The Plain Letter of an Iraq
Coalition Provision Authority (CPA) Contract

The Los Angeles Times reports that "Attorneys for a U.S.-based security company [Custer Battles] accused of setting up sham companies in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme in Iraq are contending in court that the company cannot be sued under the False Claims Act, a key federal anti-corruption law, because the allegedly stolen money belonged to Iraqis, not Americans."

Unfortunately for Custer Battles, however, the document below makes clear that the contract was with the U.S. Army and the United States of America. The contracting officer was an American signing on behalf of the United States of America, and the check was to come from the 336th Finance Command based in Lake Charles, Louisiana (detailed to Camp Arifjan, a U.S. Army base in Kuwait).

A guide to the contract and what the letters and numbers on the contract mean:

• Box 1: DPAS stands for "Defense Priorities and Allocations System" and "15 CFR 700" means that it is "in support of authorized national defense programs". The Army here is the United States Army, and the "national defense" is the defense of the United States and its troops.

• Box 2: The contract number begins with the numbers DA, which stands for "Department of the U.S. Army".

• Box 21: The number "21X2089" means that, for accounting purposes, this contract should be charged to the "Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, Army" -- i.e. the U.S. Army.

• Box 25: "Payment will be made by 336th FINCOM" means that the bill will be paid by the 336th Finance Command stationed in Lake Charles. Louisiana. "APO AE 09366" is a U.S. Military postal code (APO) for Europe (AE). Camp Arifjan is a U.S. Army base in Kuwait and is run by the US Central Command (USCENTCOM).

• Box 26: "Patricia G. Logsdon" is the American contracting officer from the 336th Finance Command stationed in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

• Box 27: Patricia G. Logsdon signs on behalf of the "United States of America." This is the entity with whom the contract is with.

• Standard Form 33 Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214c: The letters "GSA" stands for U.S. "General Services Administration," and FAR stands for "Federal Acquisition Regulation". This note is proof that this is an official contract of the United States Government.