Free Republic

<p>The deaths yesterday of three employees of a Reston-based defense company protecting U.S. diplomats in the Gaza Strip highlight the explosive growth of &#8212; and growing perils to &#8212; private companies taking over jobs once the exclusive domain of government and the military.</p>

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 10 (CSM) - Critics on Capitol Hill are taking a hard look at several lucrative U.S. contracts to rebuild war-damaged Iraq (news - web sites). When Susan Collins was just a staffer in the United States Senate, she used to worry about fat government contracts being awarded in secret. Now Collins is a US Senator--and she can finally do something about it. Senator Collins is drawing a bead on contracts in Iraq, where the US has begun pouring in billions of dollars to repair war damage and rebuild the country. There are charges in the press that...

Shunning Western bidders, Iraq has awarded two-year GSM mobile phone contracts to three Arab firms: Orascom, Atheer Tel and Asia Cell. The licences are among the most potentially lucrative and high-profile contracts to be offered in post-war Iraq. The country did not have a public mobile phone network during Saddam Hussein's rule and much of the land-line network was destroyed in the war. “The companies that will bring Iraq world-class mobile communications are, in the northern region, Asia Cell consortium, in the central region, Orascom, and in the south, Atheer Tel,” said the interim telecommunications minister, Haidar al-Abbadi, in Baghdad....

The Norwegian manufacturer Aasnes Ski has signed a contract to supply the US defence forces with a military version of the traditional Norwegian ski, named Combi Combat Cap. The contract was secured in tough competition with ski producers abroad, NRK reports. In addition, the Aasnes factory is also negotiating for a new contract wwith the US forces. Aasnes has also started production of a delivery of new skis for the Norwegian defence forces. Altogether, the US and Norwegian contracts are worth NOK 10-15 million, securing full production at the factory until the end of 2004. In addition to the military...

The mail runners of IraqBy Staff Sgt. Nate Orme “L” Van Sciver wearing protective gear shuts his truck door in preparation for delivering mail to soldiers serving in Iraq.Staff Sgt. Nate Orme BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Oct. 7, 2003) -- Leaving the secure confines of the coalition-controlled Baghdad International Airport each morning and heading out onto the dusty sun-drenched highways of Iraq is a daily adventure for the crew of mail runners. At the airport, units of the 3rd Personnel Command operate the Joint Military Mail Terminal out of a large hanger equipped with loading docks where mail is...

Senate removes provision to aid Boeing tanker deal By Amy Svitak, CongressDaily The Senate late Thursday removed a provision in its version of the fiscal 2004 $87 billion emergency supplemental appropriations bill that could have paved the way for approving the Bush administration's controversial plan to lease Boeing commercial 767 airplanes as refueling tankers. Prior to a voice vote, Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, offered an amendment that removed a requirement for the Pentagon to describe alternatives for replacing the Air Force's fleet of KC-135 tanker aircraft. The provision was added by the committee during its markup, and...

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraq awarded mobile telephone contracts to three Middle Eastern companies, the communications minister said Monday, with service expected to begin within weeks for a country that has been without it since the war began six months ago.</p>

Democrats warn of 'profiteering' in reconstruction contracts By Severin Carrell 05 October 2003 The Bush administration and major US firms are facing fresh charges of "profiteering" from the Iraq war after allegedly inflating the costs of key contracts. The accusations from Tom Daschle, the Democrat Senate leader, came after his staff uncovered evidence of the "gold plating" of cost estimates for dozens of contracts. The controversy has highlighted the White House's growing problems in persuading a deeply sceptical Congress to release an extra $87bn (£52bn) for Iraq and, in part, Afghanistan - in addition to the $79bn it approved in...

<p>In an unusual rift between Republicans, leaders of the House Armed Services Committee accused the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman of breaking his word in negotiations over a $400.5 billion defense bill.</p> <p>At issue are House efforts to expand "Buy America" rules requiring the Pentagon to give preference to American suppliers. House Republicans say the Pentagon has become too dependent on foreign producers that could cut off supplies in disputes over U.S. policies.</p>

New firm with Bush ties consults on Iraq - - - - - - - - - - - - Sept. 30, 2003 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- A company that was created to help clients take advantage of business opportunities in Iraq is made up of businessmen associated with President Bush, his family and his administration. The connections drew criticism Tuesday from Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who called for an independent oversight board to ensure that Iraq reconstruction money is doled out fairly. New Bridge Strategies, on its Web site, says it will ``seek to expedite the creation of...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 A group of businessmen linked by their close ties to President Bush(news - web sites), his family and his administration have set up a consulting firm to advise companies that want to do business in Iraq(news - web sites), including those seeking pieces of taxpayer-financed reconstruction projects. The firm, New Bridge Strategies, is headed by Joe M. Allbaugh, Mr. Bush's campaign manager in 2000 and the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (news - web sites) until March. Other directors include Edward M. Rogers Jr., vice chairman, and Lanny Griffith, lobbyists who were assistants to the...

