US - Iraq Logistics Supply Chain Contract Still Shrouded In Mystery

US – IRAQ – DUBAI –KUWAIT – It seems there is still much to be discovered about the logistics services previously provided by Agility of Kuwait and now awarded to Dubai based Anham FZCo to resupply the American forces in Iraq and Kuwait.. As reported in our story of the 18th August, Anham have once again reiterated that they became fully responsible for the Prime Vendor contract with the U.S. Government, providing full-line food and non-food freight, distribution and support services in Kuwait and Iraq.

This announcement follows several other publications announcing that the disenfranchised Agility had obtained a further extension to their multi million dollar contract in the light of their and others Court actions against the military, claiming the revised terms offered by the incoming companies were unsustainable and on a different basis to those originally agreed.

Anham are unequivocal in their statement to us stating that they became fully responsible, as agreed, on the 16th November at the end of the transition period of seven months after Agility had been given notice. Managing director David Braus commented:

“Serving as the Prime Vendor provides us with the opportunity to build on our track record of performing beyond our clients’ expectations. We have a long history of conducting large scale, successful operations in the most demanding conditions around the world – consistently on time and within budget. We will streamline our services by working with partner companies that are best suited to meet the needs of the contract. These will include our more than 100 local partners in Kuwait and Iraq.”

The Agility dedicated legal website has no new updates regarding a further contract extension, instead setting out the case as they see it and saying the matter is merely one of interpretation of contract conditions and therefore a civil not criminal matter. There is no mention of the accusations that Agility, one of whose previous identities, Geologistics International Management (Bermuda) Ltd., was fined millions of dollars in October as part of an air freight price fixing cartel, has closed its US offices in an attempt to move any prosecution out of American jurisdiction and back to its home country.

Agility say that they continue to ship supplies to troops in both Iraq and Kuwait under the Prime Vendor ll contract with the approval of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and reports suggest the contract will now continue until April 2011, despite the fact the group are forbidden to quote on Government contracts until the matter in hand is resolved, and that amongst the former US Generals working for the Agility subsidiary on the supply contract numbers one who formerly held a senior position in the DLA itself.

Agility claim 33 lives were lost during the creation and sustainment of this supply chain plus 262 casualties to staff, all losses to personnel and equipment borne by themselves, and it seems that this matter may prove controversial for some time to come; unless of course an out of Court settlement suddenly proves of interest to all parties, an outcome which would have the conspiracy theorists running excitedly to their computers.