New from Iraq. More on the mess at the Pentagon. This is going to end badly. Spicer is an enforcer for oil and mining companies with a “spicy” past, and we just gave him more than a quarter of a billion dollars.
Occupation authorities in Iraq have awarded a $293 million contract effectively creating the world's largest private army to a company headed by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer, a former officer with the SAS (NOTE: this is disputed), an elite regiment of British commandos, who has been investigated for illegally smuggling arms and planning military offensives to support mining, oil, and gas operations around the world. On May 25, the Army Transportation command awarded Spicer's company, Aegis Defense Services, the contract to coordinate all the security for Iraqi reconstruction projects.
Peter Singer (NOTE: author of the excellent book, Corporate Warriors) says that the new contract raises many questions about what kind of background check and vetting of firms and contracted employees are occurring at the Pentagon. “It's not only good policy, but a basic rule of good business, but not clear that it is always happening with Iraq contracting,” he said. [John Robb's Weblog]