That is the way I read this story. I'm no authority on Federal acquisition regulations, but I've seen instances when non-selected contractors have sued in court, and totally halted badly needed procurement in spite of the havoc it caused for the soldiers who needed the goods.
And that appears to be what has happened here...and delaying the proper outfitting of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
Shameful.
Senior American commanders in Iraq are publicly complaining that delays in delivering radios, body armor and other equipment have hobbled their ability to build an effective Iraqi security force that can ultimately replace U.S. troops here.
The lag in supplying the equipment, brought on by a contract dispute, may even have contributed to a loss of lives among Iraqi recruits, commanders say. A spokesman for the company that was awarded the contract said much of the equipment had already been produced and was waiting to be shipped to Iraq...
The first batch of equipment for the Iraqis has been paid for and was to have been delivered under a $327 million contract to a small company, Nour USA Ltd., of Vienna, Va. But the Pentagon canceled that deal this month after protests by several competing companies led to a determination that Army procurement officers in Iraq had botched the contract. Army officials found no fault with Nour.
The Army is rushing to seek new bids, but officials said that could take two to three months.
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