you won't read this in the new york times

Reporter Apologizes for Iraq Coverage

"The media are finished with their big blowouts on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and there is one thing they forgot to say: We're sorry," Rick Mercier wrote, in a column published Sunday in The Free Lance-Star.

"Sorry we let unsubstantiated claims drive our coverage. Sorry we were dismissive of experts who disputed White House charges against Iraq. Sorry we let a band of self-serving Iraqi defectors make fools of us. Sorry we fell for Colin Powell's performance at the United Nations. Sorry we couldn't bring ourselves to hold the administration's feet to the fire before the war, when it really mattered.

"Maybe we'll do a better job next war."

Good for Rick Mercier. Don't hold your breath: you won't see Judith Miller of the New York Times issue an apology.

wheat

AWB wins major wheat supply contract for Iraq

Australia's exporter AWB has won a major supply contract for wheat to Iraq, securing the sale of 460,000 tonnes, worth $100 million.

It's part of the last contract co-ordinated by the United Nations, before Iraq reverts to an open market system.

wowser

About time. Why is it that the blogosphere had an early handle on Cheney's energy meetings?

Cheney, energy and Iraq invasion Supreme Court to rule on secrecy

Significant evidence points to the possibility that much more could be revealed than mere corporate cronyism: The national energy policy proceedings could open a window onto the Bush administration's decision-making process and motives for going to war on Iraq.

In July 2003, after two years of legal action through the Freedom of Information Act (and after the end of the war), Judicial Watch was finally able to obtain some documents from the Cheney-led National Energy Policy Development Group.

They included maps of Middle East and Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, two charts detailing various Iraqi oil and gas projects, and a March 2001 list of "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts," detailing the status of their efforts. The documents are available at http://www.judicialwatch.org

You'll have to scroll thru the list on the Judicial Watch home page to find the relevant links. Unfortunately, they are not all listed in one section.

We posted our thoughts on the subject in March 2003, see Dear Tom

new contracts

Iraqi Reconstruction Contract Awarded

The Department of Defense announced today the award of one contract to provide construction services under the Coalition Provisional Authority Program Management Office (PMO) within a specific sector.

Parsons Delaware Inc., Pasadena. Calif., was awarded a contract with a ceiling of $500 million, to provide design-build construction services for projects associated with the construction of new, and renovation of existing, public buildings, hospitals, healthcare clinics, and housing throughout Iraq.

Iraqi Reconstruction Contract Awarded

The Department of Defense announced today the award of one contract to provide construction services under the Coalition Provisional Authority Program Management Office (PMO) within a specific sector.

Parsons Delaware Inc., Pasadena. Calif., was awarded a
contract with a ceiling of $900 million to provide design-build construction services for projects associated with the rehabilitation and construction of Iraqi
security and justice facilities and facilities for the Iraqi National Defense Force.

new blog

New blogger in Baghdad, visit Wires

My name is Fiona. I install lighting and sound systems in TV Studios and Theatres, in the UK and abroad. Currently I am contracted to install a TV studio in the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. It is the first of over a dozen being installed for a London - based Iraqi client who has recently returned to the country for the first time in over 20 years. I got this job on the strength of photographs I took of riots in Belfast.

Hope Fiona isn't working for Chalabi.

bases again

Rumsfeld is propoaing closing 25% of all bases curently within the US. Guess they're being outsourced to foreign countries. 14 `enduring bases' set in Iraq

Last year, as troops poured over the Kuwait border to invade Iraq, the U.S. military set up at least 120 forward operating bases. Then came hundreds of expeditionary and temporary bases that were to last between six months and a year for tactical operations while providing soldiers with such comforts as e-mail and Internet access.

Now U.S. engineers are focusing on constructing 14 "enduring bases," long-term encampments for the thousands of American troops expected to serve in Iraq for at least two years. The bases also would be key outposts for Bush administration policy advisers. [...]

To that end, the U.S. plans to operate from former Iraqi bases in Baghdad, Mosul, Taji, Balad, Kirkuk and in areas near Nasiriyah, near Tikrit, near Fallujah and between Irbil and Kirkuk.

There also are plans to renovate and enhance airfields in Baghdad and Mosul, and rebuild 70 miles of road on the main route for U.S. troops headed north.

Dollar figures have not been released. The Defense Department plans to build the bases under its own contracts separate from the State Department and its Embassy in Baghdad.

