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Dunn’s Civics > Feeding the Troops

Army Contractors

The Army Contractors behind the exploitation of Third Country Nationals in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sarah Stillman from the New Yorker: “The process of outsourcing begins at major government entities, notably the Pentagon, which awarded its most recent prime logistics contract (worth as much as fifteen billion dollars a year) to three U.S.-based private military behemoths:”

 Kellogg, Brown & Root  
(KBR, the former Halliburton subsidiary)

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 DynCorp International 

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 Fluor Corporation

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Who is behind the exploitation of Third Country Nationals in Iraq and Afghanistan?

It is not surprising that these three army contractors turn a blind eye to the exploitation of their subcontracted TCNs since they have appalling track records in many different areas. Here are just a few examples of abuses they have been accused of and for which they have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements:

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  •  Bribing local government officials
  •  Violating employee safety regulations
  •  Gang rape of female employees
  •  Human trafficking 
  •  Improper disposal of toxic waste
  •  Exposing military personnel in Iraq to contaminated food and water
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  •  Improper billing 
  •  Child sex slave trafficking
  •  Child prostitution
  •  Gang rape of prostitutes
  •  Gang rape of female employees
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  •  Improper billing 
  •  Employment discrimination
  •  Mistreatment of workers 
  •  Unsafe work practices
  •  Falsifying medical documents used to record injuries

Waste and Fraud

“The Commission estimates that waste and fraud together range from $31 billion to $60 billion. Given the often chaotic environment in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is a conservative estimate of the money that has been lost through contingency contracting. The Commission estimates that at the mid-range, waste and fraud during contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan averaged about $12 million every day for the past 10 years.” 

Read More >>

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What’s the difference between a Third-Country National, an Indentured Servant and a Slave?

If slavery is illegal in the States, why is it legal on US bases in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Compare this 21st century Pentagon - Army Contractor - Slave triangle with the slave triangle of the 18th and 19th centuries. See Black History/Middle Passage. 

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It is a nation built on the abolition of slavery, but there are at least 40,000 slaves in the US today. In the opening episode of Slavery: A 21st Century Evil, Al Jazeera's Rageh Omaar investigates food chain slavery in the US.