ForceReaper
04-19-2004, 03:02 AM
Violence in Iraq makes work difficult for contractors
By Laura Parker and Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
President Bush can order more troops to Iraq. But he can't do the same for the private contractors, whose role is critical to the U.S.-led effort to turn that country into a prosperous democracy.
The surge in killings and kidnappings aimed at private contractors is driving up costs and raising doubts even for firms that specialize in tough locales. "The old adage about war, that easy things are hard and hard things are impossible, that applies in Iraq," says Jack Stradley, managing director at Kroll, a worldwide security firm that preps companies for work in Iraq.
The violence means that projects take longer and cost more — much more. Experts say it can double the cost of a project. Convoys must be guarded. Insurance is required and expensive. Companies must buy flak vests and armored cars.
Iraqi labor is relatively cheap, often just a few dollars a day, so the $18 billion for reconstruction still can go far. But a firm that employs 1,000 Iraqi workers might spend hours daily getting them searched and cleared into a work site and then out at day's end.
"For a typical eight-hour day, they're getting three or four hours of work in," says Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, a trade group with member firms in Iraq.
Bob Band, president of Perini, which has multibillion-dollar contracts to rebuild power plants in southern Iraq, said convoy problems have slowed, but not stopped, work. Shipments from Kuwait are "about 80% of normal, which is adequate," he said.
Perini has worked in Angola, Pakistan, Haiti, Liberia and Nigeria, but Iraq is the most dangerous. "Our people are trained when there's any kind of issue going on to lay low, get out," Band said.
The violence has driven away some. Stephen Heering, who drove trucks for Halliburton in Iraq, returned home to Texas, saying it had become too risky. Heering barely escaped when his truck was blown out from under him.
Security workers, mostly former military, seem determined as ever. There's the money — some ads say up to $1,000 a day — and the mission.
Kirk Brown, 38, of Los Angeles will head for Iraq soon to secure a project south of Baghdad. Rebuilding Iraq "is the right step in getting that part of the world not to be so volatile," he says. "I feel strongly about going over there."
Former Marine John Autenreith, 35, of Houston was proudly ready to return this weekend. "With no children, no wife, I can get my tail over there and hope to do what's right for the country," he said. "There will always be people like myself who are willing to go."
But Stradley, also a retired Marine, says there's a limit. "No one has actually cut and run to my knowledge," he says, but at some point a client will say, "our fun-meter's pegged" and go home.
By Laura Parker and Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
President Bush can order more troops to Iraq. But he can't do the same for the private contractors, whose role is critical to the U.S.-led effort to turn that country into a prosperous democracy.
The surge in killings and kidnappings aimed at private contractors is driving up costs and raising doubts even for firms that specialize in tough locales. "The old adage about war, that easy things are hard and hard things are impossible, that applies in Iraq," says Jack Stradley, managing director at Kroll, a worldwide security firm that preps companies for work in Iraq.
The violence means that projects take longer and cost more — much more. Experts say it can double the cost of a project. Convoys must be guarded. Insurance is required and expensive. Companies must buy flak vests and armored cars.
Iraqi labor is relatively cheap, often just a few dollars a day, so the $18 billion for reconstruction still can go far. But a firm that employs 1,000 Iraqi workers might spend hours daily getting them searched and cleared into a work site and then out at day's end.
"For a typical eight-hour day, they're getting three or four hours of work in," says Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, a trade group with member firms in Iraq.
Bob Band, president of Perini, which has multibillion-dollar contracts to rebuild power plants in southern Iraq, said convoy problems have slowed, but not stopped, work. Shipments from Kuwait are "about 80% of normal, which is adequate," he said.
Perini has worked in Angola, Pakistan, Haiti, Liberia and Nigeria, but Iraq is the most dangerous. "Our people are trained when there's any kind of issue going on to lay low, get out," Band said.
The violence has driven away some. Stephen Heering, who drove trucks for Halliburton in Iraq, returned home to Texas, saying it had become too risky. Heering barely escaped when his truck was blown out from under him.
Security workers, mostly former military, seem determined as ever. There's the money — some ads say up to $1,000 a day — and the mission.
Kirk Brown, 38, of Los Angeles will head for Iraq soon to secure a project south of Baghdad. Rebuilding Iraq "is the right step in getting that part of the world not to be so volatile," he says. "I feel strongly about going over there."
Former Marine John Autenreith, 35, of Houston was proudly ready to return this weekend. "With no children, no wife, I can get my tail over there and hope to do what's right for the country," he said. "There will always be people like myself who are willing to go."
But Stradley, also a retired Marine, says there's a limit. "No one has actually cut and run to my knowledge," he says, but at some point a client will say, "our fun-meter's pegged" and go home.