Y’know, I keep wanting to give these guys the benefit of the doubt. I keep telling myself that we all want the same things, just that they have a really screwed up way of doing it (poor planning, lying, unfounded optimism, etc.). But then something like this happens…

A Pentagon investigation has found overcharging and other violations in Iraq reconstruction contracts worth $15.6 billion that were awarded to Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company, two defense officials said Thursday.

An audit of Halliburton’s Kellogg, Brown & Root subsidiary found substantial overcharging for fuel and other items, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The problems go beyond overcharging, they said, declining to elaborate.
. . .
senate Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John Dingell of Michigan have accused KBR of price gouging for gasoline used in Iraq. The two congressmen said Halliburton charged the Army as much as $2.65 a gallon for gas under a no-bid contract, while another Pentagon agency imported fuel from Kuwait to Iraq at a cost of $1.09 to $1.15 per gallon.
. . .
Congress’ General Accounting Office found in 1997 and 2000 that KBR had billed the Army for questionable expenses on its support contracts for operations in the Balkans. Those reviews cited instances such as charging $85.98 per sheet of plywood which cost $14.06 and billing the Army for cleaning some offices up to four times per day.

These guys aren’t patriots, moral leaders, or even legitimate businessmen. They’re just thieves, pure and simple. The only thing that separates these guys from bank robbers is that instead of using a gun and a mask, they use a pen and a handshake. I hope this investigation goes somewhere, but I’m sure it’ll end up in the dead letter office along with the Plume affair, the Energy Taskforce, Enron, etc…