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KBR Lawsuit
Larry Roberta is one of 21 Oregon Army National Guard soldiers who have filed a lawsuit against the military contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR). The lawsuit concerns the soldiers' exposure in Iraq to hexavalent chromium, a chemical referred to by some as "Iraq's Agent Orange". The veterans claim it has caused them numerous health problems. Six years after returning home from Iraq, the once-healthy Roberta is unable to walk, and also suffers from chest pain, migraines and high blood pressure.
Lawyers for KBR argue that the federal government, not the company, is responsible for compensating the sickened soldiers.
In fact, recently released documents show that in 2003 KBR told the Pentagon that it would not provide contracting services in Iraq unless the Army covered the potential costs of any soldier injured or killed working on a KBR project. The U.S. District Court judge is now deciding whether or not the case should proceed.
Have you been following the KBR trial? Are you a war veteran, or a family member of one? Have you served as a contractor for the military?
Tagged as: contractors · kbr · military · politics
Photo credit: StockTrek / Creative Commons
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I don't think it would accomplish anything to lump PTSD together with physical injuries. The Soldiers and civilians at Qarmat Ali may very well have PTSD symptoms as do 1000's and 1000's of soldiers and civilians returning. But the negligent exposure of these people, Americian soldiers and civilians, British soldiers and local Iraqi has manifested itself into severe physical illnesses and in some cases death. I don't see where that would fit into a tidy little package.
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"Lawyers for KBR argue that the federal government, not the company, is responsible for compensating the sickened soldiers."
"In fact, recently released documents show that in 2003 KBR told the Pentagon that it would not provide contracting services in Iraq unless the Army covered the potential costs of any soldier injured or killed working on a KBR project."
Yes, of course, Socialize the risk onto The American People but Privatize the Profits to the KBR Corporation. It is Socialism for giant Conservative Corporations, and the downside of Risk Capitalism for The American People.
Just imagine! A Corporation so powerful that it can bully the Pentagon around!
Well, OK, KBR was a subsidiary Corporation of Halliburton, which Vices President Dick Cheney ran until he took office. And Cheney was still on the Halliburton payroll long into his term of office. KBR had Cheney to help bully the Pentagon.
Sheesh!
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Does the government legally have the right to accept liability for private companies? Or at least without a transparent process? And, (as Tom alluded to) should government contracts be allowed to privatize the profits and socialize the risk? What does this “killed or harmed on a KBR project” mean, or how far does it go? Surely, if this agreement occurred, the scope should have been spelled out in clear language, and should have been limited to death or injury caused by the violence of war.
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Interestingly some Oregon Rivers have some rich minable deposits for Chromium that are proposed for Strip Mining.
ie. Coos River Project-- very close to permiting
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I don't understand the argument that the VA can't find out about this place and the soldiers who were there, because the officers in charge would have written up daily reports about where they were and what their soldiers did that day and sent those reports in to Headquarters.
And Headquarters would have all those daily reports and in addition, all of the orders from above that told the unit Oficers what to do and where to go that day.
Those daily reports are vital for future planning, for reviewing results of past plans that were ordered done, for study of strategies and tactics, and for military historians.
The military is very good about keeping track of every damn thing that goes on.
So. That "can't find out" argument is bogusss!
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Boy, this "Allen" guy sure is a Corporate baloney artist, isn't he?
Incredibly un-credible!
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I'm a former DoD contractor.
When you join the military, any branch, you effectively become the property of the US Government, chattel if you will, and the goverment can do anything they want with you. But a US private citizen who contracts with US Military is not property of the goverment.
From a public policy perspective, DoD will have difficulty attracting top tier contractors - scientists, engineers, etc. - if these contractors feel that the DoD will not respect and support their rights as US Citizens. From that perspective, the KBR case could cause far-ranging damage to DoD's ability to recruit and retain top civilians.
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Good point.
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There are inherent dangers unique to a war zone. But the contractor should still be required to do their best to provide a safe working environment for their employees, subcontractors and troop support. Money is the bottom line for the big corporations. Why else would they be in business? To lose money? Money is the biggest motivator in the States for providing a safe work environment. If you don't, there are fines, liquidated damages for jobs that have been shut down for safety violations, lawsuits for injuries or deaths. The motivator for a safe workplace is money and the employees benefit. When you take that motivator away in Iraq it's a free for all. There is absolutely no incentive to do a job safely. It doesn't matter. Get the job done and if someone is injured or killed the company may feel bad about it but they don't have to worry about it cutting into their bottom line.
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Comments are now closed.
When you send Americans to a toxic enviorment with bullets, grenades, bombs, IED's, chemical weapons, biological weapons(?), petrochemicals, burning geysers, third world sanitation, Pre-WWII pollution controls, apocalyptic sandstorms, 125 degree summers, barren soil, and bloodthirsty villains, they are lucky to come back alive.
They could never be adequately compensated for their duty. And they come back depressed, drug addicted, distracted, short tempered, short attention spanned, and unable to transition and hold a job.
We don't blame the veteran. Nor the experience. Nor the Enviorment. It is a 'MEDICAL ILLNESS OR SYNDROME:" Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome, Uranium Exposure, Nerve Agent Exposure, Organo Phosphate Exposure, Silicosis, Vaccination Side Effect, PyridoStigmine Prophylactic Side Effect, and now Hexavalent Chromium Exposure.
Personally I think they could all be lumped together as a Toxic Exposure or PTSD or a combined diagnosis of the two. And may benefit from more widespread antidepression prophylaxis.
The success is that many veterans are physically whole and alive. But pain, psychiatric illness and depression are harder to see and treat. This is the long term cost of war that will be with us for generations.
Ironically the Great Recession of 2008 in America may wreck as much havoc with medical depression, psychosomatic symptoms, dysfunctional behavior and chronic pain because of its widespread effects, extreme stress and duration on such a wide section of our population. But a syndrome has to be named.
Life is hard. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.