Mercenaries on the rise.Private military contractors have reportedly fired indiscriminately on Iraqi civilians hundreds of times throughout the U.S. occupation, yet none have been prosecuted, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. "Corporate Mercenaries," a report released in October by the U.K.-based organization War on Want. "Corporate Mercenaries" states that lack of government accountability has led employees of private military contractors--the second largest occupying force in Iraq to ignore human rights. "We encourage people in America to press U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice toward legislation against human rights abuses by its private security contractors in Iraq," War on Want spokesperson Paul Collins Paul Collins is the name of:
* 20,000: Estimated number of private military personnel in Iraq. At least 428 have been killed as of May 2006. * $48 million: Value of U.S. contract with Vinnell Corporation, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. , to train the nucleus of a new Iraqi army The Iraqi Army is the army of Iraq, active in various forms since the country was formed in the aftermath of World War I. Today, it is a component of the Iraqi Security Forces tasked with assuming responsibility for all Iraqi land-based military operations following the 2003 . * $320 million: Amount the Bush administration has paid U.S.-based Blackwater USA Blackwater USA is a private military company[2] founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports in the international media. for diplomatic security overseas since June 2004. * $32 million: Combined 2001 lobbying dollars of 10 U.S. private military firms. * $3.4 billion: Revenue for British private military companies in 2004. * 0: The number of provisions requiring private contractors to abide by To stand to; to adhere; to maintain. See also: Abide human rights or corruption norms found in a review of 60 military contracts in Iraq. Source: War on Want's "Corporate Mercenaries" report (October 2006). |
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