http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2091075,00.htmlSince March 2004, when the charred bodies of four American security guards were dragged through the streets of Falluja, private security in Iraq has become a multibillion dollar business for a handful of US and UK companies.
For the hired ex-soldier earning up to $1,000 (£500) a day, it is also the most dangerous job in the world. More than 900 have been killed in the past three years, the majority of them American.
The Pentagon estimates there are about 20,000 armed security guards in the country although some observers have put the figure much higher.
Some of the kidnapped men worked for one of the major firms operating in Iraq, GardaWorld, which is based in Montreal but has an office in Hereford, the military base of the SAS. Last year the company acquired the London-based Kroll Security International, which had its own personal security units in Iraq.
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As with the big reconstruction contracts, the main beneficiaries were at first American: Blackwater, DynCorp and Vinnell for police and army training and guarding US officials. But the British soon got a slice when the newly formed Aegis Defence won a $293m contract from the US army corps of engineers to coordinate security work. The firm's turnover of £554,000 in 2003 rose to £62m in 2005, 75% of which came from Iraq.
It was a controversial appointment as the company was run by the former mercenary from the Scots Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer, a central figure in the arms-to-Africa scandal of the late 1990s, when arms were shipped to a Sierra Leone militia leader later indicted as a war criminal. The company has survived a number of further controversies - such as the so-called "trophy video" of its men on patrol shooting at Iraqi civilian cars - and now some of the most senior retired British officers sit on the board.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2090523,00.htmlThe security firms active in IraqAt least half a dozen British security companies work in Iraq for the coalition forces, the Iraqi government and private security companies. The figures fluctuate but there may be more than 2,000 contractors, often drawn from special forces or from the armed forces of countries such as Fiji and South Africa.
The lead UK company is Aegis Defence Services (ADS), run by the controversial former mercenary Lt Col Tim Spicer, the central figure in the arms-to-Africa scandal of the late 1970s.
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The Iraqi contract is up for renewal with ArmorGroup, chaired by the former Conservative foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind, as a chief contender. ArmorGroup earned 50% of its £129m revenues from Iraq last year.
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Other UK private security companies are Olive Group, Erinys International, Oriel Solutions, and Control Risks. Control Risks has also provided armed guards for UK staff in Baghdad and Basra.
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The number of US contractors has recently been put at more than 120,000. Since the overthrow of Saddam more than 900 have been killed. The number of UK civilian casualties is unknown.
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