A Well Paid Enemy

Ian Chalmers a 26 year old Belfast man who was working for a private security company in the Al-kut area was fatally injured by a roadside bomb . The former soldier was working for the Aegis firm, they offer protection of civilians and soldiers travelling in Iraq.

There are up to 20,000 security contractors in Iraq. The thing about security for contractors is that individuals traveling are probably at more risk of attack than convoys because a lot of the big the contractors pay the insurgents protection money not to hit their trucks. I've always said that Iraq was like Northern Ireland on speed, more violence at a more constant rate but the same old crap that's happened in N.I. over the last 30 odd years.

Contractors allow extra from the US government and mark it doon as security issues so the government think they are hiring a firm but in reality they are paying off the insurgents not to attack their lorrys. There can be several groups that need paid off on one stretch of road, you pay one lot then move doon a few miles and pay off another group, it really cuts into the profit margin once everyone is paid off.