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Iraqi Court Convicts First Westerner Since 2003

Danny Fitzsimons convicted of two counts of murder, one of attempted murder

(AP) - An Iraqi court today convicted a British man and sentenced him to 20 years in prison over the shooting deaths of two contractors, making him the first Westerner convicted in an Iraqi court since the 2003 US invasion. Danny Fitzsimons, 30, was found guilty of fatally shooting a British and... More »

Foreign Workers at US Embassies Exploited

State Department report finds coercion, abuse among contractors

(Newser) - Contractors at US embassies in the Arab world are abusing and exploiting their foreign workers, according to a new State Department report spotted by Foreign Policy . The department’s inspector general looked into six contractors, and found that more than 70% of their workers “live in overcrowded, unsafe, or... More »

Karzai Ban May Squash US-Led Rebuilding Effort

US official: 'We might as well go home'

(Newser) - US-backed reconstruction projects—worth upward of $1.5 billion—are grinding to a halt, as firms begin to shutter them over the Afghan government's refusal to lift its ban on the use of private security contractors, reports the Washington Post . An official called the development "catastrophic" to America's effort... More »

Yet Another Blackwater Case Collapses

Issues with evidence, immunity make prosecution tough

(Newser) - Legal cases against Blackwater employees accused of committing murder and other violent crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan have been collapsing one by one, the New York Times reports. This week, the Justice Department dropped a case against an armorer accused of killing a guard to an Iraqi official; the move... More »

Contract Worker Says BP Covers Up Spill's Worst

Firm wants images of dead wildlife kept to a minimum

(Newser) - BP is covering up the worst of the environmental damage from the Gulf oil spill, using its influence to keep images of crude-choked wildlife from becoming public, an anonymous contract worker tells the New York Daily News . The worker gave the newspaper a tour of the spill's most devastating views,... More »

Civilian Contractor Deaths Soar in Afghanistan

In a first, support teams now outnumber soldiers

(Newser) - As the US ramps up its military presence in Afghanistan, life is becoming decidedly more dangerous for civilian contractors. Of the 289 killed there since the war started, 100 died in the last 6 months, reports ProPublica . And in what is apparently a first, the number of civilian workers (107,... More »

Pentagon Official Ran Private Assassin Support Crew

Honcho probed over secret 'Jason Bourne' crew

(Newser) - A senior Pentagon official secretly set up a private network of contractors to help track and kill militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, military officials say. Michael D. Furlong may have diverted money from other programs to fund his own network of former CIA and Special Forces operatives, officials tell the... More »

Up to 56,000 Contractors Headed to Afghanistan

'Second surge' would expand role of private sector in war zone

(Newser) - Talk of the 30,000 troops Obama is sending to Afghanistan fails to note that they're likely to be joined by as many as 56,000 civilians, according to a tally by a congressional agency. The second surge would bring the number of independent contractors in Afghanistan to somewhere between... More »

UK Contractor Held in Green Zone Killing of 2 Co-Workers

Incident is second this summer of violence within protected Baghdad area

(Newser) - A security contractor working in Iraq has been charged with fatally shooting two of his co-workers in Baghdad’s Green Zone, the Washington Post reports. Danny Fitzsimmons, an employee of British firm ArmorGroup Iraq, has been arrested in the killing of fellow Briton Paul McGuigan and Australian Darren Hoare in... More »

In Recession, Homeowners Nail Contractors

As many vie for projects, consumer gains the upper hand

(Newser) - Hiring a contractor to remodel a kitchen or resurface a floor once meant a lot of hassle and some serious cash. But the recession has changed all that: Contractors these days are ready and willing to work on the cheap, Time reports. Projects are smaller, and spending on remodeling is... More »

Iraqis Detain 5 US Contractors in Murder Probe

(AP) - Five US contractors have been detained in the investigation of the slaying of another American in Baghdad's Green Zone, officials said today, in what may become the first case of US citizens facing Iraqi justice under a security agreement that took effect this year. But the five have not been... More »

Stimulus Hasn't Reached States That Need It Most

(Newser) - The states President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package was most intended to help aren’t yet getting much out of it, USA Today reports after analyzing government contracts. The eight states with unemployment rates higher than 10% have seen an average of $7.42 per person from the $4... More »

Contractors Targeted in Pentagon Cuts

Gates aims to have procurement staff employed directly by Pentagon

(Newser) - The Pentagon's new budget proposal cuts the role of private contractors by a third—back to pre-9/11 levels—the Washington Post reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to replace tens of thousands of contracted workers with people employed directly by the Pentagon, especially among the vast workforce tasked with buying... More »

Inquiry Into Iraqi Graft Expands to Top US Officers

(Newser) - The United States' poor track record on rebuilding Iraq has long been chalked up to lousy planning by Pentagon brass. But an expanding investigation by federal authorities adds another element to the mix: possible corruption by the military commanders who oversaw reconstruction in the Wild West days after the invasion,... More »

Too-Speedy Bailout Spending May Squander Billions

Auditors understaffed for behemoth task, leaving field open to shifty contractors

(Newser) - If new federal bailout funds are spent too quickly, billions could be wasted because the government administrative staff may be too overburdened to provide adequate oversight, warn budget experts. Billions of dollars in government money were squandered by private contractors who overcharged the Bush administration, according to a government report.... More »

Friend of Stevens Bullied Contractor Into Eating $13K Bill

'Think of it as a political contribution,' pal said

(Newser) - An Alaska oil exec told a carpenter working on renovations to Sen. Ted Stevens home that he would have to “eat” a final $13,393 bill, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The carpenter, Augie Paone, took the stand in Stevens’ corruption trial today in Washington, telling the court that... More »

As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

$1.2B spent for private security firms; critics say Iraqis should be picking up slack instead

(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,... More »

Clinton: Nothing Immune From Bush's 'Waste, Fraud, Abuse'

Cronyism flourishes under Iraq, Katrina

(Newser) - The Bush White House has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on corrupt deals and unaccountable contractors, Hillary Clinton writes in the Wall Street Journal. If America is going to regain fiscal stability, it must "increase transparency" and put an end to practices like "rewarding companies that exploit tax... More »

Military Doc: Contractors In Good Condition

Freed Americans "in great spirits" at Texas military base

(Newser) - The three American hostages rescued after more than five years in captivity in Colombia are in good physical and psychological shape, the Washington Post reports. The defense contractors, who arrived at a military base in Texas last night, were held by Colombian rebels in “very cruel and very spartan”... More »

Cheer Up! Recession Has a Bright Side

Finally contractors come on time, and driving is easier

(Newser) - While the specter of recession may leave you cold, consider the bright side: These days contractors, starved for work, actually show up on time, and killer gas prices help you to drive around a city like Los Angeles without facing much traffic, Meghan Daum writes in the Los Angeles Times. More »

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