UnDeR CoNtRaCt - ArMy Of DoLlAr$$$

Obama Has 250,000 'Contractors' Deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and is Increasing the Use of Mercenaries.

By Jeremy Scahill: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/podcast.xml

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06052009/watch.html

Newly released Pentagon statistics show that in both Iraq and Afghanistan the number of armed contractors is rising.

A couple of years ago, Blackwater executive Joseph Schmitz seemed to see a silver lining for mercenary companies with the prospect of US forces being withdrawn or reduced in Iraq. “There is a scenario where we could as a government, the United States, could pull back the military footprint,” Schmitz said. “And there would then be more of a need for private contractors to go in.”

When it comes to armed contractors, it seems that Schmitz was right.

According to new statistics released by the Pentagon, with Barack Obama as commander in chief, there has been a 23% increase in the number of “Private Security Contractors” working for the Department of Defense in Iraq in the second quarter of 2009 and a 29% increase in Afghanistan, which “correlates to the build up of forces” in the country. These numbers relate explicitly to DoD security contractors. Companies like Blackwater and its successor Triple Canopy work on State Department contracts and it is unclear if these contractors are included in the over-all statistics. This means, the number of individual “security” contractors could be quite higher, as could the scope of their expansion.

Overall, contractors (armed and unarmed) now make up approximately 50% of the “total force in Centcom AOR [Area of Responsibility].” This means there are a whopping 242,657 contractors working on these two U.S. wars. These statistics come from two reports just released by Gary J. Motsek, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Program Support): “Contractor Support of U.S. Operations in USCENTCOM AOR, IRAQ, and Afghanistan and “Operational Contract Support, ‘State of the Union.’”

“We expect similar dependence on contractors in future contingency operations,” according to the contractor “State of the Union.” It notes that the deployment size of both military personnel and DoD civilians are “fixed by law,” but points out that the number of contractors is “size unfixed,” meaning there is virtually no limit (other than funds) to the number of contractors that can be deployed in the war zone.

At present there are 132,610 in Iraq and 68,197 in Afghanistan. The report notes that while the deployment of security contractors in Iraq is increasing, there was an 11% decrease in overall contractors in Iraq from the first quarter of 2009 due to the “ongoing efforts to reduce the contractor footprint in Iraq.”

Moreover it's important to note that "contractors" don't have the oversight and operate with impunity both here "inside" the United States and abroad. Futhermore our troops are treaded like second class citizens fighting for support, whilest "contractors" get their pockets filled. For emphasis, this is part of the cancer that is destroying our country! As long as there's money to be made from war, there will always be war!

Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans -- Update: Beyond PTSD: Soldiers Have Injured Souls

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=103797&sectionid=3510203
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/cbsnews_investigates/main3496471.shtml
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Report_predicts_veteran_suicide_rate_100_1113.html
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2007/male-veterans-have-double-the-suicide-rate-of-civilians.shtml

Homeless veterans face new battle for survival

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/02/homeless.veterans/index.html

Veteran's unemployment benefits cut by up to 80%
http://shock-treatment65.newsvine.com/_news/2009/02/24/2471248-veterans-unemployment- benefits-cut-by-up-to-80

Veterans and their families receiving unfair treatment after discharge

http://ocolly.com/2008/04/23/veterans-and-their-families-receiving-unfair-treatment- after-discharge/

Crisis at the VA as Benefits Claims Backlog Nearly Tops One Million

http://www.truthout.org/060509A

===snipped===> "And Ye Shall Know The Truth And The Truth Shall Set You Free"

WAKE UP AMERICA....IT$ OUR COUNTRY!!!

Love "Light" and Energy

_Don

References:

[Army suicides set record in July 2011]

[Federal Reserve Shipped Billions to Iraq Which Were Then Stolen]

[Update: Billions over Baghdad - NY Fed Won't Say How Much Money Went to Iraq]

[US army top brass blamed for rise in troop suicides]

[Contractors Tied To Effort To Track, Kill Militants] ....it not just militants!

[700 Military Bases Spread Across Afghanistan]

[Afghanistan's Development Debacle]

[Two Blackwater Guards Arrested For Murder: Company Settles Lawsuits]

[Up to 56,000 more contractors for Afghanistan]

[Foreign Interpreters Hurt in Battle Find U.S. Insurance Benefits Wanting]

[Stunning Statistics About the War That Everyone Should Know]

[Members of Congress involved in defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling]

[Government Contract Fraud Is Hitting Disabled Veterans]

[Why Is the US Paying Off the Taliban?]

