I'm totally exhausted from the soccer madness today, so I'll let somebody else do the talking: Steve Fainaru, a Washington Post investigative reporter (and 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist), has a phenomenal in-depth look at a private security contractor that was working in Baghdad until last spring. Five guards were kidnapped last November, which Fainaru conclusively shows was the result of poor training, mismanagement and bad decision-making. Private security is a huge, multi-billion-dollar industry in Iraq, and I can't believe Crescent is the only company making these types of dumb choices. The full article is here; part two runs tomorrow.
Money quotes include:
"Schneider oversaw Crescent's security operations for more than two years, despite having pleaded guilty, according to court records, to misdemeanor charges of breaking and entering and domestic violence in Michigan in the mid-1990s."
"Crescent crafted its own military identification badges to enable its employees -- including unscreened Iraqis -- to gain admittance to U.S. bases."
"Reuben, the company medic, was a self-described alcoholic who was not certified as an emergency medical technician and had resigned as a suburban Minneapolis police officer in 2003 after a drunk-driving violation."
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