I wish there were more well-researched articles like this out there.

I am currently in Iraq and to tell you the truth I am pretty happy with the level of service KBR provides us. Especially considering the fact that if KBR wasn't doing it than the Army would have to provide the services it self (food, laundry, maintenance) and the Army is incapable of providing good expedient service. Of course this doesn't mean there shouldn't be any accountability.

By the way, I don't want to be here!!

I wish there were more people willing to read and act upon such articles.

"Beyond the Euphrates began for us the land of mirage and danger, the sands where one helplessly sank, and the roads which ended in nothing. The slightest reversal would have resulted in a jolt to our prestige giving rise to all kinds of catastrophe; the problem was not only to conquer but to conquer again and again, perpetually; our forces would be drained off in the attempt."

Emperor Hadrian AD 117-138

the Army is incapable of providing good expedient service.

What changed over the last 65 years?

There is an excellent documentary called "Iraq for Sale" which goes through many of the same points - particularly about KBR. According to the documentary, several troops didn't like the way KBR did their laundry so they were washing their own uniforms by hand. KBR went to the authorities and made it punishable for soldiers to wash their own uniforms; otherwise KBR didn't make money. Whether it was true or not, I don't know. But there were dozens of stories like this that are unbelievable. It's also amazing how much money contract workers get paid to do the same work soldiers previously did. And it all comes out of our taxes. And we're not talking 2X but oftentimes contract workers making $200,000 a year to replace a soldier that was making $20,000 a year.

Why stop with privatizing military support services? Why not privatize the military itself? There's Blackwater and a whole bunch of other mercenary security forces just waiting to help your conflict.

"In fact, there's an index called the Guns-to-Caviar index, which for seventeen years has been measuring an inverse relationship between the sale of fighter jets and executive luxury jets. And for seventeen years, this index, the Guns-to-Caviar index -- the guns are the fighter jets, the caviar are the executive jets -- has found that when fighter jets go up, executive jets go down. When executive jets go up, fighter jets go down. But all of a sudden, they're both going up, which means that there’s a lot of guns being sold, enough guns to buy a hell of a lot of caviar. And Blackwater is, of course, at the center of this economy."

link to full transcript of Naomi Klein from Democracy Now! taken from a speech illustrating her new book The Shock Doctrine

So, know this is brought to light, the taxpayers will get a refund right? RIGHT?

These people are private in name only, they're doing everything they were doing when they were in the government with their good ol' boys network, except the letterhead is different and the pay is more to screw the ordinary grunt.
I live in Loudoun county, VA which has become the wealthiest county in the nation because of all the gubmint-cheese coming in. Just drive around anywhere in Northern VA and you can see it.
I don't think there's anything wrong with privatization of the military, I DO have an issue with the way privatization is working in iraq currently. I'd like to see every soldier in iraq getting paid 200,000 dollars.
I'd also like to point out that I've been reading articles like this since the war started and yet every day more articles bring similar evils to light. So I'd like to ask: Where's our Watergate?
The "Woodward and Bernstein" of our time are still out there trying to bring us the truth, but the reality is that the people with real power, the Sam Ervins of our time have either been fired, bought out, under surveillance, pressured or resigned or merely showboating for their next re-election campaign. Look at all the whistle blowers who got in trouble. No one wants to be remembered as the person who voted against WWII, just in case. Of course, when shit does happen, they'll all claim they were on our side from the beginning.

...KBR, the former Halliburton subsidiary...

Maybe this should have raised the first red flag(s)?

#8

I wouldn't hold your breath.

#9; So I'd like to ask: Where's our Watergate?

It may be a little off base, but I've been curious about this for awhile. It seems almost as if America would attempt to impeach/investigate another president (especially in that it would create a chain with doing so to the previous one...) that the consensus is it would send a message to the rest of the world that we don't know how to govern ourselves or something. Perhaps a fear of mockery on the 'world stage'. The silly part is that impeaching/investigating is actually a relatively decent and/or good example of the potential power of democracy - and showing how citizens can use it.

Glad I read your article, it's good to know that there is some good information out there. Unfortunatly war is money

Surely they make you read Machiavelli at Yale, right?