Last we knew, the Baghdad embassy had approximately $150 million in appropriated funds. Look for that number to go up significantly.

chalabi

Well, we'd heard he was still on the dole...In an article from the New York Times by Dexter Filkins Chalabi, Nimble Exile, Searches for Role in Iraq

At the same time, Mr. Chalabi's star began to wane in Washington, as the Bush administration's claims about Mr. Hussein's weapons capabilities and his presumed ties to Al Qaeda — in no small part based on information provided by Mr. Chalabi — failed to be confirmed.

Nevertheless, the Department of Defense continues to pay his organization $340,000 a month to gather intelligence in Iraq.

Mr. Chalabi has no regrets about any information, however misleading, that he passed to the Americans before the war. "We are heroes in error," Mr. Chalabi told The Daily Telegraph of Britain in an interview last month. "As far as we're concerned we've been entirely successful. That tyrant Saddam is gone and the Americans are in Baghdad. What was said before is not important."

Hey. It was all just a joke anyway.

by any other name

Pi·no·ky·o Rose noun

1. A journalist who deliberately distorts facts in order to create and/or promote propaganda.

Example: Ron Fournier of the Associated Press is a Pinokyo Rose.
Synonomous with 1. press·ti·tute 2. me·di·a whore 3. Li·sa My·ers

iraq constitution

We've been getting google hits looking for the new Iraqi constitution. Here's the thing, the new document is called something else: Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law.

The Coalition Provisional Authority has the text up at their website at Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period Hope this helps those of you looking for the document.

Note: bpost review of After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy by Noah Feldman might be of interest to those of you looking for additional information.

defense policy board

Since the resignation of Richard Perle from the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee (DPB), we have attempted to find out who the current members are. No such luck.

Meetings of the DPB continue to be held. The most recent, just prior to Perle's resignation, was on February 10 & 11th. (see Federal Register Online)

The purpose of the meeting is to provide the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy with independent, informed advice on major matters of defense policy.

Tillie Fowler appears to still be the Chairperson. We find her law firm advising Governor Jeb Bush on how to avoid base closures in Florida to be in poor taste for a chairperson. (Maybe that should be charperson.) Meanwhile, our favorite bash du jour is Suzanne Woolsey whose husband James sits on the DPB. Suzanne just scored a seat on the board of directors at defense contractor Fluor. They've been really raking it in the last few weeks. More poor taste.

Like seeing a train wreck, it's hard not to love reading the behind the scenes wheelings and dealings of the members of the DPB. Espionage! Lies! Intrigue! Money! Violence! Poor taste! Bad hair! Speaking of which...Rumsfeld.

Curious about the Defense Policy Board? Visit:
Center for Public Integrity
Right Web

dod dump

Should we include this as an Iraq related contract? Sure sounds like it might be. Contracts from the Department of Defense for March 15, 2004

Fueling Systems Contractors, JV, Napa, Calif., is being awarded a $112.5 million firm-fixed-price type of contract for providing all necessary fuel facilities/equipment and fuel services to support the Air Force. Work will also be performed at Al Udeid AB, Qatar.

And what do you make of this one? Curious. Contracts for March 12, 2004

Coherent Systems International Corp., Lexington Park, Md., is being awarded a maximum $49.9 million ID/IQ, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development in the professional, technical and management efforts related to time-critical targeting technologies. Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Md. (60 percent); Kuwait/Iraq (10 percent); Camp Pendleton (10 percent); Quantico, Va. (10 percent); and Panama City, Fla. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2009. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity.

More of that body armor. Shouldn't the DoD have stockpiles of body armor coming out of its ears? Are not boy scouts always prepared? Guess not. Contracts for February 20, 2004

Al-Hashimite Co., Baghdad, Iraq, was awarded on Feb. 18, 2004, a $10,332,000 firm-fixed-price contract for 25,200 Level III body armor vests and ceramic plate sets for the Iraq Civil Defense Corps.

There's more where those came from. We'll make our way thru the inbox over the next few days. Fun, huh?

sigh

2 Kuwaiti Firms Win New Iraq Fuel Deals

Two Kuwaiti companies involved in the Pentagon's criminal investigation of possible overcharges in a previous Halliburton Co. contract to import fuel into Iraq have been awarded new contracts for the same purpose.

Altanmia Commercial Marketing Co. yesterday won a $39.9 million contract to transport gasoline and diesel fuel to southern Iraq. [...]

Altanmia will transport fuel on behalf of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., which yesterday won an $80 million contract to supply fuel to southern Iraq -- and was also the supplier under the KBR [Halliburton] contract. [...]