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

[US defense contractors pay insurgents millions]

[Blackwater bribe plot uncovered]

[The Secret About Jobs Military Contractors Don’t Want You to Know]

http://blog.puppetgov.com/2009/10/16/the-secret-about-jobs-military-contractors-dont-want-you-to-know/

[Federal Contractor Misconduct Database]

http://www.contractormisconduct.org/

[Contractor Support of U.S. Operations in USCENTCOM AOR, Iraq, and Afghanistan-as of June 30, 2009]

http://feraljundi.com/2009/08/24/publications-contractor-support-of-us-operations-in-uscentcom-aor-iraq-and-afghanistan-as-of-june-30-2009/

[Program Support Info]

http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/PS/hot_topics.html

[US actually increasing personnel in Iraq: More contractors, fewer troops]

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/us-replacing-iraq-troops-with-private-contractors/

http://www.nwotruth.com/us-actually-increasing-personnel-in-iraq-more-contractors-fewer-troops/

[Helen Thomas to Obama Administration; STOP THE KILLING!]

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/08/gibbs-coddles-thomas-dodges-question-over-blackwater/

[C.I.A. Sought Blackwater’s Help in Plan to Kill Jihadists]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/us/20intel.html?_r=1&hp

[Suicide soars among US soldiers] Stop the killing NOW!

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=103797&sectionid=3510203

[The Tragedy of Our 'Disappeared' Veterans]

http://www.alternet.org/world/140828/the_tragedy_of_our_'disappeared'_veterans/

[Related: US Cities Criminalize Homelessness]

http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=621517

[Three Good Reasons To Liquidate U.S. Empire] DO IT NOW!!!

http://www.alternet.org/world/141689/three_good_reasons_to_liquidate_our_empire_and_10_ways_to_do_it/

[Update: Active duty Army suicide rate on record-setting pace]

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/09/active-duty-army-suicide-rate-on-record-setting-pace/

More female veterans are winding up homeless

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/07/06/more_female_veterans_are_winding_up_homeless/?page=full

Some Veterans of Recent Wars Find Homelessness at Home

http://www.truthout.org/062909E

[Q&A: Valerie Plame Wilson; stop outsourcing the CIA, fast]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/qa-valerie-plame-wilson

THE Big Duh!: Whilst American's go down the tube our government continues to provide $$$ to control the world!

Obama Claims CIA Involvement In Iran “Patently False”

http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-claims-cia-involvement-in-iran-patently-false.html

America Is Completely Broke, And Here We Are Funding Fantasy Wars at the Pentagon

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/124881/america_is_completely_broke%2C_and_here_we_are_funding_fantasy_wars_at_the_pentagon?page=entire

Bush sanctions 'black ops' against Iran

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1552784/Bush-sanctions-black-ops-against-Iran.html

CIA has Distributed 400 Million Dollars Inside Iran to Evoke a Revolution

http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/cia-has-distributed-400-million-dollars-inside-iran-to-evoke-a-revolution/

Funding Obama's Expanding Wars $100 Billion a Vote

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=SCA20090619&articleId=14021

Court Stiffs Veterans Caught in Privacy Breach

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/courts-differ-on-privacy-acts-meaning/

Blackwater Still Working In Iraq

http://www.truthout.org/061409C

Army: Suicide rate among soldiers continues on record pace

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/11/us.army.suicides/index.html

PBS Report: Friends in High Places:

See: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/expose/expose_2007/episode204/watch.html

Military Contractors In Iraq:

See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/9572460/Private-Military-Companies-in-Iraq

Both Pentagon reports can be downloaded at the below links:

See: http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/PS/hot_topics.html

Contractor Support of U.S. Operations in USCENTCOM AOR, IRAQ, and Afghanistan as of May 09:

See: http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/PS/p_vault/5A_May_2009_3.doc

Operational Contract Support, "State of the Union" as of May 09:

See: http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/PS/p_vault/Motsek_AWC_Brief_May2009.ppt

Link of interest: By September We’ll Have CONFISCATED ALL PRIVATELY OWNED GUNS

http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/us_constitution/gun_control/news.php?q=1237833478

[Bailout Hits $24 Trillion Dollars!]