Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 7, 2008 9:14:50 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

Stories related to: Iraq contractors

Stories

16 Stories

  • August 2008

    • As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

      USA Today  |  Aug 28, 08 1:21 PM CDT

      As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

      (Newser) - American troops are trickling home, but at a hefty cost: The US has spent more than $1.2 billion this year on private security contractors—mostly to protect diplomats, but also to secure infrastructure and supplies, USA Today reports. The State Department says now that focus has shifted to rebuilding, officials are venturing out of secure areas to do field work and require more protection. More »

      Tags

      Iraq war  • Iraq war spending  • contractors  • Iraq contractors  • security contractors

    • Blackwater Guards May Be Charged in Iraq Shooting

      Washington Post  |  Aug 17, 08 6:18 AM CDT

      Blackwater Guards May Be Charged in Iraq Shooting

      (Newser) - Federal prosecutors are close to seeing indictments against some of the Blackwater security guards linked to the shooting in Baghdad last September that left 17 civilians dead, the Washington Post reports. Target letters have gone out to six Blackwater contractors, sources tell the Post , indicating a high likelihood that the Justice Department will pursue charges. An Iraqi investigation found that the contractors had fired without provocation; Blackwater claims the shooting was a response to insurgent fire. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Iraq war  • Blackwater  • Iraq contractors  • indictment  • security guards

    • US Contractor Bills in Iraq to Hit $100B

      New York Times  |  Aug 12, 08 6:00 AM CDT

      US Contractor Bills in Iraq to Hit $100B

      (Newser) - By the end of the year, the US will have spent $100 billion on private defense contractors in Iraq, a congressional report finds, showing more private-sector reliance than any previous wartime. Some 20% of funds spent on the war have gone to contractors, whose numbers are now greater than the US military, the New York Times reports. More »

      Tags

      Iraq war  • US military  • Iraq war spending  • Iraq contractors  • security contractors  • KBR  • Halliburton

  • July 2008

    • Foreign Companies Cash In on Stable Iraq

      Der Spiegel  |  Jul 22, 08 12:00 PM CDT

      Foreign Companies Cash In on Stable Iraq

      (Newser) - With security and stability on the rise, Iraq’s government is turning its attention, and its generous budget, toward reconstruction. That’s led to some big opportunities for Western businesses, which are scrambling to get a cut of the country’s $25 billion reconstruction budget. Iraq, which lacks the resources to rebuild on its own, is just as eager to make deals, reports Der Spiegel. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Iraq government  • Iraq contractors  • foreign investment  • Iraq reconstruction  • infrastructure

    • Shoddy Electrical Work Killing US Troops in Iraq

      New York Times  |  Jul 18, 08 4:00 AM CDT

      Shoddy Electrical Work Killing US Troops in Iraq

      (Newser) - Shoddy electrical work by private contractors is making Iraq an even deadlier place for US troops, reports the New York Times . At least 13 troops have died from electrocution and many more have been injured. Others have perished in electrical fires. The problem is worse than the Pentagon has acknowledged, with 283 fires sparked at military installations in a 6-month period, according to Army documents. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • US military  • Iraq contractors  • military bases  • KBR  • electrical shocks  • electrocution

  • June 2008

    • Army Overseer Ousted After Rejecting Bogus Iraq Bills

      New York Times  |  Jun 17, 08 7:54 AM CDT

      Army Overseer Ousted After Rejecting Bogus Iraq Bills

      (Newser) - Did a top Army official lose his job for trying to save the Army money? Charles Smith was ousted from his job after refusing to pay then-Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $1 billion in charges deemed bogus by Army auditors. “They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn’t justify,” Smith tells the New York Times . “The money that was going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn’t going to do that.” Smith’s successor coughed up the money. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Iraq contractors  • KBR  • Halliburton  • defense spending

  • May 2008

    • Iraq Profitable Business for Bush's Ex-Spies

      Salon  |  May 29, 08 1:20 PM CDT

      Iraq Profitable Business for Bush's Ex-Spies

      (Newser) - Richard Armitage rarely saw eye-to-eye with the Bush administration on the Iraq war, but these days he may be more sanguine. That’s because Armitage has profited handsomely from his own national security consulting firm, as well stakes in a dozen private defense and intelligence companies that do business with the CIA, NSA, and others. Across Washington, top spies and officials are jumping to private sector gigs, writes Tim Shorrock in his new book Spies for Hire. More »

      Tags

      Iraq contractors  • security contractors  • US intelligence  • Richard Armitage  • intelligence spending  • George J. Tenet

