Letter from Senator Jim Webb: RE: Our Soldiers And Sewage Showers in Iraq

See my earlier post of March 23, 2008 and my letter to Senator Webb and to Senator Warner regarding Halliburton's cutting costs on its equipment and services it furnishes our troops in Iraq while pocketing the difference. This is the first letter I have received from Senator Webb that was not a "robo" letter or the generic one he usually sends (please see the post of April 7, 2008).


May 9, 2008

Dear Patricia:

Thank you for contacting me regarding allegations that KBR, Inc. (KBR) installed faulty and unsafe electrical systems in Iraq, resulting in the electrocution and death of at least one U.S. soldier.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General (IG) is conducting a full investigation of this incident. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is also probing it, and Senator Bob Casey has called for a Government Accountability Office investigation.



I am deeply concerned by reports of such accidental deaths and injuries of military and contract personnel in Iraq. Please be assured that my colleagues and I will continue to monitor this situation and exercise necessary oversight to ensure that U.S. troops in Iraq are provided with proper and safe facilities.



Achieving greater accountability and oversight in the way contractors support U.S. military operations are two of my top priorities. You may be interested to know that on January 28, 2008, the President signed into law a provision that I introduced with Senator McCaskill and several other senators (H.R. 4986) to establish a Commission on Wartime Contracting that will examine U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Commission will study the impact of the government's growing reliance on civilian contractors to perform wartime functions and make recommendations to remedy today's systemic problems.


As both the son of an Air Force officer, the father of a Marine, and a Marine veteran myself, I understand the sacrifices that our service members and their families make every day. I have worked on these issues throughout my life, and they continue to be one of my top priorities as a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as the U.S. Senate considers this issue.

Thank you once again for contacting my office. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff if we can be of further assistance.



Sincerely,




Jim Webb

United States Senator

Letter from Senator Warner March 21, 2008

Alas, except for a few benign updates, Sen. Warner's reply to me about my letter decrying Halliburton's sewage showers our soldiers take in Iraq, is essentially nothing more than what Sen. Warner has been sending for approximately 18 months about all things Iraq which is a summary of his lukewarm opinions about our involvement there. He totally ignored the subject of my letter (in another post):
]

In January 2007, the President proposed a surge of approximately 35,000 troops....the Iraqi government has not done its part.

He writes it's time "to put teeth into these words" quoting U.S. Amb. Ryan Crocker: "There is 'no blank check' for American involvement in Iraq." (Oh, yeah?)

Then he lists his tenth trip to Iraq last August! Is this the same letter he was sending out then?

Although Senator Warner is dissatisfied with the long deployments our soldiers endure, "I believe we must remain mindful of the realities currently facing our military" so the heck with shortened leaves! The soldiers must stay so we'll be ready! Ready for what? For Buzh to invade Iran?

Sen. Webb's automated responses are all identical no matter what the subject. At least Warner sends his replies to my mailbox although, sadly, they are the same. Perhaps because he is retiring, his office perceives no need to respond individually.
I can't help but wonder: Are there any live bodies on Capitol Hill who actually represent the people rather than themselves? Pray tell, who?

Earlier Letter Sent to Senators Warner + Webb

Dear Senator Warner (Webb),

If Halliburton is not poisoning our soldiers in Iraq with its sewage showers, it is electrocuting them.

No wonder Cheney wants the war to continue: He profits!

I hope you will join your colleague, Rep. Henry Waxman, in investigating the terrible deaths and illnesses our soldiers suffer while taking showers in Iraq. What words are there to adequately describe these tragedies and this incompetence? We're not talking about "only" illnesses, but deaths of our soldiers sent to a foreign country to fight for what?

Sincerely,

Patricia



Panel probes troops' electrocution deaths in Iraq Story Highlights

12 U.S. troops have been electrocuted in Iraq; one died in January while showering

Rep. Henry Waxman wants info from Pentagon on electric systems in Iraq

Pentagon says full investigation ordered into the electrocution deaths

U.S. company that maintains barracks being sued by family of soldier who died

Next Article in Politics »






PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A U.S. House committee chairman has begun an investigation into the electrocutions of at least 12 service members in Iraq, including that of a Pittsburgh soldier killed in January by a jolt of electricity while showering.



U.S. troops in Iraq face an unexpected threat: electrocution by faulty wiring.

Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said Wednesday he has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to hand over documents relating to the management of electrical systems at facilities in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, died January 2 of cardiac arrest after being electrocuted while showering at his barracks in Baghdad

U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Are Poisoned or Die While Bathing

Below is a copy of a letter I sent to Senators Webb and Warner last week about the needless deaths of our soldiers based upon a story I read by the AP:

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A U.S. House committee chairman has begun an
investigation into the electrocutions of at least 12 service members in
Iraq, including that of a Pittsburgh soldier killed in January by a jolt
of electricity while showering.

Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, said Wednesday he has asked Defense Secretary Robert
Gates to hand over documents relating to the management of electrical
systems at facilities in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, died Jan. 2 of cardiac arrest after being
electrocuted while showering at his barracks in Baghdad.

Dear Senator Warner (Webb),

If Halliburton is not poisoning our soldiers in Iraq with its sewage showers, it is electrocuting them.

No wonder Cheney wants the war to continue: He profits!

I hope you will join your colleague, Rep. Henry Waxman, in investigating the terrible deaths and illnesses our soldiers suffer while taking showers in Iraq. What words are there to adequately describe these tragedies and this incompetence? We're not talking about "only" illnesses, but deaths of our soldiers sent to a foreign country to fight for what?

Sincerely,

Patriciadc