Posted on 06/13/2014 12:15:45 PM PDT by mojito
The crisis in Iraq has prompted U.S. contractors with personnel there to evacuate them from areas near Baghdad that are increasingly in the line of fire as insurgent fighters capture more territory with the apparent end goal of seizing the Iraqi capital.
The individuals are being “temporarily relocated by their companies due to security concerns in the area,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday evening. The individuals involved include U.S. citizens who are currently working under contract with Iraq’s central government in support of the Pentagon’s foreign weapons sales program.
[....]
On Thursday, the electronics giant Siemens was working to get about 50 employees out of Baiji, Cruz said. It was not clear exactly what their operation there entails, but the company announced in February that it had signed a deal to provide service and maintenance to a large gas power plant there. The oil refinery city is some 130 miles north of Baghdad.
Cruz said that her firm has recommended using teams of U.S. and Kurdish private security firms to evacuate the contractors because the semi-autonomous Kurdish government in Iraq’s north had sent its security forces known as pesh merga to take control of the city of Kirkuk after Iraqi security forces abandoned their bases and equipment and fled. The Kurdish forces now control roads in the region.
Negotiations were ongoing to secure the safety of foreign personnel in Baiji and to get them out of harm’s way. U.S. security contractors involved reported that they engaged in gunfire to get through the region, Cruz said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This story, from WaPo, seems to indicate that there are contractors trapped in a number of places, including the Baiji oil refinery.
Ping - for the guys trapped outside Balad airbase.
Obama gets a note....Empty Guantanamo and we’ll let them go.
There are contractors from the US and other nations ALL over Iraq right now. The Chicoms, the french et all have been greater recipients of concessions, contracts and licenses than the US thankfully at this point. Why did they get the deals? Because they can pay the kick backs necessary to get them. Our people can’t and the Brits can’t because of FCPA.
This is going to end in a very bloody mess. Very bloody.
We’re going to be seeing people hanging from helicopters as the last Americans flee Baghdad.
The Dems abandon another country to the tender mercies of savages.
Here’s MY plan from before 2009 and PROBABLY the one the few remaining sane American citizens – assuming there ARE ANY – should have implemented decades ago!
NOT ONE MORE DIME AND NOT ONE MORE DROP OF AMERICAN BLOOD!!
NOTICE TO ALL CITIZENS OF IRAQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkyEtw8lBtI
Here’s MY plan from before 2009 and PROBABLY the one the few remaining sane American citizens – assuming there ARE ANY – should have implemented decades ago!
NOT ONE MORE DIME AND NOT ONE MORE DROP OF AMERICAN BLOOD!!
NOTICE TO ALL CITIZENS OF IRAQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkyEtw8lBtI
Mainly there in technical support roles.
Natives cannot maintain their own aircraft or military hardware. Cannot even pump their own oil.
One can make a ton of money working support roles over there - of course the down-side is....
Apparently their are also contractors at a tank training ground in the city of Taji, just north of the capital. Not reported to be under immediate threat.
We should never let anyone forget that we never leave anyone behind.
Meanwhile Herr Obozo and his Wookie have other important plans!
Amid Foreign and Domestic Crises, Obama Plans to Fundraise and Golf This Weekend
Townhall.com ^ | June 13, 2014 | Leah Barkoukis
Posted on 6/13/2014 12:29:17 PM by jazusamo
The Iraqi government is pleading for help from the U.S. as ISIS militants close in on Baghdad; Syria is still in the grips of war; veterans are dying from long wait times at the VA; and we’ve got a humanitarian crisis going on at the Southwest border.
With all this at the forefront, you’d think the president would work tirelessly to address these problems. Alas, he’ll be doing what he does best this weekend: fundraising and golfing.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama should land at Palm Springs International Airport at about 6 p.m. Friday, straight from a visit to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. Saturday, they’ll jump over to Laguna Beach for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser, followed by the commencement address to UC Irvine’s Class of 2014 at Angel Stadium, which wraps up at 1 p.m.
That puts the Obamas back in the desert at about 2 p.m. Saturday. They will stay for Father’s Day, before flying home to Washington, D.C., mid-morning on Monday. It’s unclear if their daughters, Malia and Sasha, will tag along.
What is Obama’s plan here in the Coachella Valley? Presumably a short vacation, and likely a round of golf or two – though the details remain fuzzy.
Priorities.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3167418/posts
They also got those deals because when we asked each of them to forgive Iraq’s debt to them ten years ago, they heartily agreed!
Didn’t lose much did they?
Just another way of paying graft.
When is tee time...?
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