Congress did it in World War I. And in World War II. Again in the Korean War. Why not now? The United States is at war in Iraq, in Afghanistan and globally against terrorism. President Bush confirms the ventures' seriousness by asking Congress for an extra $87 billion of military- and reconstruction-related funding plus $41.3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. Daily counts of our casualties tell us that the costs are not only economic. The expense will rise because, the president says, U.S. resolve is firm, and we won't quit until the job is done. It is deeply...

Date posted: 22.09.2003. Reconstruction contracts Business centre gateway to tenders By Ali B. AL-Shouk BAGHDAD - The Baghdad Business Centre (BC) is responsible for providing information of Iraqi subcontractors to the Coalition, Bechtel and Kellog Brown and Root (KBR) for participation in the reconstruction of the country. "We met the Iraqi businessmen and the Iraqi companies every day from 9 to 12 in the morning and took their information to compile in a database. The BC is like an information source and it's an important link between businessmen and CPA, KBR and Bechtel, "explained Specialist Varetta Barnes, assistant director of...

Reuters, 09.22.03, 5:40 PM ET By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's inspector general may issue a subpoena to Boeing Co. and the U.S. Air Force for all written materials on a $22.4 billion deal to lease then buy 100 Boeing 767 tankers, congressional and administration sources said Monday. They said Inspector General Joseph Schmitz is considering the unusual move as he investigates possible impropriety in the lease proposal that critics including U.S. Sen. John McCain have blasted as a sweetheart deal for Boeing. The Pentagon's in-house watchdog agency kicked off its investigation based on documents provided by Boeing...

The Dems’ Enemy Smearing Halliburton. The Democrats have discovered the enemy in the ongoing Iraq war. And it is Halliburton. Nothing quite so angers Democrats about the current situation in Iraq than that Halliburton is making money there. Dennis Kucinich, the out-to-lunch leftist who sounds ever more mainstream given the leftward drift of the rest of the Democratic field, wants the United Nations in Iraq so there will be "no more Halliburton sweetheart deals." Bob Graham huffs, "I will not support a dime to protect the profits of Halliburton in Iraq." John Edwards vows "to stop this president from giving...

British banknote maker boosted Geoff Gibbs Saturday September 20, 2003 The Guardian De La Rue, the world's largest commercial security printer, is heading for an unexpectedly large first half profit after beating the deadline to produce new banknotes for Iraq. The British firm was awarded the contract to print the new Iraqi dinar by the coalition provisional authority in July, when it was given a target issuance date of October. But De La Rue, which is involved in the production of national currencies for more than 150 countries, disclosed yesterday that deliveries of the new notes have already begun. Further...

Guarded by hundreds of armed rebels deep in a malaria-infested jungle, three American captives pass the time playing with a homemade deck of cards and dreaming of their families. The threat of death always hangs nearby. The three U.S. military contractors have been cut off from the outside world since their capture by rebels seven months ago. That isolation was broken when a Colombian journalist traveled for days over rough roads and jungle rivers with a rebel escort to interview them July 25 in remote southern Colombia. "They were nervous, and there were traces of fear on their faces," freelance...

Sept. 17 -- Americans may be getting used to the Terminator on the ballot. But can they handle his teenage fans in the voting booth? Laura Finstad says yes. She works, pays taxes, and has been a political activist for years. And she's finally won the right to vote in the United States. Her big accomplishment? Turning 18 last Saturday. Finstad fumes about the law that made her wait so long and is campaigning for the voting rights of younger teenagers. The teen is gathering signatures for a petition to lower the voting age in suburban Takoma Park, Md. "Young...

The US Army has launched the bidding process for two Iraqi oil contracts worth up to US $1 billion, which will replace a deal awarded to Halliburton in March, according to reports. The US Army Corps of Engineers said it would award one contract for fields in northern Iraq and another for southern fields, each worth up to $500 million. The deal will replace a hotly-disputed contract handed out to Halliburton. The Army came under pressure after awarding the deal directly to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) without offering the work to the market. The new 'requests for...

German Industry Confident of Role in Iraqi Reconstruction German businessmen sought to create strategies for investing in Iraq during a conference at Petersberg palace. The German-Iraqi Business Day conference ended in Bonn on Tuesday with both sides optimistic that the trade links of the past could be revived and new opportunities forged for German industry in Iraq. Experts from diverse sectors of German industry met with Iraqi contacts old and new at a one-day business conference in Bonn on Tuesday to discuss future possibilities for German small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in post-war Iraq. Representatives from around 100 German companies...