MikeG
Senior Member.
One story used often to explain the outrageous cost of the Iraq war is the $100 fee charged by Halliburton for each bag of laundry they cleaned for American troops stationed there.
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/whistleblower_hearings_denied.html
http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/04/18/8257012/index.htm
NBC News reported that a whistleblower named Marie DeYoung as one source of this allegation.
At points, the figure varies, but overcharging is the main theme
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/iraq-war-contractors_n_2901100.html
I heard a few of these same anecdotes when I was stationed in Iraq in 2006.
This story seems analogous to the “$400 hammer” story often heard back in the eighties.
There are some very good sources documenting waste and fraud. Reports by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction are available, for example.
Did the $100 bag of laundry actually exist?
No clue, but the idea is stuck between my teeth.
Suggestions?
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/whistleblower_hearings_denied.html
http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/04/18/8257012/index.htm
http://www.businessinsider.com/kbr-harms-soldiers-in-iraq-2012-4The book "The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving In Iraq" by journalist Helen Benedict traces the story of women serving in Iraq. Here are some shocking stories from the book:
KBR charged soldiers $45 for a six-pack of Coke and $100 to wash a $3 load of laundry
NBC News reported that a whistleblower named Marie DeYoung as one source of this allegation.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5333896/n...ian_williams/t/new-halliburton-waste-alleged/DeYoung produced documents detailing alleged waste even on routine services: $50,000 a month for soda, at $45 a case; $1 million a month to clean clothes — or $100 for each 15-pound bag of laundry.
At points, the figure varies, but overcharging is the main theme
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/iraq-war-contractors_n_2901100.html
I heard a few of these same anecdotes when I was stationed in Iraq in 2006.
This story seems analogous to the “$400 hammer” story often heard back in the eighties.
There are some very good sources documenting waste and fraud. Reports by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction are available, for example.
Did the $100 bag of laundry actually exist?
No clue, but the idea is stuck between my teeth.
Suggestions?