Cronyism? No problem. Profiteering? Fine. Theft? Fraud? Sure. Keep up the good work. In case Bush and Cheney’s sleazy grins weren’t enough to make Halliburton feel it could keep on raping taxpayers, the U.S. Army has now decided that, despite clear cases of unjustified and excessive charges, they see no reason not to pay Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root most of the disputed fees in their $2.4-billion no-bid contract.

While Pentagon auditors exposed Halliburton of billing almost $250-million of undocumented or grossly inflated services in Iraq, the Army said that KBR had done their best. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Rhonda James explained that the contractor “is not required to perform perfectly to be entitled to reimbursement.”

Leading House Committee on Government Reform Democrat Henry Waxman said the Army’s decision was “an insult” and urged the committee to subpoena Army documents justifying the compensation—documents the Army has long refused to supply. In the land of the rich and shameless, a KBR spokesperson suggested that the Army’s bending over “confirmed that KBR performed this work appropriately … and within the contract terms.”

» Scott Saxon