War & Disaster Profiteering

Did cronies of Mouafac Harb, the executive who runs America's Arabic-language networks, get sweetheart contracts? Read More

The U.S. chose Ziad Cattan to oversee military buying because he could get things done. He did, but now he faces corruption charges. Read More

A United Nations auditing board recommended that the United States repay as much as $208 million to the Iraqi government for contracting work assigned to Kellogg, Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary. Read More

Sytex, a subsidiary of Lockheed , the world's largest military contractor, has emerged as one of the biggest recruiters of private interrogators deployed to the United States-run prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read More

One concern is that Triple Canopy employees have been recruited mainly in Latin America and speak little English. Global Strategies relies heavily on British-trained Nepalese Gurkhas and Sri Lankans, a majority of whom speak at least some English and often speak it well. Read More

There are 20,000 "private security contractors" in Iraq: What do you call the people who fill the gaps arising when the desire of politicians to make war often exceeds citizens' desire to be sent to war? Read More

The complaints by the families of the new private security recruits forced the Peruvian Foreign Ministry to act. Ambassador Jorge Lázaro, in charge of Offices of Peruvian Communities Abroad, announced that he had launched an investigation to determine whether the contracts violated the rights of the new recruits. Read More

The assessment marks the first time a sitting inspector general -- in this case a former White House deputy assistant to President George W. Bush -- has formally criticized the prewar planning process. Most of the authoritative criticism to date has come from retired military or diplomatic officers or academics who worked in the reconstruction effort. Read More

Once thought of as little better than mercenaries, Britain's private-security firms are now seen by many as valued and legitimate businesses. Read More

In a widening scandal at the United States Special Operations Command, federal investigators are looking into a bribery scheme as well as accusations of improper influence involving millions of dollars in battlefield equipment used by Navy Seals and Army Green Berets and Rangers. Read More