"Increasing expenditures in theater also jeopardize our ability to maintain public support as the costs associated with our operations continue to rise," wrote Gen. George Casey, the commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq, in a memo distributed this summer to commanders.

As a result, he wrote, "We have to accept standards that are 'good enough.'"

"Just as we enforce fire discipline to conserve ammunition, so too must we exercise spending discipline. Our spending in theater not only affects us directly, it has a ripple effect throughout all of the services. Our expenditures for 'nice to haves' directly compete with other requirements," states the memo, obtained by United Press International.

The "good enough" standard applies to those bases with fewer than 1,800 troops permanently assigned. Bases above 1,800 troops are entitled to a full range of "nice to have" services from hot catered meals, to pest control, shower and bathroom facilities, living trailers, gyms and laundry service.

These services, provided to the U.S. military by Halliburton subsidiary KBR, are outlined in the so-called LOGCAP, or "Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program" contract.

Under new changes to the LOGCAP contract, military personnel on bases with fewer than 1,800 troops will live in more austere conditions -- tents rather than trailers, portable toilets and limited recreational facilities.

The biggest difference, however, is that the bases will not be allowed KBR dining facilities.

A senior military commander told UPI the KBR meal service is a primary reason U.S. troops in Iraq have such low disease rates. The food is fresh, nutritious and prepared in clean kitchens, and troops are required to wash their hands before eating.

KBR has been paid more than $12.25 billion for its LOGCAP work in Iraq since 2003 -- the largest contract of its kind ever. In May it was awarded another annual extension at a cost of $4.9 billion, or about $400 million a month.

"It is hard to understand how for $400 million a month, there is not enough money to support (hot food) at smaller bases," said a military official tracking the issue.

"I understand your desire to give our service members the best support possible. However, our actions to increase LOGCAP support have had some unintended consequences," Casey wrote.

Chief among them, say U.S. military officials, is the increased number of convoys delivering fresh food and supplies to bases with hot meal facilities. Because the roads in Iraq are so dangerous, convoys have to be escorted by military vehicles, tying up soldiers and vehicles and exposing them to additional dangers.

"I would rather return our service members safely home on time than give them all the comforts of home," Casey wrote.

The U.S. military spends about $5 billion a month in Iraq. Thus far the war has cost in excess of $200 billion.

Concerns about the cost of the war undermining public support for the continued occupation appear well-founded.

In a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, 90 percent of respondents said they opposed cutting domestic programs to pay for the war and 55 percent opposed rolling back tax cuts to foot the bill. Seventy-seven percent would disapprove of new taxes.

With some estimates of the total cost of the cleanup and reconstruction on the Gulf coast in the wake of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina now topping $300 billion, lawmakers are likely to put pressure on the administration to reign in spending in Iraq.

"If it comes down to schools, roads and sewage treatment plants in Iraq or in Louisiana, which would you vote for?" one congressional staffer asked UPI.

There are 72 U.S. military bases in Iraq, 42 of them too small to qualify for more than "good enough" services. They are home to around 50,000 U.S. troops, most for about a year. Around 82,000 live on bases with "nice to have" LOGCAP services.

The cut-off figure of 1,800 has been in place since at least November 2004 and was not chosen at random, said Army Col. Kirk Foster, chief of readiness and sustainment for the Multi-National Force - Iraq. Eighteen hundred is about the size of a brigade headquarters and two battalions - the size unit that is typically on the front lines in Iraq.

Larger bases tend to be home to logistics and headquarters units not immediately associated with the day-to-day fight.

Jana Weston, the deputy program director of LOGCAP, said the military analyzed the cost of providing "nice to have" services to bases with contingents as small as 600 troops each but found it unsupportable.

Forty-three bases are now entitled to hot meal dining facilities. Eleven of these have fewer than 1,800 personnel, but are grandfathered in and entitled to the "nice to have" services, according to Weston. Those facilities were established before November 2004 when the 1,800-troop distinction was established. The "Good Enough" memo, as it is called, is intended to discourage commanders from asking for new services at smaller bases.

