Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 18. August 2004 / Timeline August 18, 2004
Version 3.517. August 2004, 19. August 2004
08/18/2004
Army will withhold payment to Halliburton due to suspicious
bills
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/withhold_payment.html
The U.S. Army has decided to withhold 15 percent of future payments
to Halliburton because the company apparently billed taxpayers for
work that was never undertaken or completed, Reuters reports.
Halliburton had said yesterday that the Army would give it more
time to explain the suspicious bills, but today's news indicates
that was not the case. The company told Reuters that its claim
yesterday that Army officials had given it more time to explain the
suspicious bills "were accurate at the time based on clear oral
assurances from senior Pentagon representatives."
The Pentagon last week told Halliburton's KBR subsidiary that $1.8
billion in bills from the company's work in the the Middle East are
not verifiable. The $1.8 billion represents 43 percent of
Halliburton's total bills submitted to the Pentagon for
reimbursement. The company was given until Aug. 15 to justify those
bills, but failed to meet that deadline. It also failed to meet two
previous deadlines that had been extended, Reuters reported.
If Halliburton fails to justify its expenses, the Pentagon can
withhold up to 15 percent of requested reimbursements. The Army
estimated that KBR work orders with a future value of $8.2 billion
could be affected by a 15 percent withholding, or $60 million per
month. So far, Halliburton has received $4.3 billion from the
Pentagon for its work under the Army's LOGCAP contract. Under
LOGCAP, Halliburton's KBR subsidiary is charged with feeding the
troops, transporting military supplies and personnel, and
constructing military housing -- mostly in Iraq and Kuwait.
The withholding of payments will affect future, not past, invoices
submitted by Halliburton.
"At the end of the day, we do not expect this will have a
significant or sustained impact on liquidity," said Cris Gaut,
chief financial officer, in a news release. "There are very few
companies in the world that could or would adapt this quickly
while, at the same time, financing an operation of this
magnitude."
Halliburton will take legal action against the Pentagon over the
dispute. The company wants a judge to rule that the 15 percent
withholding does not apply to its LOGCAP and Restore Iraqi Oil I
and II contracts with the Army, which constitute the bulk of its
work in the Middle East.
More Information:
HalliburtonWatch: Pentagon says 43% of Halliburton's Iraq expenses
are not verifiable
HalliburtonWatch: Halliburton overcharged for meals by $186
million
HalliburtonWatch: Two reports explain how Halliburton took
taxpayers for a ride in Iraq
HalliburtonWatch: Gasoline Overcharges
HalliburtonWatch: Government widens criminal probe of Halliburton's
gas overcharges
08/18/2004
Thule Radar Work Set for 2005, to Cost $260 Million
The early warning radar system at Thule Air Base in Greenland is
expected to undergo $260 million in upgrades over three years,
beginning in 2005, Inside Missile Defense reported today.
The improved system would give the planned U.S. missile defense
system a better tracking ability by enabling the radar, 750 miles
north of the Arctic Circle, to follow missiles launched from the
Middle East, according to Inside Missile Defense.
Upgrades would be similar to work done on early warning radar
systems at Beale Air Force Base in California and to a project
under way at Fylingdales Air Base in the United Kingdom (see GSN,
Feb. 6, 2003). Those efforts involved enhancing "computer
processing capabilities, graphic displays and communication
integration" with system command and battle management computers,
according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
The agency plans to spend $15 million for Thule radar work in
fiscal 2005, $142.1 million in fiscal 2006 and $102.7 million in
fiscal 2007 (Thomas Duffy, Inside Missile Defense.
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