"The mercenary captains are either capable men or they are not; if they are, you cannot trust them, because they always aspire to their own greatness, either by oppressing you, who are their master, or others contrary to your intentions; but if the captain is not skillful, you are ruined in the usual way."

Like Lorenzo Di'Medici, there's little hope George W'Bush knows sound advice when he sees it.

Please let's remember that in a democracy, "the government" is you and I, the citizens. If the government is inefficient and corrupt, we have no-one but ourselves to blame. In a democracy, the people get exactly the government they deserve. Pay attention and get involved, it's your tax dollars, economy, etc. on the line.

Per government-run entities: our police forces are not privatized, nor are our fire departments. Does anyone seriously think that privatizing police departments would make them more "efficient"? It would only make justice, already pretty much available only to those who can pay for it, even more out of reach to me and you. Imagine if you had to pay to have your house fire put out, or to have home invaders repelled.

Per Iraq: the problem is not the fact that we are using government contractors, the problem is that these contractors, like our government itself, has broken free of any kind of oversight. Of COURSE corruption is the result. Impeach Bush and show the world that we're not the retards so many out there think we are!

Matt Taibbi is an amazing writer. I suggest reading all of his other articles as well. They're conveniently available on his rolling stone blog or on alternet.

Wait until the Iran war starts in the next few weeks or months.

The war profiteers are going to end up richer than Bill Gates.

And the taxpayers are going to end up poorer than Iranians.

You think $10-12 billion PER MONTH is enough for these guys? I think NOT! When the war in Iran starts, the taxpayer will be paying $20-30 billion PER MONTH (if not more) for the privilege of being made poor.

Not to mention the effect on gasoline prices, and the effect on the economy when China dumps the US dollar because they've been cut off from Iranian oil and gas.

Two years from now, you'll be wishing for the "good ol' days" of the Iraq war.

The reason why we invaded Iraq and soon Iran is because they switched their oil currency over to the Euro. So did N. Korea soon before they were considered part of the "Axis of Evil."

I predict when history judges this war a truly significant element, which is currently almost entirely ignored by most, will be the massive amounts of such fraud and corruption now occurring in Iraq, funded by the U.S. taxpayers. The rich get richer, and the poor get bombed.

#14 (Nick) said:

Please let's remember that in a democracy, "the government" is you and I, the citizens. If the government is inefficient and corrupt, we have no-one but ourselves to blame.

I've heard this many, many times and all I can do in response is scratch my head.

How, in a system where we send people we don't know, people we CAN'T know (given the size of the population), to a place far from where we live, far from our own area of influence, to a situation completely unlike the place we live, among people completely unlike the people we live with, can we expect to have any control of anything the resulting system does? How can we direct it, if it comes down to the decisions of a handful of people who, in best-case scenarios, are almost completely clueless about what people want, and in worst-case scenarios, don't care what people want?

The entire democratic republic idea is ridiculous given the modern world of fast travel and even faster information. It's a system designed for a time when any other would have resulted in no government at all. It's a system that is not only obsolete in the modern era, but actually and actively dangerous.

The number of people making key decisions is alarmingly small in comparison to the general population. The speed at which they can make them ensures that the general populace can be, and routinely is, cut out of the equation entirely. This opens the door to the kind of rampant corruption and tyranny we see today. There is virtually nothing Americans can do to seize control of the government, because it is not, and has not been for a great while, of, by, or for the people. It is a separate entity which has a life and mind of its own.

Look no further than the renewal of the PATRIOT ACT. The American voters kicked the Republican deathsuckers out left and right, replaced them with Democrats who promised to clean house, and these Democrats renewed the most heinous law ever conceived or--worse still--enacted in the history of the United States. Obviously there is more to the system than voting or calling your representatives. There is more happening than you or I are allowed to see.

The US government is out of control, and it is going to get us killed. It is beast with no head. A disease. A virus. A plague. And just as you cannot reason with an epidemic, you cannot reason with the US government. It will run its course, kill its millions, and fizzle out, leaving those lucky enough not to have fallen victim to pick up the pieces and create a new civilization.