In a separate deal yesterday, the Shaheen Business and Investment Group (SBIG) won a $71.8 million contract to purchase and transport gasoline to southern Iraq from Jordan, at $1.18 a gallon. Headquartered in Amman, Jordan, SBIG is a multinational set of companies that includes Cemex Global Inc. of Washington. It also has a contract to train Iraqi police.

Additional details of price per gallon and trucking costs are included in the article.

news dump

Some of these may be duplicates. Some of the links are no longer any good. That's what happens when they sit in our inbox for too long.

LogicaCMG wins second contract in Iraq

LogicaCMG has been chosen to provide an all-IP Next Generation Messaging solution, which includes the state-of-the-art Short Messaging Service Centre, to Atheer Telecommunications in southern Iraq. LogicaCMG now supplies Next Generation Messaging to two of the three GSM service providers in Iraq.

U.S. awards second Iraq reconstruction contract

The U.S.-led rebuilding of war-torn Iraq entered a second phase of sorts Tuesday, when the government awarded a new multibillion dollar reconstruction contract to engineering giant Bechtel National Inc. The company has been leading repairs to Iraq's damaged infrastructures and buildings since last year.

The U.S. Agency for International Development announced the $1.8 billion, two-year contract in a brief statement. Bechtel has been working under an 18-month, $680 million contract with the agency to repair bridges and roads, electrical power generators and grids, water and sewage systems, and airport facilities. The contract also calls for Bechtel to rebuild up to 100 hospitals and 6,000 schools, as well as various Iraqi ministry buildings.

Kerala Co to get Iraq contract for chicken

Meat Products of India (MPI), a Kerala government establishment, is in the final stages of signing a contract with an Iraqi firm to export 400 tonnes of chicken and bufallo meat.

We assume this is with a sub-contractor to supply troops.

USA: Wellco Income Up On Iraq Boot Contract

...after receiving a contract from the Defence Supply Centre in Philadelphia to manufacture desert boots for US Armed Forces in Iraq.

American Technology Corporation Awarded $1.088 Million Contract

American Technology Corporation (ATC) announced today that it has been awarded a $1.088 million contract by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) through a prime vendor contract with ADS, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia. The contract calls for ATC to deliver LRADs to augment the Force Protection Kits of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Camp Pendleton, CA) and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, CA) deploying to Iraq. Deliveries under the contract have begun with completion expected by early April.

Worley: strong $A to impact earnings

The Parsons Worley joint venture is currently working on the restoration of Iraq Oil Infrastructure in the north of Iraq; the company says the contract is worth $US0.5 million ($A650,111) - $US800 million ($A1.04 billion).

 

miscellaneous

DoD contract

ASRC Airfield and Range Services Inc., Greenbelt, Md., was
awarded on March 10, 2004, a $19 million firm-fixed-price contract for management, planning, execution, communication, interpreter/translation, integration, enrollment and training to teach basic security, patrolling and weaponry skills to high- and mid-level officers and facility and patrol guards.

Execution? Strange choice of wording.
 

tracking iraq's debts

Ernst & Young wins Iraq contract

Big Four firm Ernst & Young has won a contract with Iraq's ruling Coalition Provisional Authority to help trace the country's loan contracts and reconcile who is owed money from its estimated $120bn (£66bn) debts.

 

more odds & ends

Ex-Halliburton Contracts Reassigned

The Defense Department announced new contracts Monday for companies to deliver gasoline to Iraq, replacing some contracts that were previously handled by [Halliburton] formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney. [...]

Refinery Associates of Texas, based in New Braunfels, Texas, was awarded a $108.5 million contract for diesel fuel and gasoline for Iraq.

Turcas Petrol, awarded a $59 million contract for diesel fuel and gasoline for Iraq.

Opet Petrolcul, awarded a $55 million contract for gasoline for Iraq.

Petrol Ofisi, awarded a $35 million contract for diesel fuel for Iraq.

Delta Petrol Urunleri Ticaret, awarded an $18 million contract for liquefied petroleum gas for Iraq.

Iprgaz, awarded a $17 million contract for liquefied petroleum gas for Iraq.

Tefirom Construction & Energy, awarded a $15 million contract for liquefied petroleum gas for Iraq.

 

odds & ends

Iraqi Reconstruction Sector Contracts Awarded

Perini Corp, Framingham, Mass, was awarded a contract with a ceiling of $500 million to provide design-build construction services for projects associated with electrical transmission/distribution/communications and controls for the Southern Region of Iraq.

