Whoops!
Iraqi oil experts on Saturday rebuked an American firm helping rehabilitate Iraq's oil industry, saying it had failed to do an adequate job in the vital sector, The Associated Press reported from Amman, Jordan.
Kellogg Brown & Root, which was contracted through the United States Department of Defense, "
has not done an excellent job, it has not done a good job at all," said Mohammed Aboush, a former director general of the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
"We have attended several meetings with the firm and set up priorities for work, but we had only schedules and promises, many of them did not materialize," added Mr. Aboush, who said he quit his job with the ministry two months ago. He declined to discuss details. Mustafa al-Bazergan, an Iraqi oil expert, said the United States allocated $809 million through Kellogg Brown & Root - which is based in Houston - for rebuilding Iraqi oil installations and rehabilitating the oil industry.
"But very little was achieved, less than 10 percent," he said. Kellogg Brown & Root is a subsidiary of the Halliburton Company, which has been awarded more than $6 billion in contracts related to the American-led invasion of Iraq, but the company has been under fire for allegedly overcharging the government.
Henry Waxman, call your office.