We’ve already shared with you how much of the war effort in
Iraq has been outsourced by the Bush-Cheney Administration to unaccountable
military contractors like former Halliburton subsidiary KBR and Blackwater
USA. We’re already told you about the
fraud, the waste and the abuse of American taxpayer dollars, and called for
consequences. We’ve shared our progressive
values with you, and some policy prescriptions for getting America – and
American troops – out
of the current mess that is the Bush
“war on terror.”
But sometimes, something knocks your conscience so hard that
it feels like a gut punch. I can only
imagine that’s how Cheryl Harris has felt every day since she learned the
military contractor KBR negligently killed her son Ryan Maseth by electrocuting
him when he stepped into the shower.
"Also,
Harris was originally told by the military that her son had been electrocuted
after he took a small electrical appliance into the shower area. She couldn't
get answers herself and contacted a local member of Congress. Now documents
show that Ryan was killed when an electrical water pump shorted out after he
had stepped into the shower and turned on the water. An electrical current then
passed through the water pipes to a metal shower hose in the shower."
KBR lied to a grieving mother about her son, who died
serving his country – all because KBR messed up big time.
With a little help from a journalist, Ryan’s mom found out
that at least 10 other military personnel have been electrocuted in Iraq in
recent years. Now Ms. Harris is suing KBR, though there is evidence that the
military and the Defense Contracting Management Agency are also to blame for
being lax in its own inspections.
The real culprits, though, are the President and Vice
President. They have outsourced billions
of dollars worth of work in Iraq to contractors, rather than supporting our
troops. Worse still, in refusing to
provide oversight of these military contractors, they’ve acquiesced to reckless
and lawless negligent behavior by these contractors.
Ryan’s story is heartbreakingly tragic. But – worse still – Ryan is not alone.
But what about the other cases?
In a recent CNN
interview, Ms. Harris said: “I'd like to have questions answered about who
is accountable, and I'd like to know that this can't happen again to our troops
in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Starting Monday, we have a bombshell blog to share with you,
from Rachel, a friend of ours who is a U.S. soldier who served in Iraq and
witnessed first-hand the negligence and abusive practices of KBR and other
contractors like Blackwater USA.
I hope you'll join us for a very special blog series featuring Rachel's story. The series will be in 5 parts, Monday through Friday of next week, here on our blog, Building a Progressive Future. You can subscribe to our blog through the RSS feed to stay updated on Rachel's story and more developments on contractor behavior. Stay tuned.
- Hugh
