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The $10,000 Iraqi Civilian

By Ms Sparky | Filed in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Huffington Post, Media Coverage, Security Contractors, WikiLeaks
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They only agree on one thing......

David Isenberg – The PMSC Observer & Huffington Post
Author, Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq (Praeger Security International)

Just how much is an Iraqi life worth? I don’t know but, in the aftermath of the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater employees at Nisoor Square in September 2007, apparently Iraq and the United States, had very different ideas, according to one of the recently released Wikileaks cables. (Note: One can find all the Wikileaks cable concerning Blackwater here.

The cable shows, not surprisingly, that the Iraqi and U.S. governments were magnitudes of order apart on what an Iraqi life was worth.

According to the cable the U.S. Embassy in Iraq obtained a copy of the Government of Iraq’s investigation report of the September 16 incident at Nisoor Square. The report recommended payments of $8 million and $4 million for each death and injury respectively, and called for the USG to replace Blackwater within six months of the incident.

At that time the Embassy had begun accepting claims from victims of the incident and approved payments of $10,000 for each death, $5,000 for each injury, (800 times less than the Iraqi figure for both death and injury) and $2,500 for property damage. Read the remainder of this entry »

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It’s Déjà Vu for DynCorp All Over Again – The sex crimes continue (updated)

By Ms Sparky | Filed in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Huffington Post, LOGCAP-Dyncorp, Media Coverage, Politics, Rape, Hazing, Discrimination & Harassment, Security Contractors, Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Violations
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I have been following and researching this deplorable “dancing boys” custom in Afghanistan since I learned of it. I published an article a couple of days ago after a article in the UK came out. Where’s the main stream media on Dyncorp’s Dancing Boys and repeated trafficking in persons offenses? Where’s the outrage from our politicians? Where is the outrage from Secretary Clinton, President Obama? Where is the outrage from US citizens? I say “Thank God for !” We would have never known about this contractor perversion otherwise! Thank God for The Huffington Post and reporters like David Isenberg!~ Ms Sparky

David Isenberg Author, Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq
Posted: December 6, 2010 08:47 AM

For an example of how just one transgression can lead to endless bad publicity consider the movie titled The Whistleblower that was released earlier this year. To summarize the plot, in Bosnia in 1999, Kathryn Bolkovac, a U.S. policewoman served as a U.N. peacekeeper. Her post was with the International Police Task Force which was arranged by DynCorp Aerospace. She was assigned to run the IPTF office that investigates sex trafficking, domestic abuse and sexual assault. She ultimately alleges that peacekeepers, U.N. workers and international police are visiting brothels and facilitating sex trafficking by forging documents and aiding the illegal transport of woman into Bosnia. DynCorp responds by firing Bolkovac, who returns to the U.S. and files a wrongful termination case. She wins the suit but says she’s still blacklisted.

Put bluntly, DynCorp was involved in a sex slavery scandal in Bosnia in 1999, with its employees accused of rape and the buying and selling of girls as young as 12. Dyncorp, hired to perform police duties for the UN and aircraft maintenance for the US Army, were implicated in prostituting the children, whereas the company’s Bosnia site supervisor filmed himself raping two women. A number of employees were transferred out of the country, but with no legal consequences for them. Read the remainder of this entry »

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David Isenberg: Qarmat Ali AND KBR, Redux

By Ms Sparky | Filed in Huffington Post, Qarmat Ali Lawsuits, Reports & Investigations, RIO-KBR, Senate DPC Hearings, Sodium Dichromate @ Qarmat Ali
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Holy KBR, Batman. Will this fiendish clown prince of corporate cupidity ever cease and desist?

Excellent question, Boy Wonder. I fear that as long as there is a U.S. taxpayer supported government LOGCAP program to be plundered KBR will always be with us.

Well, okay, Adam West never really had that exchange with Burt Ward. And, after my post yesterday on KBR I really didn’t intend to write on KBR again.

But that was before I saw today’s press release from the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. Read the remainder of this entry »

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David Isenberg: This Waste Really Hurts

By Forseti | Filed in Burn Pit Lawsuits, Burn Pits, CHEMICAL AND OTHER EXPOSURES, George Lundy vs KBR - class action, Huffington Post, Lawsuits Against KBR, LOGCAP III - KBR, LOGCAP-Dyncorp, LOGCAP-Fluor, Reports & Investigations, Senate & House Committee Hearings
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Photo from VA Watchdog dot Org

October 15, 2010 – As this is something I have written on previously it seems appropriate to note that today the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on open-air in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

U.S. forces generate a lot of waste. According to the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq generate about 10 pounds of waste per servicemember each day. This waste may consist of plastic, styrofoam, and food from dining facilities; discarded electronics; shipping materials such as wooden pallets and plastic wrap; appliances; and other items such as mattresses, clothing, tires, metal containers, and furniture. 

Assuming 50,000 troops in Iraq that is half a million pounds of waste a day. In Afghanistan it is nearly a million pounds a day. That doesn’t count waste produced by contractors or other DOD components. It also doesn’t include hazardous or medical waste. No matter how you look at it that is one heck of a log of garbage to burn. 

Lawsuits have been filed in federal court in at least 43 states in which current and former service members have alleged, among other things, that a contractor’s negligent management of burn pit operations, contrary to applicable contract provisions, exposed them to air pollutants that subsequently caused serious health problems. 

The contractor, KBR, has moved to dismiss the suits, arguing, among other things, that it cannot be held liable for any injuries that may have occurred to service personnel because its burn pit activities occurred at the direction of the military. 

Read the remainder of this entry »

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KBR’s Unauthorized Deaths

By Ms Sparky | Filed in Huffington Post, KBR Contract, LAWSUITS, Lawsuits Against KBR, LOGCAP III - KBR, Qui Tam
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David Isenberg – Huffington Post Posted: June 3, 2010 02:08 PM
Author, Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq (Praeger Security International)

When I was in the Green Zone 2004-2006 KBR used Global Security "Gurkhas" to guard the Iraqi's who were guarding KBR's Camp Hope and other KBR interests in the Green Zone~Ms Sparky

Back in April it was briefly in the news that the United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root Services (KBR) alleging that it violated the .

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleged that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings to the Army under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) III contract. The LOGCAP III contract provides for civilian contractor logistical support, such as food services, transportation, laundry and mail, for military operations in Iraq.

The government’s lawsuit alleges that some 33 KBR subcontractors, as well as the company itself, used private armed security at various times during the 2003-2006 time period. KBR allegedly violated the LOGCAP III contract by failing to obtain Army authorization for arming subcontractors and by allowing the use of private security contractors who were not registered with the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. The subcontractors using private security are alleged to have also violated subcontract terms requiring travel only in military convoys. The lawsuit further alleges that at the time, KBR managers considered the use of private security unacceptable and were concerned that the Army would disallow any costs for such services. KBR nonetheless charged the United States for the costs of the unauthorized services.

The ever intrepid Ms. Sparky posted the suit online and parts of it merit examination. Read the remainder of this entry »

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