We hear the story of Americans who signed on as truck drivers and were ambushed by insurgents after being sent out without an escort into an area that was hostile. Again, we meet these men and their families, and hear their stories of the attack. What we learn from them is that under the corporate model they are expendable, and one describes the initials KBR as Kill, Bury, and Replace.
It’s understandable that they did not expect to be in the middle of a war. They went to Iraq to work on the reconstruction effort, and to make several times what they could make in the States, all tax free as well. Their naivete is engaging, yet the film also brings out the fact that American contractors can resign their positions at any time, unlike the Third Country Nationals who are obligated for two years.
This segment also brings to reality the cost plus provisions of these contracts, and how equipment is routinely destroyed rather than repaired because the more the company spends, the more profit they make. In other words, because KBR and, perhaps, other contractors are paid a percentage based on expenditures, there is a concerted effort to run up the costs. One example involved the leasing of vehicles for $7,000 a month for 36 months resulting in a cost to the taxpayer of $252,000 for a truck that could be bought outright for approximately $45,000.
"Don’t drink the water." — Advice to the turistas
One of the more disturbing aspects of the film is presented by Ben Carter, a water purification expert who testified before Congress that of 67 plants operated by KBR, 63 delivered to our troops water that was not chlorinated and contained blood-borne pathogens like typhus, malaria, cryptosporidium, and others. While the primary use was for bathing and toilets, the possibility of infection and chronic illness exists.
KBR also operated laundries that reportedly charge as much as $99 for one bag of clothes, and chow halls where the lines were an hour long. Worse, meals were provided at designated times, allowing the insurgents to target the facilities when they were full of soldiers, rather than operating on a 24-hour schedule so the troops would not be present en masse.
"It's like déja vu, all over again." — Yogi Berra
Obviously a good portion of this documentary revisits the exposés already headlined in the news, and how much of this has changed is not known. But the overall presentation paints a picture that is antithetical to our values as Americans. Private contractors apparently answer to no one in the performance of their duties, and yet, to the Iraqis they represent America. Combined with the failure of Congress to provide oversight and exert fiscal and moral constraints, it’s safe to say our interests are secondary to what Dwight Eisenhower termed the military industrial complex.
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