Iraq Bans Blackwater, Launches Investigation

Staff / Truthdig Sep 17, 2007 The Iraqi government has ordered employees of the North Carolina-based security firm Blackwater USA to leave the country and is opening a criminal investigation following Sunday's deadly shootout in Baghdad, during which a group of Blackwater contractors escorting a convoy of U.S. officials opened fire on nearby civilians. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Bye-Bye Baghdad

Truthdig staff / Truthdig Aug 17, 2007 A self-confessed "overpaid Department of Defense contractor" writes about his experiences living and working in Baghdad and the suffering of his Iraqi friends, who risk life and limb every day to get by in the "sinking ship" of Iraq. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The Banality of Greed

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jun 27, 2007 War profiteering is hardly a new phenomenon, but it's happening on unprecedented levels in Iraq, thanks to hefty contracts between the U.S. government and companies like Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR. KBR's bookkeeping has recently come under scrutiny as American taxpayers continue to subsidize its wartime projects. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

No End in Sight

Staff / Truthdig Jun 17, 2007 It's now five months into the US troop "surge" in Iraq, and although Defense Secretary Robert Gates (center) claimed during his visit to Baghdad this weekend that it's still too early to tell if the surge is working, one U military higher-up, Lt Gen Raymond Odierno, admitted that only 40 percent of Iraq's capital city is consistently safe . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Defense Contractor Jeopardized U.S. Soldiers

Staff / Truthdig Mar 28, 2007 ITT, the premier night vision equipment supplier to the US military, will pay $100 million in fines for violating the Arms Exports Control Act by sending sensitive information to China, Singapore and Britain without permission The U attorney in charge of the case said American soldiers were the "principal victims of ITT's crimes". Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fecal Matter in Soldiers’ Water? Sure, Says Senate

Staff / Truthdig Jun 21, 2006 Senate Republicans shot down a measure that would have enacted oversight on the practices of private contractors in Iraq. As a result, companies like Halliburton are free to continue doing things like exposing U.S. soldiers in Iraq to water contaminated with fecal matter. The Nation has the details. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Nicholas Berg’s Father on CNN: Violence Begets Violence

Staff / Truthdig Jun 17, 2006 Michael Berg, father of the young contractor whose brutal death at the hands of Al Qaeda was videotaped and broadcast to the world, speaks out against the war in Iraq and violence as retribution, and condemns George W. Bush in an interview with a stunned Soledad O'Brien. Berg said that Zarqawi's death brings him no joy and will only perpetuate the cycle of revenge. Watch the interview. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iraqi Muslim Scholars Were Paid to Aid U.S. Propaganda

Staff / Truthdig Jan 2, 2006 The same Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print pro-U.S. stories written by American soldiers masquerading as indepenent journalists has also been "compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work," according to the New York Times. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )