Controversial Commando Wins Iraq Contract

[seemslikeadream]

Thursday 10th June 2004 :
Controversial Commando Wins Iraq Contract
by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch

Occupation authorities in Iraq have awarded a $293 million contract effectively creating the world's largest private army to a company headed by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer, a former officer with the SAS, an elite regiment of British commandos, who has been investigated for illegally smuggling arms and planning military offensives to support mining, oil, and gas operations around the world. On May 25, the Army Transportation command awarded Spicer's company, Aegis Defense Services, the contract to coordinate all the security for Iraqi reconstruction projects.


In Iraq, there are currently several dozen groups that provide private security to both the military and the private sector, with more than 20,000 employees altogether. The companies include Erinys, a South African business, that has more than 15,000 local employees charged with guarding the oil pipelines; Control Risks Group, a British company that provides security to Bechtel and Halliburton; and North Carolina-based Blackwater Consulting, which provides everything from back-up helicopters to bodyguards for Paul Bremer, the American ambassador in charge of the occupation.


Wanted: A Few Good Men for Very Good Salaries


"Our men can repair anything from a radio to a satellite phone, but the pay here in the UK is just 25,000 pounds ($46,000)," said Browne. "I posted the <A TITLE="Click for more information about job" STYLE="text-decoration: none; border-bottom: medium solid green;" HREF="http://search.targetwords.com/u.search?x=5977|1||||job|AA1VDw">job</A> to the guys and now it's up to them to go get the jobs."

Tallman says that six companies bid for the coordination contract. According to other CorpWatch sources, three of the bidders were Dyncorp, a Virginia based company that is in charge of training the Iraqi police; Military Professionals Resources Incorporated (MPRI), which was working on training the Iraqi army; and a joint venture between Control Risks Group, Erinys, and Olive Security, three of the largest providers of private security in Iraq.
Industry insiders speculate that Aegis won the contract because of growing anger in Britain that UK-based companies have not been awarded large contracts in the reconstruction of Iraq, despite the leading role that the Tony Blair's government has played in the "coalition of the willing." The only other British bid for the contract, the Control Risks joint venture, was disqualified because one of the partners was under investigation for undisclosed reasons at the time the bids were evaluated.

Because of the politics in the decision, some groups are questioning the contracting process. "It's not evident why they they would run a rent-a-cop contract through an Army transportation division in Virginia except that maybe the staff there are more experienced and can write a professional contract that can withstand a bid protest better than the Heritage foundation interns that run contracting in Baghdad," said John Pike, a spokesman for the military watchdog group Globalsecurity.org. For the first 12 months, all contracts in Iraq were evaluated by a group of six men and women in their 20s who were hired on the basis of job resumes they posted at the right-wing foundation's website.


Questionable Track Record

But not everyone agrees with this assessment of Spicer's work. In Sierra Leone, Spicer's efforts have been heralded by the private military industry as the "work of angels." In 2002, Spicer was approached by Per Christiansen, a Norwegian shipping expert who was director of Hudson Maritime, a 16-year-old company that did emergency response to crises like the Exxon Valdez oil spill. New Jersey-based Hudson had just won a contract from the Department of Homeland Security to review security at ports around the country.

more
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=1300

[seemslikeadream]

1. Controversial Commando Cick

[Just Me]

2. Others don't seem nearly as spooked about private militias,...

,...as I am. :shrug:

[yardwork]

3. Count me as very spooked.

It seems to me that this is a way to achieve numerous goals of the neocons. Here are some that come to mind:

1. Redirect cash from government programs to private contractors.

2. Hire sociopathic thugs who will do anything for money.

3. Hire sociopathic thugs who will be untrained in the Geneva Convention and unconcerned about doing immoral, unethical things like murder, rape, and torture.

4. Achieve goal of terrorizing any populace anywhere as needed, while pocketing fat profit.

What could be better? We need to get this out in the open. These guys got a pass with Iran-Contra, and they've been operating for decades all over the world with our tax money. No wonder people hate America!

We need to shut it down once and for all.

[seemslikeadream]

5. SHUT IT DOWN

Just think what it will be like when they turn on us! Like the government did back in the days of union busting.

[Just Me]

6. Yeah, to say nothing of the predatory corporate practices,...

,...these industies may be willing to engage in order to survive.

Privatizing national/social interests (which costs loads more) is a risk in which no one who really cares about their country or people should invest.

[seemslikeadream]

4. We're having a little talk here Just Me come on over

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=613926&mesg_id=613926