War & Disaster Profiteering

Tension and confusion are on the rise in Iraq after a group of American security contractors were thrown in jail under suspicion for shooting at the US Marines in Fallujah. Read More

With the exception of the submachine gun and a pistol tucked into his belt, Dale Stoffel looked the same in Baghdad as he had in Washington. His life-and death was a version, in miniature, of the American occupation itself. As a friend of his later told me, "When Stoffel first got to Iraq, it was the reaction most people have the first time they go to Vegas." Read More

Charged with the front-line responsibility of defending infrastructure projects, homes, personnel and even U.S. military convoys, private security companies in Iraq are in some instances agitating for the right to arm themselves with heavy military-style weapons. Read More

Facing the constant threat of ambushes, suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and kidnappers, former Scottsdale, Arizona, Police Chief Michael Heidingsfield travels to police stations and training camps around Iraq - an itinerary, according to one of his top aides, that is more difficult now than it was when he arrived six months ago. Read More

U.S. troops, journalists and contractors returning from Iraq are among those who have been caught with forbidden souvenirs -- mostly paintings and small seals and cylinders that can be carved exquisitely and hidden easily. Read More

A dispute between Filipino workers and a US group in Iraq over working conditions has been resolved, said a spokeswoman for US contractor Kellog Brown and Root. Read More

In what could be a test case, Iraq is suing over a reconstruction contract awarded by the Coalition Provisional Authority in April 2004 to manage the port at Khor Az Zubayr. A judge ``assessing the case'' will visit the facility on June 6 with a port expert. Read More

There are 50,000 to 100,000 contractors working in Iraq, experts say, though reliable estimates are hard to come by. The number of contractors killed is just as difficult to pin down, partly because the employers often keep the deaths quiet. The U.S. military death toll, now over 1,620, would be higher but for the number of military tasks contracted out to the private sector, analysts say. Read More

Striking Filipino workers employed in a US military camp have returned to work for International (PPI) and Kellogg Brown and Root. They were protesting against the delayed payment of their wages, inadequate food, and poor accommodations, which were violations of the contract signed by the workers prior to their deployment. Read More

A labor strike by some 300 Filipinos employed at Camp Cook in the Iraqi province of Taji who were protesting poor working conditions has been "temporarily resolved." The workers are under contract with Prime Projects International and Kellogg Brown and Root. Read More