One unit, fearing closure of its dining facilities, has struck a separate deal with the subcontractor already on its bases, pulling money out of its operations and maintenance account to cover the cost.

Among the 11 exceptions to the new rule is a dining facility serving just 250 people at Camp "Freedom Rest" - in the "Green Zone" in Baghdad, home to the U.S. embassy.

A spokesman for Casey told UPI no services would be cut to existing bases no matter what size until 30 days before they are shut down and handed over to the Iraqis. The U.S. military plans to collapse its 72 bases down to 10, and the ultimately hand those over to the Iraqi army.

But the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq told Casey he would direct commanders to cut LOGCAP services immediately where possible.

"We will use 'good enough' as a standard to look for and find innovative ways to cut some of the 'nice to have' and unnecessary extras and services that currently exist," Lt. Gen. John Vines wrote in a memo to Casey.

Weston insisted the $12 billion contract has been a good deal for the government.

"Look at what the $12 billion got them," she said. "Look at what we've accomplished and what we've afforded soldiers. Three years is a short time for all that's been accomplished... I came here in May 2003 and there was no air conditioning, no power, nothing."

She said the decision not to allow new dining facilities - or gyms or the other services LOGCAP provides at larger bases - is driven not by money but by the U.S. military's base consolidation plan.

That money is central to the matter is clear, however. A LOGCAP Management and Implementation Plan now in effect was created specifically "to control escalating costs and limited resources associated with providing life support services to the Multi-National Corps in Iraq," the terms of reference states.

Another way to cut costs on LOGCAP would be to competitively contract out discreet tasks to the lowest bidder.

The Army did this last year in Kuwait, hiring a separate contractor to run its six dining facilities and cutting KBR out of the loop. It saved 43 percent without a reduction in services, according to a government report.

The Multi-National Force - Iraq struck a similar deal with a contractor at a dining facility at a detention camp in Sulemaniyah, a Kurdish province with few security problems, said Weston.

The military is considering more of the same but Weston warned there may not be significant cost savings.

In Kuwait and Sulemaniyah, workers at the dining facility are able to safely live off base, something not possible in the rest of Iraq. Outside of the relatively peaceful zone of the Kurdish north, even if a cheaper contract is negotiated, the workers will still have to live in KBR trailers and use KBR services - and on the LOGCAP contract's dime - on base.

LOGCAP is a cost-plus contract; the government pays any costs incurred by KBR in providing the service - and a percentage on top for KBR's profit. Bonus incentives are given when KBR achieves cost savings.

Critics argue cost-plus arrangements encourage "gold-plated" services. The higher the costs, the more the percentage fee and the greater the contractor's profits.

Cost-plus contracts are frequently used by the government to eliminate risk to the contractor when the scope of work covered under the contract can not be anticipated in advance.

Casey's office said the KBR contract is constantly scrutinized for savings.

"We are continually scrubbing cost estimates and auditing contractor actual costs of work performed. The contractor has a robust cost savings and cost avoidance program that is heavily relied upon to determine their award fee ratings," the spokesman said.

Nonetheless, the Defense Contract Auditing Agency has identified around $1.4 billion in questionable or unsupported costs charged by KBR under the LOGCAP deal. The charges are not necessarily fraudulent but there is insufficient documentation to prove they are accurate, according to the agency.

This is at least the second time Casey has had LOGCAP spending in his cross hairs. When he was Army vice chief of staff in 2003, he sent out a message encouraging units to seek alternatives to LOGCAP. Subsequently, the Army capped LOGCAP spending in Iraq at $6.5 billion for 2004. This year it is capped at just under $5 billion.

The U.S. military can scarcely carry out a war without support from a company like KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, which Vice President Dick Cheney headed for five years prior to his joining George W. Bush's presidential ticket.

The military increasingly relies on private contractors to do "garrison" work that soldiers used to handle. Pentagon officials argue it is cheaper in the long-run and more efficient to use contracted services rather than hire extra soldiers.

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