Once again, the Bush administration is letting former Halliburton subsidiary KBR off the hook.

The Associated Press reports that KBR allegedly supplied contaminated water to our troops in Iraq. The troops suffered “skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses.”

Obviously, Bush Administration officials were outraged and called KBR to account. Demanded answers. Threatened to revoke their contract.

Well…not exactly. Instead, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell found humor in the accusations, joking that in Iraq “they make it perfectly clear that you don't want to drink the water” and the troops “should read the signs and just drink bottled water.”

Except the troops didn't drink KBR's water. They got sick because they used it to take showers and do their laundry.

Once again, the Bush Administration refuses to hold KBR accountable -- whether it's for covering up the rape of an employee, evading taxes through offshore subsidiaries, or sickening the troops they're supposed to serve. I suppose this is what passes for national security when we hand power to people who combine their faith in war as the answer with their belief that what's good for business is good for America.

We need to move America in a new direction. Join the growing number of Progressive Future members and supporters in telling the Pentagon that you won't tolerate excuses. It's time to hold KBR accountable.

Or, I guess we could add another $100 million to the Pentagon’s budget so our troops can do their laundry with Evian…

The Defense Department has decided to make it impossible to reach 13 Web sites from its network, citing an overabundance of “recreational traffic.”

In the policy released today, General B.B. Bell, commander in South Korea, said use of those sites “impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge.”