Repeating the information of one of our earlier posts...you can read a breakdown in a pdf file of the recent contracts at the CPA/Iraq Program Management Office website.

AECOM, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based company, was awarded a $21,610,501 contract to provide support to manage the activities of the six sector program management offices.

CH2M Hill/Parsons, a joint venture between CH2M Hill (Englewood, Colo.) and Parsons Water Infrastructure, Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) was awarded a $28,494,672 contract to provide dedicated support to the Public Works and Water Sector

Berger/URS, a joint venture between the Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Washington, D.C.) and URS Group, Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.) was awarded a $8,458,350.05 contract to provide dedicated support to the Transportation/Communication Sector

Berger/URS, a joint venture between the Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Washington, D.C.) and URS Group, Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.) was awarded a $8,458,350.05 contract to provide dedicated support to the Security/Justice Sector

Berger/URS, a joint venture between the Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Washington, D.C.) and URS Group, Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.) was awarded a $10,754,664.07 contract to provide dedicated support to the Buildings/Health Sector

Iraq Power Alliance Joint Venture, a joint venture between Parsons Energy and Chemicals Group (Reading, Pa.) and Parsons-Brinckerhoff, Ltd. (United Kingdom) was awarded a $43,361,340 contract to provide dedicated support to the Electrical Services Sector

Foster Wheeler, a U.K.-based company was awarded an $8,416,985 contract to provide dedicated support to the Oil Sector

It's a good site to visit and learn more about your tax dollars at work.
 

odds & ends

Fluor/AMEC Joint Venture Awarded $500 Million Contract to Help Restore Iraqi Electrical Sector

Fluor Corporation and AMEC plc announced today that their joint venture, Fluor/AMEC LLC, has been awarded a contract worth up to $500 million by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide design-build services for construction, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of power generation facilities throughout Iraq.

That Suzanne Woolsey appointment to the Board of Directors is really paying off.

Washington Group International Team Wins Contract to Provide Up to $600 Million in Services to Rebuild Water Resources in Iraq

Washington Group International, Inc. announced today that a team it is leading has been selected by the United States Department of Defense under the Program Management Office (PMO) of the Coalition Provisional Authority to provide design, engineering, and construction services to rebuild water infrastructure in Iraq.

Under the terms of the contract, the joint venture of Washington Group (70 percent) and Black & Veatch Corporation (30 percent) of Overland Park, Kansas, will be awarded specific assignments to provide design-build services to repair or construct water-resource systems throughout Iraq. The two-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract has three one-year options and a monetary ceiling of $600 million.

Sweet. An ID/IQ.

But wait, there's more. Washington Group International Wins Contract to Provide Up to $500 Million in Services to Build Electrical Infrastructure in Iraq

Washington Group International, Inc. announced today that it has been selected by the United States Department of Defense under the Program Management Office (PMO) of the Coalition Provisional Authority to assist in the reconstruction of electrical infrastructure in Iraq.

Under the terms of the contract, Washington Group will be awarded specific assignments to provide design-build services for projects associated with electrical transmission and distribution for the Northern Region of Iraq. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract has a monetary ceiling of $500 million.

Score! Two ID/IQ contracts.

Meanwhile...Boots & Coots Demobilizes Personnel in Iraq

Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. said it temporarily demobilized personnel in Iraq as it awaits Halliburton Co.'s transition to a new contract for the region.

Fox News? Maybe they're reporting it because Senator Feinstein's husband is on the list. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have bothered. Iraq Contract Winners Have Washington Ties

Many of the companies awarded contracts in Iraq this week have strong Washington ties.

No kidding? Really? Amazing how on top of this topic the press have been! Earth shattering revelation! Damn it, we'd like to smack the collective press upside the head with a clue by four. We'll settle for the clue fairy.
 

border guards

Knight Ridder. U.S. unveils $300 million border security plan for Iraq by Carol Rosenberg

After months of blaming foreign fighters for terror attacks, American officials unveiled a $300 million plan Saturday to beef up border enforcement along Iraq's porous 2,260-mile frontier by adding more forces, sensors and computer tracking of visitors.

[...]

The $300 million comes from a special congressional allocation to rebuild Iraq, Kimmitt said. Authorities will spend $150 million on equipment, including 300 new trucks to patrol the border, $104 million in frontier construction, and $46 million training guards.

