security contractors

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Blackwater Steps Up to Take on Somali Pirates

Offers its services in battling piracy epidemic

(Newser) - As Somalia seeks private help in battling its piracy problem, security contractor Blackwater has offered its services, Wired reports. “As a company founded and run by former Navy SEALs, with a 50,000-person database of former military and law enforcement professionals, Blackwater is uniquely positioned to assist the shipping...

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,...

US Contractor Bills in Iraq to Hit $100B

Workers outnumber troops, account for 20% of war spending

(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...

Freed Hostages Back in US
 Freed Hostages Back in US 
UPDATED
Jul 3, 2008 10:48 AM CDT

Freed Hostages Back in US

Contractors flown to medical centers for tests, reunions

(Newser) - Three American hostages are back on US soil today for the first time in five years, CNN reports, after a late-night landing at an Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. The men were taken to an Army medical center, where, after undergoing tests and debriefings, they are expected to...

Iraq Profitable Business for Bush's Ex-Spies

Armitage, Tenet, Black cash in on outsourcing of intelligence

(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...

Iraqi Official Calls Blackwater Deal 'Bad News'

PM's adviser warns Baghdad may challenge contract

(Newser) - An Iraqi official called the renewal of Blackwater USA's contract "bad news" today, CNN reports. "I personally am not happy with this, especially because they have committed acts of aggression, killed Iraqis," said the adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. With many in Baghdad upset about it,...

Feds Renew Blackwater Deal

 Feds Renew
 Blackwater Deal 
Apr 4, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

Feds Renew Blackwater Deal

FBI still probing incident that left 17 Iraqis dead

(Newser) - Washington renewed Blackwater USA's multimillion-dollar contract for another year today pending two probes into the contractor's conduct in Iraq, the AP reports. The FBI is still investigating a Baghdad shooting last year in which Blackwater guards gunned down 17 civilians and sparked outrage among Iraqis; US lawmakers are also probing...

Va. Senator Not the Firebrand Many Expected

Mr. Webb goes to Washington and plays nice

(Newser) - Virginia Sen. James Webb hasn’t played the part of hot-tempered agitator many expected in his freshman term, the Washington Post reports. Making friends and taking legislative strides, Webb “has vaulted to a position of influence,” said one colleague. But "the job of getting out and speaking...

Blackwater Probers Return to Baghdad

Feds investigate massacre that killed 17, seek trial in US

(Newser) - Federal authorities investigating the Blackwater shootings that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead will revisit the scene of the massacre this week. Prosecutors from the Justice Department have already arrived in Baghdad, to be joined by inspectors from the FBI. But the inquiry has been hamstrung by the American government's promise...

Iraq Hired Guns Fight en Espa&ntilde;ol
Iraq Hired Guns Fight en Español
Jan 28, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Iraq Hired Guns Fight en Español

Contractors offer hard-to-refuse deal

(Newser) - Not every security contractor in Iraq is a hotshot American making $500 a day. Many of the private security personnel roaming Iraq are poor Latin Americans, for whom the promise of $1,000 a month and full benefits is nearly irresistible, reports the LA Times. “I’d rather die...

Grand Jury Calls Guards —but Not Shooters

Blackwater guards give State Dept. conflicting accounts of shootings

(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...

Guards Kill Baghdad Taxi Driver
Guards Kill Baghdad
Taxi Driver
Nov 12, 2007 10:05 AM CST

Guards Kill Baghdad Taxi Driver

Workers for security contractor accused of unprovoked slaying

(Newser) - A convoy run by American security contractor DynCorp International shot and killed an Iraqi taxi driver on a Baghdad roadside Saturday, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said yesterday. “They just killed a man and drove away,” said a spokesman. Witnesses said the driver posed no apparent threat; an Iraqi...

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards
Rice Sets New Rules for Guards
Oct 24, 2007 3:11 AM CDT

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards

But Blackwater may still get the ax

(Newser) - Private security contractors in Iraq will operate under tougher controls and tighter supervision, according to new State Department rules approved by Condoleezza Rice today, but they won't be supervised by the military, as Defense's Robert Gates had proposed. Measures include investigative "go teams"' that will respond quickly to...

Family Mourns Iraqi Cabbie Slain by Guards

Single mom shot Tuesday worked to put kids through school

(Newser) - One of the two civilians killed in Baghdad by Dubai-based Australian security contractors on Tuesday was a taxi driver—wearing black in mourning for her husband’s death. Marani Oranis drove a makeshift cab to put two of her three daughters through college, the Los Angeles Times reports. At her...

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