In Iraq, Contractors' Security Costs Rise

[kskiska]

Wednesday, February 18, 2004; Page A01

Attacks on the private contractors rebuilding Iraq are boosting security expenses, cutting into reconstruction funds and compelling U.S. officials in Baghdad to contend with growing legions of private, armed security teams spread throughout the country.

While attacks on military targets and Iraqi citizens have received widespread attention, the assaults on the companies, which have left at least 17 dead and others wounded, are lesser known. Those attacks could jeopardize the success of the coalition efforts in Iraq, according to a Coalition Provisional Authority document reviewed by The Washington Post.

A draft of security guidance for contractors prepared by the CPA's Infrastructure Security Planning Group in Baghdad says, "Spiraling costs, excessive work delays, lost materiel and workforce casualties in the current threat environment have the potential to put Coalition success at risk." The CPA's Program Management Office is seeking to hire a central coordinator for the private security teams in anticipation of the thousands of foreign workers and hundreds of new work sites that will flood Iraq starting next month, when nearly $10 billion in U.S.-funded rebuilding contracts are due to be awarded.

(snip)

In Baghdad last month, Brig. Gen. Steven Hawkins, who is in charge of the Army Corps of Engineers' mission to fix Iraq's electrical infrastructure, said contractors get easily spooked. When told that two French subcontractors had been killed in a highway ambush earlier in the day, his frustrations spilled over.

"You know what this means?" he said. The contractor on the job "is going to come in here and ask for two weeks off to reassess their security. We can't stop for two weeks because they're scared."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49272-2004Feb17.html

[aquart]

1. No problem. The American taxpayer is an endless source of funds.

Not one Halliburton executive will have one penny less in bonus money.

[JohnyCanuck]

2. Is this what you might call a "target rich environment?"

The CPA's Program Management Office is seeking to hire a central coordinator for the private security teams in anticipation of the thousands of foreign workers and hundreds of new work sites that will flood Iraq starting next month, when nearly $10 billion in U.S.-funded rebuilding contracts are due to be awarded.

[cap]

3. the kicker is that profits increase even faster when

costs go up on a cost plus government contractor.