At least they've got super-bright whites...

After three years and and all those tasty no-bid contracts in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, etc., Halliburton (in which Cheney still holds millions in stock options) is finally being looked at with a critical eye. Stories have poured out of Iraq about billions of dollars in cash simply vanishing under the control of various government and business officials with no accountability. For an administration that can't even equip our troops with the equipment and vehicles they need, they certainly haven't demonstrated any concern about taxpayer dollars lost to war profiteering.

Internal Pentagon audits have flagged about $1.4 billion in expenses submitted by Halliburton Co. for services the firm is providing in Iraq, charges that include $45 cases of soda, $100-per-bag laundry service, and several months preparing at least 10,000 daily meals for a US military base that the troops did not need and ultimately went to waste, according to a report released yesterday by congressional Democrats.

The Defense Contract Audit Agency, which reviews Pentagon contracting, identified $1.03 billion in Halliburton invoices that it questioned as excessive, and an additional $442 million in expenses the company reported that the agency deemed to be insufficiently documented, according to the report.