DOD Inspector General’s Report Confirms Allegations of Contaminated Water for the Troops in Iraq

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) called for a conference at the U.S. Senate Radio-TV Gallery to discuss the results of a new Department of Defense Inspector General’s report on its investigation of the contaminated water provided by Halliburton-subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR).

The report was requested by Senator Dorgan after the whistleblowers made the allegations at a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing in January 2006.

Despite the illness of the dozens of soldiers at camp Vermont in Iraq and other parts of the country, the contractor and the Pentagon denied the allegations saying no facts were presented. Alongside Senator Dorgan, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) stressed the importance of the solution of this issue, urging the Department of Defense to carry out investigations in depth. However, the report provided by the Inspector General confirms that the water provided by the contractor was contaminated.

Senator Dorgan stressed the importance of this issue, by stating that this is abusive to the American tax payers and especially to the American troops. He then added his concerns on “why the Pentagon and the Department denied these allegations although they had facts in their hands.” He is set to send a letter to the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, for some answers.