US admits contractors' deaths

FOUR US contractors for the US military were killed in Iraq last month, the US military admitted overnight, confirming an attack that a British newspaper said saw two of the men murdered in front of a jeering crowd. A military spokesman said the attack occurred on September 20 when insurgents fired rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at a convoy guarded by US troops after it made a wrong turn in Duluiya, near Balad north of Baghdad.

"Task Force Liberty soldiers responded to assist the convoy, administered first aid to two wounded contractors and evacuated the remains of four contractors killed in the attack," the spokesman said in a statement. No reason was given why the military had not released information on the attack earlier.

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper gave an account of the incident that recalled the slaying of four contractors killed by a crowd in Fallujah in March last year, an incident which provoked the first of two major US offensives last year against rebels in the city west of Baghdad. The Telegraph, quoting a US officer in the area who had spoken to soldiers involved, said the victims were American employees of Halliburton unit Kellog, Brown & Root, the biggest US military contractor in Iraq.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17008207%255E1702,00.html

be grounds for impeachment sinc he's telling everyone we have enough troops. Just more lies and more people pay the price.

But we also need to recognize that these were war profiteers.

They made a choice, unlike the troops, to profit off of war. When you do that, you can't be surprised when the locals get mad and decide to do something about it.

the law.

prosperous life here in US.

reported in the Telegraph predates the alleged desecration in Afghanistan.

Well, considering that Bush attacked Iraq over something that someone in Afghanistan ordered (911), that makes a twisted kind of sense. A Bush like twisted sense.

about this. I wonder when the US will hear about it?

"...an incident which provoked the first of two major US offensives last year against rebels in the city west of Baghdad."

How is this different?

accuse others of. Projection, of course.

How do you stop a mad man with WMD? I don't know when he has Congress and the SCOTUS in his pocket.

when W leaves office.

Seems like there should be, but I haven't heard of one. :shrug:

I do suspect that there have been many such instances, we just have not heard of them. So why are we hearing about it now? Hmmm. When the images of the contractor deaths were broadcast in the US last time, support for the decimation of Falluja and the "war" itself increased substantially.

U.S. Confirms Killing Of Contractors in Iraq
Four Were Slain by Angry Mob Last Month

By John Ward Anderson and Steve Fainaru
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, October 23, 2005; Page A16

BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 -- Four U.S. contractors were killed last month when their convoy took a wrong turn, drove into a town north of Baghdad and was attacked by an angry mob, a senior U.S. military official said Saturday.

The incident, which occurred Sept. 20 in the town of Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, was first reported Saturday by Britain's Daily Telegraph. The senior U.S. military commander confirmed the account to The Washington Post. There was no explanation for why the military did not report the deaths earlier.

The commander said the four men -- identified by the Telegraph as employees of the Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root -- realized their convoy had taken a wrong turn and were desperately trying to escape from the town when their vehicle was attacked by insurgents.

-snip-
Two contractors who were not killed in the initial firing were dragged from their vehicle, and one was shot in the back of the head, the newspaper said. The crowd "doused the other with petrol and set him alight. Barefoot children, yelping in delight, piled straw on to the screaming man's body to stoke the flames," according to the report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/22/AR2005102201192.html

You go to war for profit, and these kinds of things will happen. The locals tend to not like war profiteers, and sometimes they decide to do something about it.

I mean .... IF our soldiers have to receive a mere pittance for their dedication to country and honor, it is only RIGHT that these mercenaries receive over 100,000 per annum, given the extra threat under which they work .....

I mean: ... it is MORE dangerous for them than the soldiers ... right ? ..

Um ... wait a sec ....

I think I have something backwards .....

It is EXACTLY the same level of danger for mercenaries as for regular soldiers, except the KBR 'employees' are MUCH better paid then our boys in uniform ..... But that money will only buy them a better coffin, in the end .....

It is amazing that they didnt declare these deaths until this week .... it's as if they dont want to think about it .... They like to pretend they dont exist .....

I feel bad for the families of these mercenaries, given that these 'employees' are only trying to provide a decent living for them, but one must be careful what choices one makes in life, because there might be more riding on a choice than is first assumed ....

War is hell .... Get the fuck OUT ...

But I do believe that this is part of the reason our troops must stay there . . . to protect these mercenaries.

My next door neighbor is there. Maybe I could forgive him, if his wife werent running around telling everyone her husband is in Iraq, but purposely not telling him that he is NOT there as a soldier. She relies on their believing thats what she means in order to gain sympathy and free favors from people who feel sorry for her.

"Barefoot children, yelping in delight..."

Four U.S. Contractors Killed in Iraq


BAGHDAD, Iraq - An angry mob of insurgents attacked a convoy of American contractors last month when they got lost in a town north of Baghdad, killing four and wounding two, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

The convoy, which included U.S. military guards riding in Humvees, made a wrong turn into Duluiyah and insurgents opened fire with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a spokesman for Task Force Liberty in north-central
Iraq, told The Associated Press.

The Telegraph reported the contractors killed and wounded were employees of the Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, the biggest U.S. military contractor in Iraq. But Goldenberg could not confirm that.

<snip>

http://p295.news.mud.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051023/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_contractors_killed_1;_ylt=AhAyQARYsl6NDcjuNbznGURX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Mercs...
I hate those guys.

after all, they were probably just transporting stolen oil, so no need for armament.

He loves listening to Mike Malloy (downloads his shows). He needs the money to get out of Bush-debt. I hope he's okay.

Really, don't think I could live with myself. I suppose if he didn't have the job, though, someone else would.

with dependents that would be fatherless without him. You never know about people. Maybe he was very "Christlike" and gave his money to help a family member before he fell on hard times.

Anyway, with the economy the way it is and projected to be, I can understand how some people might feel like they need to get what they can asap before the chance disappears. But I couldn't do it either.

Threw straw on the man who was set on fire? I'm getting such a PUKE ALERT on this, I can't believe it. How can they print something like that without being able to confirm whether or not it's true? What happens to journalists who do this kind of thing? When we find out in a month or two, on page 16 of the same newspapers, that this is a falsehood, who will be held to account? Will any of them get the Dan Rather treatment? Of course, this could be true, but I seriously doubt it--it has a Rush Limbaugh/Karl Rove ring to it.

since last month. Are they afraid they won't be able to get people from the US to work over there.

war profiteers