Pentagon Says KBR Deserves to be Paid

Following a Pentagon audit, the U.S. Army has decided to pay engineering firm Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) nearly all of the money-about $2 billion-the firm says it is owed as part of a multi-billion contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in war-torn Iraq.

The federal government’s contract with the firm has been under scrutiny since 2003, particularly from Congressional democrats who said KBR was unfairly chosen because of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former affiliation with the firm’s parent company Halliburton.

However, in its audit of the fees KBR charged the U.S. Army for its services, the Pentagon concludes that in the haste and peril of war, the firm did as well as it could. And in a released statement, KBR spokesperson Cathy Mann said: “Once all the facts were fully examined, it is clear, and now confirmed, that KBR performed this work appropriately per the client’s direction and within the contract terms.”