It's bad enough for a family to lose a son/daughter to bombs or bullets in this unnecessary war, but this is absolutely inexcusable.
Five Democratic senators called on Friday for an independent review of electrical work at U.S. bases in Iraq where more than a dozen soldiers have been electrocuted and others injured.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the senators objected to KBR Inc, the Pentagon's largest private contractor in Iraq, reviewing its own performance. The Houston company previously has faced accusations of overbilling, providing unsafe water to soldiers and other lapses.
The lawmakers said inspections should be conducted independently by someone "both well-qualified and objective."
A Pentagon spokesman said KBR was inspecting its own work but that the Army Corps of Engineers and other military agencies were also conducting reviews.
Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who chaired a hearing last week on electrocution of troops in Iraq, urged the Pentagon to suspend KBR's contract in Iraq and replace the company with "people who know what they are doing."
The action followed a report in The New York Times on Friday that U.S. soldiers face death and danger from shoddy electrical work at their bases in Iraq, raising fresh questions about the Bush administration's heavy reliance on contractors.
KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said the company had found no link between its work and the electrocutions.
The Times said the Pentagon knew about the problems but did little to address them until Ryan Maseth, a member of the Green Berets, was electrocuted in January while taking a shower.
The Army says 13 soldiers have been electrocuted in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. But the newspaper reported that internal documents show many injuries from shocks and losses from electrical
fires.
As recently as June, an electrical fire destroyed 10 buildings at a base in Falluja, forcing Marines to ask for donations to replace their belongings, the Times said.
The paper said internal Army records for the six-month period to January 2007 showed two U.S. soldiers were killed in an electrical fire near Tikrit, many more injured by shocks and military facilities damaged by 283 electrical fires.
"SYSTEMIC PROBLEM"
An Army report noted "a safety threat theatrewide created by the poor-quality electrical fixtures procured and installed, sometimes incorrectly" and that a study by KBR had found a "systemic problem" with electrical work, the Times said.
KBR says it handles maintenance for 4,000 structures in the war zone, including Iraqi buildings repaired and upgraded, plus 35,000 shipping containers used for housing.
Officials noted the U.S. government contracted out so much work in Iraq that companies like KBR were overwhelmed and some tasks were given to subcontractors who hired unskilled Iraqis paid a few dollars a day, the Times said.
Government officials in charge of contract oversight were also unable to keep up, allowing unsafe electrical work to go unchallenged, it said.
The letter to the Pentagon chief was signed by Dorgan, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
At least 4,120 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. The last of five extra combat brigades sent by President George W. Bush in 2007 will finish pulling out next week, leaving 140,000 U.S. troops in the country.
(Additional reporting by Tom Ferraro; Writing by John O'Callaghan; Editing by Chris Wilson and Todd Eastham)
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1738497720080718?virtualBrandChannel=10112