. I think that what we can agree on is the rule of law and abiding by it.

  J. Norton Phillips Jr. Posted April 29, 2008 8:01 AM
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  It looks like the Iraq war was a tool to funnel taxpayer (my children) money into Haliburton et al coffers and Bush Administration (circa 2002 to 2006) bank accounts with a nod to the oil companies along the way by forcing the Iraq people to open up their oil fields to Oiligarchy exploitation. The "waste" is just a way to improve the bottom line by reducing the costs. Of course the reputations of many American and International companies are at stake but they can just reorganize and nobody will be the wiser after a couple of years. A cheap price to pay to harvest 100's of billions of US taxpayer dollars.

  Although this is nothing new (waste of taxpayer money), unless the Democrats turnover the stones and expose the worms that have been shielded from view by the Bush Administration (and prior administrations) the opportunity that 2008 election year offers will be lost. We are looking for a CHANGE.

  Mike Posted April 28, 2008 3:56 PM
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  It's great to have more transparency and oversight going forward, but I am more interested in legal action now against contractor abuses. Money should be recovered and people responsible for fraud and mismanagement should be prosecuted under criminal law.

  enes26 Posted April 28, 2008 11:55 AM
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  As a taxpayer, I think it is high time that this corruption be brought to light, though I doubt it will actually stop occurring. Why should the American taxpayer allow KBR/Haliburton to charge us $40.00 for a can of soda supplied to personnel in the Green zone? Tip of the Iceberg.

  Don Posted April 25, 2008 1:32 PM
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  It is so obnoxious that the Democrats have the most money to LOSE invested in these contractors:"The study found that more Republicans than Democrats hold stock in defense companies, but that the Democrats who are invested had significantly more money at stake. In 2006, for example, Democrats held at least $3.7 million in military-related investments, compared to Republican investments of $577,500." "Sen. Kerry, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is identified as earning the most - at least $2.6 million between 2004 and 2006 from investments worth up to $38.2 million." (USA Today 4-4-08).

  Pat Smith Posted April 25, 2008 9:00 AM
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  I've heard stories that it is easier to order a new photocopier, than toner, so I can see why these 'burn pits' happen. But instead of fixing the problem, let's form committees and talk and talk.....

  a taxpayer and a federal work Posted April 25, 2008 7:56 AM