Auditors Take Aim at Halliburton in Iraq

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon (news - web sites) auditors took aim at Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s old company Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - news) on Tuesday and said they found "significant deficiencies" in its handling of billions of dollars of work in Iraq (news - web sites).

In testimony at a hearing on Iraq contracts on Capitol Hill, the head of the Pentagon's audit agency cited problems with the Texas-based firm's billing system and sub-contracts and potential over-charging for meals served to troops.

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We found the use of the LOGCAP contract in Kuwait and Iraq was not adequately planned, nor was it planned in accordance with applicable Army guidance," said David Walker, comptroller general of the GAO, which conducts investigations at Congress's request.


He said work plans, or task orders, were frequently revised which made oversight difficult. For example, a task order supporting troops in Iraq was revised seven times in less than a year. Another for logistical support for troops in Kuwait was changed 18 times between September 2002 and December 2003.

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