KBR: Water still making troops sick in Iraq

AP: Water Makes US Troops in Iraq Sick
The Associated Press
By LARRY MARGASAK – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON (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 Pentagon's inspector general 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."

"Therefore, water suppliers exposed U.S. forces to unmonitored and potentially unsafe water," 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.

KBR 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 is a former subsidiary of Halliburton Co., the oil services conglomerate that Cheney once led.

Is this "supporting the troops" the way Cheney always puts it when it comes to keeping the troops in Iraq? Is this what Bush means when he says it? How can they keep allowing this to go on? The reports of bad water for the troops and the people of Iraq have been going on long enough that someone should have done something about it if they wanted to, but it all boils down to all talk and no proof with deeds. The Democrats haven't done much better on this either. What does it say to the troops everyone is "supporting" when they cannot even depend on the water they are supplied while risking their lives?

UPDATE

Or as NewBusters put it, it's the media's fault.

AP Implicates Vice President Cheney in Iraq Water Problem

By Noel Sheppard March 9, 2008 - 12:59 ET
One of the truly disgraceful media fixations since America invaded Iraq five years ago has been to blame all the world's problems on energy contractor Halliburton while making it clear that Vice President Dick Cheney used to be its Chief Executive Officer.
Despite it being almost eight years since Cheney resigned his position with the contracting giant and sold all of his stock, Halliburton-obsessed press members continue to implicate the Vice President in any bad news concerning his former company.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/03/09/
ap-implicates-vice-president-cheney-iraq-water-problem

But then they must not have heard of tax returns and financial reports the elected have to release.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2003
Cheney was chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 through August 2000. The company's KBR subsidiary is the main government contractor working to restore Iraq's oil industry in an open-ended contract that was awarded without competitive bidding.

According to Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure report, the vice president's Halliburton benefits include three batches of stock options comprising 433,333 shares. He also has a 401(k) retirement account valued at between $1,001 and $15,000 dollars.

His deferred compensation account was valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and generated income of $50,000 to $100,000.

In 2002, Cheney's total assets were valued at between $19.1 million and $86.4 million.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml

From the White House

Vice President Dick Cheney and Mrs. Cheney Release 2002 Income Tax Return

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Terrence O'Donnell
of Williams & Connolly LLP
at (202) 434-5678

Vice President and Mrs. Cheney filed their federal income tax return for 2002 today.

The income tax return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2002 of $341,114 on a taxable income of $945,051. During the course of 2002 the Cheneys paid $436,972 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. The Cheneys elected to apply $20,000 of the resulting $95,858 tax overpayment to their 2003 estimated tax payments.

The wage and salary income reported on the tax return includes $190,134 in government salary for the Vice President. In addition, the tax return reports the payment of deferred compensation from Halliburton Company, in the amount of $162,392. In December 1998, the Vice President elected to defer compensation earned in calendar year 1999 for his services as chief executive officer of Halliburton. This amount is to be paid in fixed annual installments (with interest) in the five years after the Vice President's retirement from Halliburton.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030411-8.html

From the White House

Vice President Dick Cheney and Mrs. Cheney Release 2004 Income Tax Return
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Terrence O'Donnell or James T. Fuller
Williams & Connolly LLP
(202) 434-5000

Vice President and Mrs. Cheney filed their federal income tax return for 2004 today. The income tax return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2004 of $393,518 on taxable income of $1,328,678. During the course of 2004 the Cheneys paid $290,855 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. The Cheneys paid $102,663 upon filing their tax return.

The wage and salary income reported on the tax return includes the Vice President's $203,000 government salary. In addition, the tax return reports the payment of deferred compensation from Halliburton Company in the amount of $194,852. In December 1998, the Vice President elected to defer compensation earned in calendar year 1999 for his services as chief executive officer of Halliburton. This amount was required be paid in fixed annual installments (with interest) in the five years after the Vice President's retirement from Halliburton. That election to defer income became final and unalterable before Mr. Cheney left Halliburton. The amount of deferred compensation received by the Vice President is fixed and is not affected in any way by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.

The tax return also reports Mrs. Cheney's wage and salary income from the American Enterprise Institute and compensation from Reader's Digest, on whose board of directors she served until her retirement in 2003.

The Cheneys donated $303,354 to charity in 2004, primarily from Mrs. Cheney's book royalties from Simon & Schuster on her books America: A Patriotic Primer, A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Woman, and When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots, and the exercise of stock options dedicated to charity pursuant to the Gift Administration Agreement which the Cheneys entered into in January of 2001. The book royalties and the proceeds from the stock options were donated to designated charities on a tax neutral basis.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050415-3.html

And then we have the Katrina Connection

April 17, 2006
Kirsch: Cheney Tax Return Shows Katrina Tax Benefits for Non-Katrina Charitable Contributions
Michael Kirsch (Notre Dame) points out an interesting aspect of the Vice-President's 2005 tax return:
It appears that the VP is a major beneficiary of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief act. In particular, he claimed $6.8 million of charitable deductions, which is 77% of his AGI -- well in excess of the 50% limitation that would have applied absent the Katrina legislation. The press release indicates that the charitable contribution reflects the amount of net proceeds from an independent administrator's exercise of the VP's Halliburton options -- apparently, the VP had agreed back in 2001 that he would donate the net proceeds from the options to charities once they were exercised.
The press release seems to confirm, at least implicitly, the VP's efforts to take advantage of the Katrina legislation -- it mentions that the Cheneys wrote a personal check of $2.3 million to the administrator in December in order to "maximize the charitable gifts in 2005." Admittedly, I don't know anything about the transactions beyond the info in the press release, but my gut reaction is that the personal check was given in order to make sure the independent administrator had sufficient liquid assets to pay all of the promised charitable contributions before the 50% limit returned on 1/1/06.
Despite the importance of the Katrina legislation to his tax return, it looks like none of the charitable contributions actually went to Katrina-related charities (the press release lists the 3 charitable recipients, all of which were designated in the original 2001 gift agreement). While there's nothing inappropriate about that from a legal perspective, it does demonstrate how the legislation, which was sold to the public as providing relief to Katrina victims, provided significant tax benefits to the VP (and potentially other wealthy individuals) in situations that have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2006/04/kirsch_cheney_t.html

Readers of this blog are aware of American Enterprise Institute and their "advice" on PTSD, which boils down to they need to stop whining and go to work. See posts on Sally Satel here and on Screaming In An Empty Room at www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com