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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."
The contract, under the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, could extend from an initial base period to 10 years with incentives for strong performance. The annual contract value is $174 million, but could vary depending upon mission changes.
The Chiefs, the Elders, and tribal members met for the first time in hundreds of years back in June of 1988 with one goal in mind. They united in solidarity and in one voice to protect the Porcupine River Caribou Herd calving area in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil development and exploration.
"Triple Canopy stands alone in the industry in the quality of its
hiring and training practices, and we are seriously concerned that
reports from Honduras this week have misstated our standards for
recruiting employees for the services we provide in Iraq," said Joe
Mayo, Director, Public Affairs.
More than 1,000 contracts were issued by U.S. officials in June, about double the usual number. This apparent indifference toward accountability in spending Iraqi money was common among American officials last year as they rushed to sign contracts in the waning days of U.S. control of Iraq, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Assistant Labor Minister Africo Madrid said the company, Triple
Canopy, had contacted the government, saying it wanted Hondurans with
military training and was willing to pay 10 times the going rate for
similar jobs in Honduras.
Ugandan graduates left the country for Iraq in spite of protests from Members of Parliament. Special Operations Consulting Security Management Group (SOC-SMG), a Nevada-based security firm, engaged Kasango to recruit people for non-combat security jobs in Iraq and other countries.
Ceaseless attacks on contractors and facilities have also increasing security demands, with up to 16 percent of all project costs now being spent on hiring armed guards, improving site protection and providing equipment like hardened vehicles and telecommunications systems.
An April report by the U.S. Government Accounting Office found that monitoring of civilian contractors in Iraq was so poor that there was no way to determine how many contractors are working on U.S.-related security and reconstruction projects in Iraq or how many have been killed.
The Jordanian businessman at the centre of claims that George Galloway secretly bought oil from Saddam Hussein has a major contract to sell US military technology in Iraq, The Independent reveals.
The information revolution has spawned a global industry of private intelligence services. Some members of the U.S. Congress have recently asked whether their activities should be regulated.
As much as 16 percent of the $21 billion reconstruction budget would be spent on providing security for its projects and workers -- roughly double the original estimate.
The International Advisory and Monitoring Board has repeatedly criticized the American government for its loose spending controls during the period it controlled Iraqi assets, from the invasion in early 2003 to the transfer of sovereignty last June.
The Indigenous Environmental Network, the International Indian Treaty Council and Greenaction issue this call to action to stop George W. Bush's plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Called "spineless," the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has held no hearings on whether civilian contractors in Iraq - particularly Halliburton, the company Vice President Cheney used to head - have mismanaged and overcharged the government by billions of dollars, much to the consternation of Senate Democrats.
A federal court decision that the False Claims Act applies, together with the Justice Department's supporting stance, will be widely seen as a green light to whistle-blowers.
Many Halliburton contractors leave Iraq with debilitating injuries and deep psychological scars. Then they return home only to find that the insurance they need to rebuild their lives is out of reach.
More than 4,000 translators work for San Diego, Calif.-based Titan, which supplies the U.S. military with Arabic- and Kurdish-speaking linguists. The company reported record revenues last month, but its death toll also is far higher than any other civilian contracting firm in Iraq, including those with many more workers.
It's not every day that you get invited to a meeting you're not allowed to attend. Halliburton called earlier this week to ask if I was coming to the company's annual meeting today at the Four Seasons. There was one catch: The company wasn't allowing outsiders in the meeting. That included the press.