For some, Iraq contracts too much of a gamble

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03106440.htm

LAS VEGAS, June 3 (Reuters) - The opportunities look golden on paper, but for many small U.S. companies dreaming of making a fortune in Iraq, the personal and financial risks of vying for lucrative contracts there are just too much of a gamble.

More than 300 representatives from American and Iraqi companies have flocked to Las Vegas -- America's gambling capital -- for a U.S. Army conference on opportunities for small U.S. firms wanting a piece of the $18.4 billion in U.S.-funded reconstruction work.

For many companies, the security problems in Iraq were too much to take on, especially with added uncertainties surrounding the formal handover of sovereignty to Iraq's interim government on June 30.

In recent months, civilians have become a bigger target of Iraqi insurgents. Dozens of civilian contractors have been killed, according to news reports.

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