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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Iraq Security Costs Soar

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(Newser) – The US Military has paid $548M to two British firms over the past three years to protect engineers working on projects in Iraq—nearly doubling its original budget, according to the Washington Post. A swelling insurgency and shortage of troops are driving up the cost of private security for the largely civilian workforce in the war-torn country.   

"To pay a man or a woman to come over here, put the vest on every day and escort military and civilians around the theater, knowing that people want to blow them up and kill them, you gotta pay to get that level of dedication," said a senior finance officer for the Corps of Engineers in Iraq.

An Iraqi contractor works on removing concrete blocks as U.S. soldiers stand by in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 5, 2007. Concrete walls are used for security barriers. (AP Photo/Ali al-Khazali)
An Iraqi contractor works on removing concrete blocks as U.S. soldiers stand by in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 5, 2007. Concrete walls are used for security barriers. (AP Photo/Ali al-Khazali)   (Associated Press)
A picture released by the US army 25 May 2007 Staff Sgt. Welbin...
A picture released by the US army 25 May 2007 Staff Sgt. Welbin...   (Getty Images)
IRAQ. Tikrit. Engineers of the 4th Infantry Division raid a local school building near Tikrit. The soldiers were told by their intelligence unit that weapons and insurgents were hidden in t (LON71879)
IRAQ. Tikrit. Engineers of the 4th Infantry Division raid a local school building near Tikrit. The soldiers were told by their intelligence unit that weapons and insurgents were hidden in t (LON71879)   (Magnum Photos)
A US soldier and a private security contractor pull out a wounded Iraqi from the rubble of a bridge destroyed by an apparent suicide vehicle bomber on Sunday, June 10, 2007,outside Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq. An apparent suicide car bomber took aim at...
A US soldier and a private security contractor pull out a wounded Iraqi from the rubble of a bridge destroyed by an apparent suicide vehicle bomber on Sunday, June 10, 2007,outside Mahmoudiya, about 30...   (Associated Press)
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