Forget about weapons fire, Our government is killing G.I.s with dangerous wire…

posted by Bill Arnett @ 12:20 PM Permalink

…from the NYT:

In October 2004, the United States Army issued an urgent bulletin to commanders across Iraq, warning them of a deadly new threat to American soldiers. Because of flawed electrical work by contractors, the bulletin stated, soldiers at American bases in Iraq had received severe electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted.

The bulletin, with the headline “The Unexpected Killer,” was issued after the horrific deaths of two soldiers who were caught in water — one in a shower, the other in a swimming pool — that was suddenly electrified after poorly grounded wiring short-circuited.

“We’ve had several shocks in showers and near misses here in Baghdad, as well as in other parts of the country,” Frank Trent, an expert with the Army Corps of Engineers, wrote in the bulletin. “As we install temporary and permanent power on our projects, we must ensure that we require contractors to properly ground electrical systems.”

Since that warning, at least two more American soldiers have been electrocuted in similar circumstances. In all, at least a dozen American military personnel have been electrocuted in Iraq, according to the Pentagon and Congressional investigators.[…]

American electricians who worked for KBR, the Houston-based defense contractor that is responsible for maintaining American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, said they repeatedly warned company managers and military officials about unsafe electrical work, which was often performed by poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day.

These problems are a direct result of crony contracts with companies that are more interested in 'no bid' billion dollar contracts that insure their payment from the government whether they do a good job or no work at all.

Note that KBR, "…said they repeatedly warned company managers and military officials about unsafe electrical work…" as if that absolved them of any fault or liabilities for the shoddy workmanship that is killing some troops and severely injuring others. CYA reports that show contractors insatiable thirst for money they don't actually have to do any thing to earn. They know the bush maladministration has their back all the way and has given them immunity from lawsuits and courts.

So despite being paid billions to do work restoring Iraq's infrastructure we find now that the work was usually done, "… by poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day."

Somebody owes us a refund, someone needs to truly investigate this, and somebody should go to jail for fraudulent business practices that threatens our troops directly.

Why does bush hate our troops, so much so that our government will provide no remedy or legal retaliation to punish those greedy few making billions and paying actual workers, "…a few dollars a day."

Labels: Bush, bush as chimp, corporate greed, corruption, cronyism, snark