By T Chris

Responding to Pentagon reports that Halliburton has overcharged the U.S. government by as much as $61 million for fuel in Iraq, President Bush declared that Halliburton would be expected to repay the overcharge. The company, formerly headed by Vice President Cheney, paid $1.09 per gallon more to a Kuwaiti subcontractor than it paid for the same fuel imported from Turkey.

While Halliburton claims that the Kuwaiti subcontractor was the only one that met the contract's requirements and argues that it earned only a few cents on the dollar for delivering the fuel, Halliburton's profits increased as a result of the overcharge.

Calling for a repayment of the overcharge with no additional sanction, and no promise of greater scrutiny of Halliburton's billing practices, provides no incentive for Halliburton or other war contractors not to continue a pursuit of excessive profits at the expense of taxpayers. If a government contractor less closely connected to the administration had overcharged for goods or services, wouldn't the Justice Department at least be asking whether it acted with fraudulent intent?