florida0214

I am sorry but in a country taht has no coke getting a case of 30 for $45 is not such a bad deal. I have been over there (the middle east) and have seen government orders and how things are acquired. Its never cheap and things cost a lot more. Now if Haliburton was able to run down to the local 7-11 then 45 dollars would be a little outrageous.
They do not have those options and if you have to spend a little more to bring a little bit of home to the American in Iraq then I say go ahead and do it.
Most people inthe united states see things on paper and have no idea idea what it takes to make certain things happen. Sometimes it takes more than people understand.
I am not saying that Haliburton is not padding their bill, I am sure they are, but congress approved it and I am sure there are poiliticians on both sides getting rich of this whole no bid thing that haliburton managed to chum its way into.

Next time anybody goes to Iraq and see Haliburton trucks doing nothing or driving around just to drive around let us all know. I addressed the 7 dollar coke. Think about how much people pay for cokes at concerts and other expensive places. It can cost upwards of 5 dollars for a single12 OZ can.
Now the 85,000 dollar filter. So its a filter.
What kind of Filter? What is it's application? How many microns will it filter out? What is the life expectancy? What is it made of? Until you can answer some of these questions, there can be no answer to yours.
I have seen and $93,000 engine replaced because of a small failed part but in order to replace that part it would have cost the Government about $150,000 in man hours and special tools and was simply cheaper to replace the entire engine. Now if you said that a $93,000 engine was replaced because a 25 dollar part failed, it sounds crazy, but if you say that it would have cost $150,000 to get that part replaced then spending the money to replace the engine makes more sense.

If you were drinving a truck in a convoy through Iraq that may or may be being escorted. Do you want to be the guy that gets to chane that tire. I know I wouldn't want to. It is far cheaper to replace that truck then to replace the contractor.

We cannot see the whole story of what goes on in Iraq. The media reports what it thinks will make people read the articles and watch the stories and in turn the commercials and paid advertising. It's all about the dollar.
I am not saying that there is not some waste going on, but the actual amount of waste being created may be an exxageration.

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"Two men: one thinks he can. One thinks he cannot. They are Both Right."