War & Disaster Profiteering

While the industry was growing rapidly in the southeast Europe, there are problems with private security companies being affiliated with political parties as well as criminal, paramilitary and ethnic groups reports the Britain-based Saferworld think-tank. Read More

White House uses practices criticized in Iraq rebuilding for hurricane-related jobs. Read More

The role of Yahoo in helping Chinese security officials to finger a journalist sentenced to 10 years for e-mailing "state secrets" is filtering into mainland China. The revelation reinforces a conviction among Chinese "netizens" that there is no place security forces can't find them. Read More

Douglas Feith, who recently resigned as undersecretary of defense planned ahead for his retirement and will not be seen in the unemployment line. Read More

As with the hurricane, there were warnings that FEMA was turning into a disaster. The union representing its career employees wrote to members of Congress last year that politically connected contractors and novices without disaster-relief experience had taken over and trashed FEMA's professionalism. Read More

Private security guards now outnumber police officers in South Australia by almost two to one. Read More

Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of U.S., British and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians. Read More

Foreign contractor, Iraqis are at odds Read More

Blackwater is one of the leading private "security" firms servicing the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Read More

Private security companies say they have seen an upswing in demand for services in the ravaged Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina blew through the region 12 days ago. Read More