[+/-] Army to Let Halliburton keep its stolen booty

The US Army is laying the groundwork to let Halliburton keep several billion dollars paid for work in Iraq that Pentagon auditors say is questionable or unsupported by proper documentation, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

According to Pentagon documents reviewed by the Journal, the Army has acknowledged that the Houston-based company might never be able to account properly for some of its work, which has been probed amid accusations that Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root unit overbilled the government for some operations in Iraq.

The company has hired a consulting firm to estimate what Halliburton's services should cost, the report said. Officials are considering using the estimate to serve as the basis for "an equitable settlement," under which the Pentagon could drop many of the claims its auditors have made against the company.

Some Pentagon officials see the effort to broker an outside settlement with the company as unusual because the contract is so large.

Can you imagine the outcry on Fox News if this was John Edwards' former company?