by TChris

Bunnatine H. Greenhouse is the top civilian employee of the Army Corps of Engineers with oversight authority over contracting. She's raising questions about the Bush administration's cozy relationship with Halliburton, including its repeated decisions not to seek competitive bids for contracts awarded to the Vice President's former employer.

Greenhouse said that in at least one case she witnessed, Army officials inappropriately allowed representatives of Halliburton to sit in as they discussed the terms of a contract the company was set to receive.

The administration would prefer that she follow the course of "don't ask, don't tell." But that's not her job -- and because she's doing her job, her job may be on the line.

In an Oct. 21 letter to the acting Army secretary, Ms. Greenhouse said that after her repeated questions about the Halliburton contracts, she was excluded from major decisions to award money and that her job status was threatened.

Greenhouse is seeking a high level investigation of threats to the "integrity of the federal contracting program." After her concerns were made public, the Army Corps of Engineers was wisely directed "to suspend any adverse personnel actions" against her.