We're not even going to ask who will be handling the construction contracts.
 

congratulations

To all of the latest winners of Iraq LOTTO for the week of March 11, 2004. The super jackpot winners are:

AECOM (US): $21.6m
Iraq Power Alliance Joint Venture (US/UK): $43.4m
Foster Wheeler (UK): $8.4m
CH2M Hill/Parsons (US): $28.5m
Berger/URS (US): Three contracts worth $27.8m in total

If you didn't win this week, play again! Up to $5 billion in prizes are still waiting to be announced.

Iraq Power Alliance Joint Venture is "a joint venture between Parsons Energy and Chemicals Group of Reading, Pa., and Parson-Brinkerhoff Ltd. of the United Kingdom" according to an article in MENFA, DOD awards $130M in Iraq money

Just because a contract is awarded doesn't mean all is well on the ground. There's a good section in the article we can't pass up on posting:

The commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Wednesday complained of the delay in equipping the nascent Iraqi security forces. He said Wednesday if he had known it would take this long, he would have used military funds at his disposal to equip the police and ICDC in his area of responsibility, the heart of the "Sunni triangle."

"I kept on expecting ... for this equipment to equip the ICDC and the police to arrive in November," said Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack in a press conference from Baghdad Wednesday. "November came around, and I was told this equipment would arrive in January. Now it's postponed till the end of March. And so I've started as of January 1st, procuring -- within the resources I have -- the radios, the body armor and some of the vehicles to provide this equipment to the security forces. I would have started that earlier. I wouldn't have bet on it coming, because it never came on my watch."

 

halliburton

End of hot meals for U.S. troops in Iraq?
 

howdy there

By the way, hello Bechtel.

We at bpost are honored you've stopped by recently to visit. Keep up the good work posting the subcontracts on your website.

Should you drop by again, we have to ask, still working with Winton Blount IV? You know, the grandson of "Red" Blount--the one whose Alabama campaign President George W. Bush supposedly worked on when he went awol from the Texas Air National Guard? We just had to ask. We noticed Saida on your website and well, Blount was partnering with Saida as recently as November. Though we admit, we haven't checked to see where things stand these days. Winton Blount IV might be back in Alabama already helping President Bush with his campaign.

Ah yes. Nothing like keeping it all in the family when it comes to contracts.
 

money money

Let's divide this recent contract award by the number of contract specialists, shall we? $421,585 each for a years worth of work. What the hell do they do for that amount of cha-ching??

CACI Inc., Chantilly, Va., was awarded on Feb. 26, 2004, a $10,118,040 firm-fixed-price contract for 24 contract specialists to work in Iraq. Work will be performed in Baghdad, Iraq, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2005. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were seven bids solicited on Jan. 15, 2004, and three bids were received. The U.S. Army Contracting Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (W91QV1-04-F-0077).

Gulf News reports on a prospective contract. Who knows anymore. Some Bush crony will probably land it if any are in the running. DPA shortlisted for $1b Iraqi five-port contract

Dubai Ports Authority, Maersk, P&O and a Kuwait-Iraq joint venture have been shortlisted for a $1 billion, 10-year contract to manage and develop five Iraqi ports.

In a surprise development, the original tender floated by Iraqi authorities inviting expression of interest, has been withdrawn in favour of a new, more comprehensive version.

What, no Chalabi relative?

Meanwhile, this one boggles the mind. Iraq, in the middle of the Middle East surrounded by oil producing nations, and an Israeli company gets a contract? Israel isn't exactly known for its oil industry. Maybe Sonol is a sub. Whatever. An Israeli oil firm has been awarded a lucrative contract to supply the US Army in Iraq.

According to IsraelNationalNews.com, the tender was awarded to Sonol gasoline company and is valued at $70 to 80 million. The company is expected to supply the US forces with 25 million liters of fuel monthly. Press reports say Sonol is working in conjunction with an international firm, Morgantown International.

The troops will love this one. They're finally getting jamming devices for roadside bombs...in June. Army awards contract for IED jammer

The Army awarded a $6.8 million contract to EDO Corp. yesterday to build a device that will help U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq detect roadside bombs.

EDO's Communications and Countermeasures division, located in Simi Valley, Calif., will build 132 Warlock Green electronic countermeasure devices. The contract is part of a $47.4 million contract initiated by the service in November, said a March 1 Defense Department contracts' announcement.

Warlock Green emits a radio frequency that jams communications signals that detonate roadside bombs, called improvised explosive devices. EDO also manufactures a less sophisticated jammer called Warlock Red, said a Dec. 29 company statement.

EDO will start delivering Warlock Green to U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq in June, according to an industry official familiar with the device's fielding. William Walkowiak, the company's investor relations director, and the Army declined comment.

