U.S. Embassy builder investigated

[maddezmom]

Source: UPI

WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department is investigation allegations a Kuwaiti company deceived and mistreated foreign workers building the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Investigations by the U.S. military and the U.S. State Department inspector general found no evidence that First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Co. had tricked its employees into working in Iraq or were keeping them there against their will by locking up their passports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Two Americans who had worked at the site told federal prosecutors that the workers from Pakistan and Africa had been mistreated, sources told the Journal.

First Kuwaiti, which is barred from hiring Iraqi workers on the $592 million project, issued a statement denying the allegations.

"We are not aware of any (Department of Justice) investigation involving First Kuwaiti. The (Department of State) has already fully investigated these ludicrous allegations and has found them to be without merit. First Kuwaiti is proud of its accomplishments and of its efforts to build the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on time, within budget, and in compliance with the law," the company said in a statement to the newspaper.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/06/07/us_embassy_builder_investigated/3376/

[Pawel K]

1. "which is barred from hiring Iraqi workers on the $592 million project"

building hearts and minds.

What a bunch of shit.

[Straight Shooter]

2. That jumped out at me, too.

What a disgusting display of paranoia and greed.

[cliss]

4. Same here.

Just couldn't believe it - barred from hiring Iraqi workers.

(wow):smoke:

[louis-t]

3. Strikes me that this is a setup to give Halliburton the

new contract.... on the other hand, maybe they want the embassy built properly.

[Heidi]

5. Kick.

:kick:

[Barrett808]

6. Did Iraq embassy contractor abuse workers?

Source: NBC

Did Iraq embassy contractor abuse workers?
Whistleblowers say yes; U.S. continues to monitor Kuwaiti company

U.S. officials say the world's biggest embassy is still scheduled to open on-schedule and on-budget in September, but what a budget it is, and now there are charges of human trafficking of laborers. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

By Andrea Mitchell, Elizabeth Leist and Robert Windrem
NBC News

A Kuwaiti contractor accused of abusing workers at the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has also worked on a host of other U.S. projects since the Iraq war began in 2003, according to Defense Department records.

Whistleblowers who worked on the embassy have told officials at the State and Justice departments, as well as NBC News, that the contractor, First Kuwaiti International Trading, had brought workers, mostly South Asians and Filipinos, to Baghdad under false pretenses, then abused and threatened them while there.

The State Department and First Kuwaiti deny the allegations, but State admits it is continuing to monitor human trafficking and abuse allegations and the Justice Department has begun a preliminary inquiry out of its Civil Rights Division.

First Kuwaiti is one of the biggest contractors in the Middle East and the main contractor on the troubled 21-building embassy project, which will cost $600 million to build, making it the most expensive diplomatic quarters in U.S. history. The company has already received nearly $400 million for the embassy project, according to contracting records reviewed by NBC News. It has also been awarded more than a billion dollars in other contracts from the U.S. Army, the Army Corps of Engineers and Halliburton, which hired it as a subcontractor on other projects.

“It is probably the second most influential company in Kuwait,” says a former U.S. intelligence official familiar with First Kuwaiti.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19214872

[babylonsister]

7. They sure did-here's a first-hand account:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1103987

[Barrett808]

8. Thanks for the link! n/t