    • Audit Shows Billions Unaccounted for in Iraq

      New York Times  |  May 23, 08 11:20 AM CDT

      Audit Shows Billions Unaccounted for in Iraq

      (Newser) - A Pentagon audit of $8.2 billion in taxpayer money spent in Iraq found that nearly all of the handouts skirted federal rules, and millions of dollars in contracts were awarded with little or no record of what they were for, reports the New York Times . Take the $320.8 million that was issued to 1,000 Iraqis for "Iraqi Salary Payment"—$320,800 a head—with no explanation of what they were compensated for. More »

      Tags

      Iraq war  • US military  • Pentagon  • Iraq war spending  • contractors  • Iraq contractors  • audit

  • April 2008
  • March 2008

    • FBI Recovers 2 US Contractors in Iraq

      Associated Press  |  Mar 24, 08 6:28 PM CDT

      FBI Recovers 2 US Contractors in Iraq

      (Newser) - The FBI said today it has the bodies of two US contractors who were kidnapped in Iraq, the AP reports. John Roy Young, a security worker, and Ronald Withrow, employed by an IT firm, were two of six contractors kidnapped in Iraq over the past 2 years. Journalists shone attention on the missing Americans last month after their severed fingers were sent to US commanders in Iraq. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Iraq war  • US military  • FBI  • kidnapping  • contractors  • Iraq contractors

  • February 2008

    • Women Report Sex Assaults by Contractors in Iraq

      New York Times  |  Feb 13, 08 11:03 AM CST

      Women Report Sex Assaults by Contractors in Iraq

      (Newser) - American women who report being sexually assaulted while working for contractors in Iraq are finding themselves stuck in a legal limbo, reports the New York Times . They are not covered by military laws, and the reach of American laws over US contractors abroad is still unclear. Contractors like KBR require workers to sign pacts saying disputes will be settled by private arbitration, leaving sexual assault victims unable to get justice. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Iraq contractors  • sexual assault  • KBR

  • November 2007

    • Blackwater Guards on Steroids: Suit

      CNN  |  Nov 28, 07 4:29 AM CST

      Blackwater Guards on Steroids: Suit

      (Newser) - Private security contractor Blackwater fosters a "culture of lawlessness" among its guards, who are revved up on steroids and other "judgment-altering substances," claims a lawsuit filed by families of Iraqis killed by the guards. Plaintiffs include two survivors of a September shooting when the guards opened fire on a busy Baghdad intersection; 17 Iraqi civilians were killed. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • lawsuit  • Blackwater  • Iraq contractors  • mercenaries

    • Grand Jury Calls Guards —but Not Shooters

      ABC News  |  Nov 20, 07 8:04 AM CST

      Grand Jury Calls Guards —but Not Shooters

      (Newser) - A federal grand jury investigating the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater security guards has called guards who were present at the September incident to testify—but not the five who admit firing their weapons, sources told ABC News. Twelve other guards were said to be present at the Baghdad intersection at the time. In State Department testimony obtained by ABC News, guards have given conflicting accounts. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Blackwater  • Iraq contractors  • security contractors  • grand jury

  • October 2007

    • US Military to Oversee Blackwater Convoys

      New York Times  |  Oct 31, 07 11:10 AM CDT

      US Military to Oversee Blackwater Convoys

      (Newser) - The military is taking control of State Department security convoys in Iraq, supervising Blackwater and other contractors, the New York Times reports. State had fought a losing battle to keep control of Blackwater after it was involved in a September incident that left 17 Iraqis dead. Now, the military will oversee contractor recruitment, training, movements and the rules of engagement. More »

      Tags

      Iraq  • Condoleezza Rice  • Robert Gates  • State Department  • Blackwater  • Defense Department  • Iraq contractors

    • Blackwater Owes $136M: Iraq

      Associated Press  |  Oct 8, 07 8:32 PM CDT

      Blackwater Owes $136M: Iraq

      (Newser) - Today Iraq told Bush to cut ties with Blackwater and then demanded that the firm pay $8 million for each victim in a recent shooting, the AP reports. Al-Maliki’s government also wants Bush to deliver Blackwater mercs to face possible justice in Iraq. Today’s demands stem from an Iraqi probe into a Sept. 17 Blackwater shooting, which Iraq says left 17 dead. More »

      Tags

      Blackwater  • Iraq contractors  • Iraq violence  • private security firm

    • Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket

      Washington Post  |  Oct 7, 07 4:13 PM CDT

      Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket

      (Newser) - Shoddy workmanship and poor planning have left construction of the new US embassy in Iraq—the biggest in the world—months behind schedule, and tacked $144 million onto what was originally a $592-million project. Scheduled to open last month, it won't be fully habitable until 2009. The State Department, already under fire for failing to adequately supervise private security firm Blackwater, is taking heat from Congress for the poor performance More »

      Tags

      Iraq