I wish there were more well-researched articles like this, on the Great Hurricane Katrina swindle. Corrupt politicians in Louisiana have been fleecing taxpayers for decades, and Katrina was nothing more than a mega payday for these crooks.

Of course, we have two parties that are both trying to out-do each other on payola and pork. While the left points the finger at EvilBush, they're ripping off the nation and throwing equally corrupt pols on the right bones for bogus Alaskan bridges and other pork. Both have their corrupt influences (though only one is criticized by the media, as the media's in on the gig with the other). Where's the outrage at unprecedented New Jersey statewide corruption? Is there a Democrat in NJ that isn't a crook? Why haven't Alaskan Republicans thrown out their crooks? How can anyone stomach Hillary, Obama or Edwards after having been implicated with Chinese government bribes via Hsu (and it isn't Hillary's first time with that)? Is that the best that party can do?

Unfortunately as long as the sheep believe one party is good, the other bad (four feet good, two feet better!), nothing will change. Look over there at evil Halliburton (a Lyndon and Ladybird Johnson Company)! Iraq is bad! Bushitler! Don't pay attention to what we're doing over here with Hsu, the Chinese and billions of dollars in special interest spending.

Its time to flush both parties and start over.

#19:

I agree, there is "more to the system than voting or calling your representatives." You could, for example, run for office and become one of the "alarmingly small" number of people making the decisions in our country.

If everyone thought democracy was "ridiculous" like you do, black people would still be riding in the back of the bus. Hell, they'd still be property!

Governments and corporations are not some kind of natural force like gravity, nor are they giant organisms like those giant fungi that grow over hundreds of acres. They are made up of people making decisions in the real world, and counting on the fact that most of the other people are too cynical, demoralized, frughtened, or just plain lazy to get in their way.

#20:

Those who think there is no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties need to read their platforms and review their histories.

It's just like the old chestnut, "It doesn't matter who's president." We now know once and for all that it does matter. It matters a lot. An irresponsible idiot in the White House can do unbelievable damage to the country.

I'm all for a third party, but for now, let's face it: we're stuck with two. That being the case, let's stop pretending there's no difference and vote for the party that better serves our interests.

Yes, politicians are corrupt and corporations have hijacked the democratic process to a large extent. But corruption is always a danger. This danger doesn't negate ideological differences between candidates. Also, it's possible and advisable to choose the LESS corrupt candidate, as sad as that sounds.

I'm all for starting over, but until someone comes up with a way to do that, we need to work with what we have--we can't just bury our heads in the sand and wait for some revolution to magically happen.

#6
I don't know about it being a punishable offense to wash your own clothes, but I do know they pulled all the washers and dryers off post. I also know that KBR makes $65 dollars off a load of clothes. That load can't contain more than 20 items and likely won't be very clean when you get it back. And if they lose or damage your clothes you SOL. Oh and it took them over 24 hours to get a me a room I when I had already been pre-assigned a specific room.

KBR isn't the only one issue though, AAFES is just as bad. I haven't seen one plain white envelope since I've been here. Need socks, deodorant (other than Secret), or towels? Try back next week. I can buy 100 containers of grape jelly, 30 TVs or 10 PS3s any time I want though.

That laptop fan that is a must in this 120 degree weather, only $45. Of course I just had the same model shipped from the states for $30 including priority shipping. I'll see it in a few weeks. Need cash for one of the several stores on post that don't take credit/debit? No ATM's, but AAFES has cashback days on Mon, Wed and Fri - 20 dollar limit.

The individual contractors themselves aren't bad people though. I'll admit I'm biased though, I am one. I did my time on Active Duty and I would have stayed in too if I wasn't living off of food stamps. That is the real shame here. I won't pass up a job offer for 200k though when I know that only a handful of soldiers can do what I do and none of them learned it in the Army. Of course, I would be surprised if I found out my company was charging the government less than $500k for my hours.

Oh and #16, if we do invade Iran, buy stock in Gatoraid. Trust me on this. They have a monopoly out here if you don't count poorly filtered water.