[SkeniaInhilla]

mateys,

after "misson accomplished", Paul Bremer, the mighty US viceroy in Iraq directed the Iraqi airport to reopen. to do so, a security firm was needed to man the decks at the airport, so the CPA (US Coalition Provisional Authority) searched fer a firm. this be what happened...

from Imperial Life in the Emerald City -

*clears throat*

Two well established firms - DynaCorp International and ArmorGroup International - also submitted bids. But Custer Battle's was the cheapest. More important, the firm promised to have guards on the ground weeks faster than any other firm, even though it had no more than a dozen security personnel on staff when the proposal was submitted.

Two days after the bid was submitted, the CPA informed Custer Battles that it had won. The contract was worth 16 million.

"We got the contract because we were young, dumb and didn't know better.", Custer said later. "Anyone with experience would have said they'd be there in eight weeks". a short time later, Custer Battles hires Robert Isakson, who be an ex FBI agent now with a contractin' company...

A few weeks later, Isakson said, he was approached by a Pakistani oil trader who was serving as an adviser to Custer Battles. The trader suggested they bid for a "cost-plus" government government contracts, which provide a reimbursement for expenses plus a fixed fee. When Isakson said that the profit margins were too low for him, the trader proposed using a shell company in Lebanon to inflate the costs of goods provided to the government to give the firm a 100 percent profit.

"If you do this, you're going to prison," Isakson said.
"Oh, no. We do this all the time," the trader said.
"Not with Americans you don't," Isakson responded. "Count me out, I'm not doing that." well mateys....shortly after this exchange, Mr. Battles...who wanted to proceed with this scheme, sent Mr. Isakson, his brother, and his 14 year old son (who was diagnosed with a terminal illness) packin'....

Company guards held the three at gunpoint before taking their weapons and identification cards and ejecting them from the airport. "You motherfuckers," Isakson shouted as he left, "you're scumbags". ye can guess what happened next, aye me friends?

Two months later, Custer Battles representatives accidently left a spreadsheet on a conference table after a meeting with CPA officials. There, in black and white, wre the numbers showing that the company had billed the CPA $9,801,550 for work that cost $3,738,592. eventually, this leads to a lawsuit...and the contract with the devious Mr. Battles was cancelled...but not till he'd made off with o'er a 100 million in contracts.

this be one story, but thar be legions like it.

the US military won the war...but President Bush and his many officers showed nothin' but endless incompetence managin' its aftermath.

the United States did not lose this war, rawrrrrrrr!

they just lost everthin' else in this sad tale.

- MeadHallPirate