Financial Times: Halliburton 'mismanaged $8bn in Iraq'

"A Pentagon audit has found wide-spread deficiencies in the way Halliburton tracks billions of dollars of government contracts in Iraq and Kuwait, leading to "significant" overcharges.
The findings have been bolstered by graphic accounts from former employees who have told a US congressman that the company's subcontractors charged $100?¬83, £55) to launder a 15-pound bag of clothing and abandoned $85,000 trucks when they suffered flat tyres.
Critics say Halliburton, an oilfield services company formerly headed by Dick Cheney, the vice-president, has mismanaged more than $8bn of Iraq contracts. They will also raise further questions about the Pentagon's increased reliance on private contractors to handle services, from providing meals to fuel delivery.
Henry Waxman, a Democratic congressman, published the findings before a hearing on Tuesday in the House committee on government reform. Mr Waxman wrote on Monday to Tom Davis, the Republican committee chairman, that the whistleblower testimony and the findings of the Pentagon and congressional auditors "portray a company and a contracting environment that has run amok"."