Private Warriors

I just finished watching a Public Broadcasting Station program called Private Warriors. A reporter for Frontline visited Iraq reporting and filming what he saw. In a word, it was terrifying. We rode with him as he traveled around Iraq visiting and interviewing private contractors. KBR, whose parent company is Haliburton, runs a huge base in Iraq. The reporter told us that even before it was decided to invade Iraq, people hired by KBR were establishing residence there. Although, no one he spoke to could verify the cost of running such monolithic enterprizes it was documented that Haliburton has realized profits exceeding 1.2 billion dollars since the start of the war. The reporter noted that no one talks about when private contractors will be leaving Iraq and when personnel are killed in the line of duty no one accepts responsibility.

Some of the scenes were quite graphic. I could not imagine being a parent, friend or loved one of those who were attacked, burned, dragged through the streets and then suspended while insurgents cheered in the background. In the end the reporter was very relieved he reached the airport safely. He said an airport never looked so good.

The program brought to light many questions about who is profiting from the war in Iraq and why there doesn't seem to be a traceable paper trail about some of the contracts.

PBS has recently gone on the air asking for public outcry because some of its major funding is being cut by congress. It doesn't take too much imagination to figure out why.