Update on what Washington Group Intl has been up to, in case you are interested--includes info on work in Iraq. Afghan Army Troops Report to Base Built by Washington Group International; Tasks Supporting Army Corps of Engineers in Region Total More Than $400 Million

Oh well. They were working for a few days until everything got blown up again. Another premature announcement from the US government. USAID Announces the Completion of Iraq Telephone Exchange Rehabilitation

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) today announced the
integration of the 13 new switches and a new International Satellite
Gateway with the 14 existing telephone switches of the Iraqi Telephone
and Postal Company (ITPC) in Baghdad. The new switches and
international gateway were installed by USAID partner Bechtel.

 

nour out

The Nour contract has been cancelled according to an article in the LA Times, Coalition Cancels Iraq Contract by T. Christian Miller

Acknowledging "irregularities" in its contracting process, the U.S.-led occupation authority in Iraq on Friday canceled a $327-million deal to equip the Iraqi army. The contract had been awarded to a fledgling Virginia company with limited military supply experience.

The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which had previously suspended the deal with Nour USA, decided to toss out the contract. The authority will start from scratch in its effort to equip 40,000 Iraqi soldiers to eventually replace U.S. troops, possibly delaying the project by weeks.

Good for the CPA.

The LATimes also reports that the previous 17 bidders will have the opportunity to bid again. U.S. to Reopen Iraq Contract to 17 Bidders

After complaints, the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq decided to reopen competition to all 17 original bidders for a contract to equip the Iraqi army. Last month, the authority suspended the award to Nour USA, a firm formed in May with no arms supply experience.

Short article on Multimedia Ltd in Australia who was awarded a contract for satellite services a while back. Not much new info but we know some of you are specificly interested in the communications contracts. Aussie firm homes in on Iraq contract

The founder of Multiemedia Ltd believes it was a combination of skill and luck that led to his small Australian technology company winning a lucrative contract with the US military in Iraq.

More communications related contracts. No numbers reported. LogicaCMG wins Iraqi contract

LogicaCMG says that it has been chosen to provide an all-IP Next Generation Messaging solution, which includes a Short Messaging Service Centre, to Atheer Telecommunications in southern Iraq. LogicaCMG now supplies Next Generation Messaging to two of the three GSM service providers in Iraq.

LogicaCMG won the contract after intensive work with MTC Kuwait. Atheer Telecommunications, part of the MTC group of companies, one of the largest mobile operators in the Middle East, is a consortium of MTC and DTC.

 

protecting the troops

This contract award was just announced on March 2--almost a year after the war began. Interesting timing.

Radian Inc. (Radian), a subsidiary of Engineered Support Systems, Inc., has been awarded a $16.3 million, firm-fixed-price redetermination contract to provide 272 armor protection kits for the U.S. Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). The U.S. Army Program Executive Office, Combat Support and Combat Services Support (PEO, CS&CSS) awarded the contract through the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, for Operational Unit Force Protection.

These armor kits will immediately be transferred to Army units operating in Iraq.

We posted a comment tonight in regards to John Kerry's speech dealing with protective equipment for troops at Atrios that we're re-posting here. Too often people look at the $87 billion dollar supplemental and forget there was an earlier supplemental awarded in April. Together, the two supplementals provide roughly an additional $150 billion in military spending. There is just no excuse for troops in Iraq not having the protective equipment they need. Period.

Everyone keeps mentioning the $87 billion supplemental ($9 billion of which is discretionary). You all are forgetting the April supplemental of another $74.7 billion ($62.6 billion for military spending). These are sums above and beyond the Defense appropriations bill.

Plus, the US seized and transferred an additional $2.43 billion in Iraqi assets to the NY Federal Reserve bank. Funds found within Iraq ($600 million at least) have also been used for funding local reconstruction projects. Additional revenue is also flowing into Iraq from oil sales (or not according to one aid group who said $4-5 billion may have been missing) Plus another $13-40 billion in aid/loans/goods from the donor nations for reconstruction.

There's no excuse for not having provided troops with adequate protection. This war was being planned at least two years in advance.

An intelligent administration and Defense Dept would have at the very least been well stocked and supplied even if the war never moved beyond paper. That they chose not to equip troops shows how little they cared about manpower and really only cared about firepower--which is useless without troops.

Reconstruction costs simply can not be used as an excuse for delays on delivery of equipment to troops.

It's pretty obvious where the White House's priorities have been and it isn't the troops, turkey or no plastic turkey.