War & Disaster Profiteering

When Mr. Cunningham wanted to sell his house in 2003, he didn't bother to put it on the market. Instead, according to reporting by Marcus Stern of Copley News Service, Mr. Cunningham -- who sits on the defense appropriations subcommittee -- turned to a defense contractor. The contractor, Mitchell Wade of MZM Inc., bought the house for $1,675,000. He then put the house back on the market, where it languished for 261 days before selling for $700,000 less than the original purchase price. Read More

Triple Canopy, founded just two years ago, got its first contract providing security for the Coalition Provisional Authority. At its peak, the company had 1,300 security personnel in Iraq. "We were a start-up and now we're in the leagues of companies who have been doing this for years," said the initial announcement. Read More

A controversy surrounding the detention of private contractors by US marines has exposed the sharp tensions being produced by the activities of thousands of mercenaries employed by the Bush administration to help enforce the occupation of Iraq. Read More

After almost 20 years of sporadic flying and finally being grounded, the first Iraqi Airways flight landed at Basrah International Airport June 4 with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South. The next project, the second largest at the airport, involves the installation of Navigational and Visual Aids, according to Drew. The Navigational Aids contract, $28 million, was awarded to Raytheon and negotiations are continuing. The airport's radar equipment falls under this contract and the airport cannot receive International Civil Aviation Organization certification without it. Read More

Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met behind closed doors this week to work out questions of pension plans for Gordon England, who is up for the Pentagon's No. 2 civilian official. England is a former executive at two of the largest U.S. defense contractors. His pensions are valued at $280,000 a year. Read More

The Naval Facilities Engineering Command has assigned Halliburton subsidiary KBR to construct a two-story facility capable of handling 220 prisoners, along with a security fence. Read More

The FBI has opened an inquiry into Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's 2003 sale of his Del Mar house to a defense contractor, who later sold it at a $700,000 loss, a Justice Department official said. Read More

Duke's done. One way or another, an under-the-table real-estate deal will end his long run in Congress. Three exit strategies are available to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the saltiest congressman in North County's history. Read More

the ex-Marine never imagined his captors would be U.S. troops. And he never dreamed they would hand him a Koran and a prayer rug, and treat him like the enemy for the next 72 hours. "It's just unreal," said Ginter, 30, Colorado Springs, Colo., the latest to speak out among 16 American and three Iraqi security contractors who were detained for three days in a facility with insurgents after being accused of firing shots at U.S. troops near Fallujah. Read More

Fijians returning home after a stint from security jobs in Kuwait say their government must thoroughly scrutinise all contracts. "I wouldn't want our local men to face the kind of life we experienced in Kuwait as it only brings tears when we think of our family back home," Mikaele Jiuta told a press conference last night Read More