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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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some 300 Filipino workers in the sprawling American military base in Camp Cooke in Taji, Iraq went on strike because of alleged violations in their employment contracts, an e-mail message to INQ7.net disclosed.

Some 300 Filipinos employed by Prime Projects International and Kellogg, Brown & Root, went on strike this week to protest poor working conditions.

Philippine diplomats will go to Taji, Iraq, to help settle a labor dispute between Filipino workers and two US companies in Camp Cooke, a US military base, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said on Friday.

Around 300 Filipino workers have gone on strike at a US military base in Baghdad, apparently in a protest over their working conditions that they say include long hours and unsatisfactory food and accommodation.

Sparks are flying between the rival sets of investigators looking at the world body's role in the scandal: those running the three probes being pursued for the U.S. Congress and those working for a U.N.-appointed panel led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

In even the most benign environment, PMCs complicate military command and control, communications, intelligence, and operational security. They make combat commanders' duties more difficult and hazardous, and they blur political-military-private sector delineations that have served nation states well for the past four hundred years.

President George W. Bush may have pledged to promote democracy around the world, but most U.S. arms sales to the developing world still go to prop up dictatorial regimes, according to a new report.

Shabby treatment of non-US citizens killed while working for firms contracted by the US government seems to be the norm. The right information is sometimes as rare as desert rain -
especially if one does not know who his or her employer is.

The outgoing U.S. official overseeing rebuilding work in Iraq, said projects were moving ahead despite soaring security costs, which U.S. auditors say can chew up half of the funding. Still, Iraqis complain their electricity grid is more fragile than ever and promises to improve their daily lives have not materialized.

Iraq's insurgents are conducting increasingly sophisticated and lethal attacks on the private security companies that are crucial to the nation's reconstruction and the eventual departure of U.S. troops, contractors and U.S. officials say.

In Kampala, the gates of Askar Security Services in Kamwokya are buzzing with enthusiastic young men and women signing in for deployment in Iraq. They want to take the chance of a lifetime. They cannot wait to test the waters.

Chief Executive Dave Lesar told reporters after the meeting that the company is still evaluating a contract to rebuild southern Iraq's oil industry. As for its larger contract to provide meals, shelter and other support to the troops, he said, "We are committed to see that contract through."