Here’s a riddle. A puzzle. A brain teaser. Courtesy of the United States government. Go ahead, try and find the logic in it.

According to POGO (Project on Government Oversight) and investigator Neil Gordon, a federal administrative tribunal the pricey legal expenses racked up by military contractor KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root) must be paid by the U.S. Army — aka American taxpayers — a total tallying more than $30 million.

Here’s where the twist comes in: the hefty lawyering bill was inherited after KBR fought lawsuits against them for allegedly poisoning American military service members and civilians during the Iraq War by exposing them to toxic chemicals.

And that’s not all, the government (again: taxpayers) are also responsible for paying all settlements that come as a result of the judgments. One recent lawsuit in Oregon against KBR awarded the plaintiffs more than $81 million.

Here are the specifics, via POGO:

On August 13, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) ordered the Army [PDF] to reimburse KBR for the more than $30 million it has spent defending lawsuits alleging toxic chemical exposure in Iraq. The ASBCA ruled that anindemnification provision in KBR’s Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) contract [PDF] requires the government to cover KBR’s legal expenses arising from property damage, injury, or death at KBR worksites in Iraq.

And KBR isn’t done after this ruling is put to bed. Unfortunately for every other American who isn’t on their private payroll, additional bills are in the forecast. Like for any other of their messes in Afghanistan or elsewhere that could potentially pit them back in a courtroom. And believe it: they’re there — like the Ryan Maseth shower electrocution lawsuit or toxic exposure from open-air burn pits or contaminated water or …