SECOND IN A SERIES:

The history of American is rife with egregious examples of incompetence, fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, bribery and misconduct. Iraq is no exception. From criminal mismanagement of Iraq’s oil revenues to armed private security contractors operating with virtual impunity, this war has created opportunities for an appalling amount of corruption.

In early 2005 CIA officials states that at least 50 percent of its estimated $40 billion budget for that year would go to private contractors. $40 Billion for that year!

*BECHTEL: The San Francisco-based construction and engineering giant received one of the largest no-bid contracts — worth $2.4 billion — to help coordinate and rebuild a large part of Iraq’s infrastructure.In July, the company’s reputation for getting things done unexpectedly plummeted like a 12-ton slab of concrete after an audit was released of the Basra Children’s Hospital Project, which was $70 million to $90 million over budget, and a year and half behind schedule. Bechtel’s contract to coordinate the project was immediately cancelled.

*AEGIS: Aegis, a U.K. based firm whose infamous founder and CEO Tim Spicer was implicated for breaking an arms embargo in Sierra Leone has only reinforced the fear that U.S. foreign policy is being outsourced to corporate "mercenaries."

Aegis was given a $293 million contract despite the fact that American competitors had submitted lower bids, suggesting the government wanted to hire the foreign company to shield both sides of the transaction from accountability for any "dirty tricks."

In March, a report that security contractors were regularly shooting into civilian cars was largely ignored until a "trophy video" of security guards firing with automatic rifles at civilian cars was posted on a web site traced back to Aegis. No charges will be filed against Aegis or its employees which proves how unaccountable contractors are under current laws. interrogation tactics.

*CUSTER BATTLES: In March, Custer Battles became the first Iraq occupation contractor to be found guilty of fraud. A jury ordered the company to pay more than $10 million in damages for 37 counts of fraud, including false billing. When Mike Battles, one of the company’s owners, was confronted with the fact that 34 of 36 trucks supplied by the firm didn’t work, he responded: "You asked for trucks and we complied with our contract and it is immaterial whether the trucks were operational."

READ ON…..THERE IS MORE IF YOU HAVE THE STOMACH FOR IT!

*GENERAL DYNAMICS: Of the large defense contractors, the one that has received the most direct benefit from the war in Iraq is General Dynamics. Much of that has to do with the fact that the company has focused its large combat systems business on supplying the Army with everything from bullets to tank shells to Stryker vehicles, which made their debut during the 2003 invasion.

David K Heebner, a former top aide to an Army Chief of Staff, was hired by General Dynamics in 1999, a year before the Stryker contract was sealed. It is now clear that the Army was leaning toward handing the multi-billion-dollar contract to General Dynamics at the very time Heebner may have been in negotiations with the company for the high-paying executive position.

This March, Heebner reported owning 33,500 shares in the company, worth over $ 4 million, along with 21,050 options.

An internal Army report leaked to the Washington Post in March 2005 revealed that the Stryker vehicles deployed in Iraq have been plagued with inoperable gear and maintenance problems that are "getting worse not better."

Perhaps as insurance against any flap, General Dynamics has added former Attorney General John Ashcroft to its stable of high-powered lobbyists. Working the account are Juleanna Glover Weiss, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former press secretary, Lori Day Sharp, Ashcroft’s former assistant, and Willie Gaynor, a former Commerce Department official who also worked for the 2004 Bush-Cheney reelection campaign.

*Nour USA Ltd: Incorporated shortly after the war began, Nour has received $400 million in Iraq contracts, including an $80 million contract to provide oil pipeline security. It is reported that Ahmed Chalabi had received a $2 million finder’s fee which he of course denied.

Other bidders on the contract point out that Nour had no prior related experience and that its bid on the oil security contract was too low to be credible. You connect the dots!

This is just the tip of a very ‘large iceberg’….there is plenty more next in the series….