Security contractors have received huge sums of money from the U.S. government for their work in Iraq. more >>

Although Obama hadn't been a fan he was overheard praising them. more >>

President Bush's pick to take the place of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general was sworn in today. Michael Mukasey, a former federal judge, was narrowly confirmed by the Senate last week, 53 to 40. Democratic senators were concerned that Mukasey declined to define as torture an interrogation technique known as waterboarding. more >>

The State Department is tightening its oversight of private security contractors operating in Iraq after an official panel found significant shortcomings in the department's operations of the security program. The panel, led by Patrick Kennedy, a senior State Department official, made 19 recommendations to improve the operations and monitoring of security convoys in the wake of the deadly incident last month in which guards working for Blackwater USA under a State Department contract were involved in a deadly shooting in downtown Baghdad, killing 17 Iraqi civilians. more >>

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There's something fundamentally wrong when a private contractor makes 10 or more times as much as a regular soldier. more >>

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