Private Warriors (part 3/4)

Full playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1398CA9201483058
In "Private Warriors," FRONTLINE (2005), correspondent Martin Smith travels throughout Kuwait and Iraq to give viewers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at companies like Kellogg, Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, and its civilian army. KBR has 50,000 employees in Iraq and Kuwait that run U.S. military supply lines and operate U.S. military bases. KBR is also the largest contractor in Iraq, providing the Army with $11.84 billion dollars in services since 2002.

Historically, there is nothing new about the military's use of private contractors, but the Iraq war has seen outsourcing on an unprecedented scale. The policy change came after the Cold War when the Pentagon was downsizing under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Cheney first hired Halliburton as a consultant and later became the company's president. Halliburton subsidiary KBR is now one of the largest recipients of government contracts.

FRONTLINE visits the biggest Halliburton/KBR run base, Camp Anaconda, in the Sunni triangle. Behind concrete walls 28,000 soldiers and 8,000 civilians live in bases that offer Taekwondo and Salsa lessons, movie theatres, fast food courts, and four meals a day. The amenities are impressive, but some argue that there is a price to pay. Says a former base commander Marine Colonel Thomas X. Hammes, "it's misguided luxury ... somebody's risking their lives to deliver that luxury."

And while KBR was glad to provide Smith with a tour of the facilities, they weren't able or willing to answer some basic questions about how much certain services -- like feeding the troops -- cost. Smith eventually finds some answers from the Army base commander, but numerous audits are underway to determine just how the contracts are being fulfilled. In response to allegations of overcharging in the tens of millions of dollars, KBR's Vice President of Worldwide Military Affairs, Paul Cerjan says, "the only thing we can do is stand up and give a true and honest evaluation of what we've done. ... And let whoever is making the assessment make the assessment. We are not afraid of that process."

"Private Warriors" also explores a very different kind of contractor -- the private world of security teams that work for firms like Blackwater, Aegis, and Erinys. They provide armed protection for U.S. government officials, government offices, military installations and even military commanders.

"The Pentagon's increasing reliance on outsourcing military functions raises important questions about accountability and the chain of command," says Smith. Through conversations with top military commanders, policy planners, military experts, and contractors, "Private Warriors" explores some of the dangers in bringing in the private sector to prosecute the war.

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• Iraq
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• civilian army
• private security contractors
• insurgents
• Blackwater
• Aegis
• Erinys
• Dick Cheney
• Bush Administration
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• U.S. military
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• The Green Zone
• private security guards
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• Paul Bremer
• Baghdad Airport Road
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[MrDmchr]

5:36 what a bitch

[TheElephant79]

10:28, shit is fuckin unbelievable ! THIS WORLD IS FUCKIN FUCKED; THIS WAR IS "FINANCED" ON THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF LIVES BY SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS WHILE FUCKIN POLITICIANS AND RESPONSIBLE AND MANAGERS MAKIN BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS !!! AND THAT EXACTLY THAT IS THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF EVERY STATE OF EVERY COMPANY IN ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD !!! IT FUCKIN SUX !!!

[burkey2015]

i thought he was talking to a mirror at 8:25

[Bob132830159]

@903lew

Xe services changed his name to academi.

[dainamiku]

but since we as a nation cant come together and agree... we'll just have to wait till we use up all the earths oil... and enough ppl keep dieing over it.... but dont forget that everytime u start your engine your unconciously starting a war between persons.

[dainamiku]

they cant reveal the figures because iraqi's are paid from 50 to 100 dollars a month... the entire war situation is our economy, in order to stop the maddness americans would just need to refuse to use gasoline... then they would be forced to bring back the EV1 unethically recalled gm car

[903lew]

People talk about Blackwater/Xe but the real profiteers have always been KBR. WTF happened to sustainment brigades?

[chukfarly]

I don' t have an issue with out sourcing supply and support jobs ,thus allowing soldiers to do their jobs better and make their life easier while there ,but not at the profits these companies are making doing so . I'd like to see proof they operate cheaper than the army does .I also like to know what the cost per day per soldier cost to keep them there .

It seems the reason to keep all this going so long is the money it brings along with it .

[LASuper38]

The goverment racket mafia. Screwing the american people for there elite people. Uncle Sam at his best