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British lawmaker George Galloway told a U.S. Senate panel today that Congress was were diverting attention from the failings of U.S. contractors in Iraq, the possible misuse of money by the U.S.-led Coalition, the spreading of money around the country by U.S. military commanders without accountability, and U.S. companies such as Bayoil (USA) Inc., which is accused of paying millions of dollars to Hussein for the right to sell Iraqi oil.
Rep. David Price, D-N.C., reintroduced the legislation that would require private security firms to disclose costs, training, insurance, pay, benefits and other details about their business. The measure encompasses companies whose workers carry weapons for their contracts or are involved in security, training and logistics duties.
Working in Iraq is like playing the lottery -- only in this case, you pray that your number does not come up. According to the Web site www.icasualties.org, more than 200 foreign private contractors have lost their lives in Iraq in the past two years. Iraq is an extremely hairy place -- particularly for anyone even remotely connected with the U.S. reconstruction efforts.
Iraq is by far the most lucrative cash cow for these soldiers of fortune, with at least 30 percent of the billions of dollars the US Department of Defence spends on Iraq every month going to "private military contractors".
Top Kremlin operatives and a flamboyant Russian politician reaped millions of dollars in profits under the U.N. oil-for-food program by selling oil that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein allowed them to buy at a deep discount, a U.S. Senate investigation has concluded.
Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released "Drilling in Detroit," an analysis conducted jointly with the Center for Auto Safety. The study finds that US automakers could produce a fleet of cars and trucks that get an average of 40 miles per gallon by 2012, and 55 mpg by 2020 (up from the current 24 mpg average), with no diminution of safety and performance. This increased fuel efficiency would save consumers billions of dollars each year, cut 273 million tons of annual GHG emissions by 2010 and 888 million tons by 2020, and create tens of thousands of new jobs in the auto industry.
All 62 were travelling on South African passports when they were detained by Zimbabwe but many were originally from Namibia and Angola -- including former members of South Africa's apartheid-era 32 Battalion, which recruited locals for bush fighting in Angola.
They're targeted for shootings, bombings - even beheadings. The cash is good. Really good. One-hundred-thousand-for-six-months-work good. Sometimes, it's even better than that. And that's nothing to scoff at for soldiers who don't make a quarter as much for a full year's work. But worth it for the job they're contracted to do?
This week, CorpWatch publishes a special alternative annual report on Halliburton. From bribery, fraud, and corruption in Iraq, to the undermining of US government regulations that protect drinking water at home, we take a closer look at this controversial company's track record in 2004.
A federal judge must decide whether the United States has jurisdiction over the spending of seized Iraqi assets by the Coalition Provisional Authority. His decision weighs in the balance over a court battle accusing the private security firm, Custer Battles, of defrauding about $50 million while working in postwar Iraq.
Top military contractors have about $25 billion to $30 billion in cash sitting in their coffers. Fully, indebted to the government for their revenues resulting form record Pentagon budgets and spending on homeland security, shareholders are happy and stocks are reaching new highs.
U.S. contractors hit by improvised explosive devices and small arms fire in Iraq are victims of circumstance, and there is little evidence that attacks on U.S. contractors are 'systematic,' says a Pentagon report to Congress.
After more than a year in a Zimbabwean jail 62 black South African mercenaries are due to be released, but freedom will be a bittersweet experience. Embarrassed by the "cesspool of mercenaries" within its midst, the South African authorities have decreed that the dust-blown town of Pomfret must be razed and the inhabitants scattered across the country.
Among other things, rules reaffirm that it is permissible for contractors--at the discretion of the combatant commander--to carry weapons in war zones such as Iraq. Such provisions are bound to please some headed for work in hostile environments, but they have some companies worried about their legal liabilities.
Asked if rebuilding funds were being spent as Congress intended, the special inspector general said "No," Money had been diverted to security, forcing projects to be scaled back. There has also been evidence of corruption in some U.S.-funded deals.
What private security firms in Iraq actually do has been shrouded in mystery. Some provide more than just security. Many are involved in military activities.
According to the Federal Procurement Data System (fpds.gov) database, the US DOD's US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded just over 29,000 contracts since at least October of 2003. A review of 2,000 of those contracts shows that awards go to the usual suspects like SAIC, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Some go to unusual suspects like Colombia Tri-Star pictures and Time Warner for movie and video distribution services.