Halliburton Says the Accountants Did It

Re “Halliburton Overcharge Not Intentional, Pentagon Says,” Dec. 18: Can you imagine the reaction of a judge to a driver who claimed he didn’t run over that old woman in a crosswalk, it was his old car that did it? But we are supposed to swallow the story that the people at Halliburton aren’t really responsible for overcharging the Pentagon (the U.S. taxpayers) $61 million, it was the firm’s “antiquated” accounting that did it.

I wonder if Halliburton would have allowed its accounting system to hang around long enough to become antiquated if it were in the habit of undercharging.

Ronald Rubin

Topanga

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“The issue isn’t just the $61 million. The issue is that they’ve got a rather antiquated accounting system,” said a Pentagon official. And if you believe that, I’ve got a vice president for sale.

Martin Lipton

Los Angeles