by TChris

Bunnatine Greenhouse will not go gently into retirement -- much to the displeasure of the Army Corps of Engineers. Greenhouse is the Corps' contracting director, and she continues to criticize the network of "good ole boys" who funneled government funds to Halliburton to repair oil fields in Iraq, bypassing procedures that require competitive bidding.

With the bluntness and rectitude that has angered some of her superiors, she explained why she was not taking the vested retirement her commander had pointedly dangled. "When our officers don't understand that a decision is giving one company an exceptional advantage," she said, "when they don't understand that a decision doesn't protect the public trust, then it's my job to make them understand it."

In addition to questioning the $7 billion contract to repair oil fields, Greenhouse expressed displeasure that the Corps went behind her back to approve the inflated prices a Halliburton subsidiary charged for fuel that was transported to Iraq. She also questioned the extension of an expiring Halliburton contract in the Balkans, at a cost of $165 million.