In an Oct. 21 letter to the acting Army secretary, 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.
In response, Army officials referred her accusations to the Pentagon's investigations bureau for review and promised to protect her position in the meantime.
Greenhouse, 62, is a veteran of military procurement and serves the Corps of Engineers as the principal assistant responsible for contracting — the top civilian overseeing the agency's contracts. She also has chief responsibility for reviewing adherence to the Pentagon's elaborate rules, intended to shield awards from outside influence and to promote competition.
The contracts to Halliburton, a Houston-based conglomerate once headed by Dick Cheney before he became vice president, have stirred controversy and charges of favoritism because some contracts were granted on an emergency basis, without competitive bidding.
The company's operations in Iraq, involving work for more than $10 billion, have also been dogged by charges of overbilling and waste and have been an issue in the presidential campaign.
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