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<channel><title><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com - ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2007/06/15/LI2007061501702.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><description><![CDATA[]]></description><language>en-us</language><ttl>15</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com?nav=rss</link><url>http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif </url></image>
<item><title><![CDATA[ For Missing Guards' Kin, An Agonizing Conclusion ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032902318.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032902318.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BLOOMINGTON, Minn., March 29 -- Relatives of five private security contractors abducted in Iraq gathered at the Comfort Inn near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this weekend. Their 16-month nightmare had reached an excruciating and prolonged conclusion that began with the delivery of five fingers to U.S. authorities last month and continued late Saturday with the identification of another victim. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[For]]></category><category><![CDATA[Missing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guards']]></category><category><![CDATA[Kin,]]></category><category><![CDATA[An]]></category><category><![CDATA[Agonizing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Conclusion]]></category><category><![CDATA[John Young]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sharon DeBrabander]]></category><category><![CDATA[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Basra]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lori Silveri]]></category><category><![CDATA[Minneapolis]]></category><category><![CDATA[Paul Reuben]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mark Munns]]></category><category><![CDATA[Choice Hotels International Inc.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Richard Kolko]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ronald J. Withrow]]></category><category><![CDATA[Jonathon Cote]]></category><category><![CDATA[Keri Johnson-Reuben]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lloyd's of London]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Washington Post Company]]></category><category><![CDATA[Julie Tate]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kansas City]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kuwait City]]></category><category><![CDATA[Las Vegas]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lee's Summit]]></category><category><![CDATA[Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport]]></category><category><![CDATA[Paul Chapman]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Pentagon]]></category><category><![CDATA[Austria]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Police Service]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Armed Forces]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Army]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of State]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bert Nussbaumer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Francis Cote]]></category><category><![CDATA[Franz Nussbaumer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Jon Cote]]></category><category><![CDATA[Joshua Munns]]></category><category><![CDATA[Paul Johnson-Reuben]]></category><category><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Authorities Identify Remains Of Two American Contractors ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032401571.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032401571.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ U.S. authorities have recovered the remains of two American contractors, the latest grim development in one of the longest-running hostage dramas of the Iraq war. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Authorities]]></category><category><![CDATA[Identify]]></category><category><![CDATA[Remains]]></category><category><![CDATA[Of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Two]]></category><category><![CDATA[American]]></category><category><![CDATA[Contractors]]></category><category><![CDATA[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[John R. Young]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sharon DeBrabander]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[Francis Cote]]></category><category><![CDATA[California]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad Green Zone]]></category><category><![CDATA[Basra]]></category><category><![CDATA[Burt Nussbaumer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Franco Picco]]></category><category><![CDATA[Getzville]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kansas City]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kuwait City]]></category><category><![CDATA[Las Vegas]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lee's Summit]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mark Munns]]></category><category><![CDATA[Minneapolis]]></category><category><![CDATA[Patrick Reuben]]></category><category><![CDATA[Redding]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ronald J. Withrow]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Pentagon]]></category><category><![CDATA[Austria]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Police Service]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Army]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Five Severed Fingers Identified as Belonging To Guards Held in Iraq ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031203793.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031203793.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ U.S. authorities are in possession of five severed fingers, four of which belong to private security contractors who were abducted in Iraq nearly 16 months ago and remain missing, according to law enforcement sources close to the investigation. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Five]]></category><category><![CDATA[Severed]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fingers]]></category><category><![CDATA[Identified]]></category><category><![CDATA[as]]></category><category><![CDATA[Belonging]]></category><category><![CDATA[To]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guards]]></category><category><![CDATA[Held]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[Joshua Munns]]></category><category><![CDATA[Jackie Stewart]]></category><category><![CDATA[Patrick Reuben]]></category><category><![CDATA[Minnesota]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bert Nussbaumer]]></category><category><![CDATA[John Young]]></category><category><![CDATA[Jonathon Cote]]></category><category><![CDATA[Richard Kolko]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ronald J. Withrow]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category><category><![CDATA[California]]></category><category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category><category><![CDATA[Redding]]></category><category><![CDATA[Vienna]]></category><category><![CDATA[Austria]]></category><category><![CDATA[Basra]]></category><category><![CDATA[Franco Picco]]></category><category><![CDATA[Getzville]]></category><category><![CDATA[Julie Tate]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lee's Summit]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lubbock]]></category><category><![CDATA[Paul Reuben]]></category><category><![CDATA[Quantico]]></category><category><![CDATA[Richfield]]></category><category><![CDATA[Seattle]]></category><category><![CDATA[Office of Victim Assistance]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Marine Corps]]></category><category><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Warnings Unheeded On Guards In Iraq ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/23/AR2007122302442.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/23/AR2007122302442.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or oversight, according to government officials, private security firms and documents.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014905698" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014905698" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category><category><![CDATA[Unheeded]]></category><category><![CDATA[On]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guards]]></category><category><![CDATA[In]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Iraqis Detail Shooting by Guard Firm ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/25/AR2007112501591.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/25/AR2007112501591.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD -- Guards employed by Unity Resources Group, a security company responsible for the shooting deaths of two Iraqi women here Oct. 9, had shot and seriously wounded a man driving a van 3 1/2 months earlier on the same Baghdad thoroughfare, according to four witnesses. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Iraqis]]></category><category><![CDATA[Detail]]></category><category><![CDATA[Shooting]]></category><category><![CDATA[by]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guard]]></category><category><![CDATA[Firm]]></category><category><![CDATA[Karrada]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Amir Thamir]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States Agency for International Development]]></category><category><![CDATA[Patrick Gibbons]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad Green Zone]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ronald W. Johnson]]></category><category><![CDATA[Tahir Sia]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blackwater Worldwide]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Defense]]></category><category><![CDATA[Willard E. Marsden Jr.]]></category><category><![CDATA[National Democratic Institute for International Affairs]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Armed Forces]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of State]]></category><category><![CDATA[Dubai]]></category><category><![CDATA[North Carolina]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ohio]]></category><category><![CDATA[Oldsmobile Motor Company]]></category><category><![CDATA[RTI International Metals Inc.]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Washington Post Company]]></category><category><![CDATA[Toyota Motor Corporation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Interior Ministry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Julie Tate]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kent Lightner]]></category><category><![CDATA[L. Paul Bremer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Max Rockatansky]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mirembe Nantongo]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reconstruction Operations Center]]></category><category><![CDATA[Saad al-Izzi]]></category><category><![CDATA[Singapore]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Embassy in Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Victor Beck]]></category><category><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Grand Jury to Probe Shootings by Guards ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/19/AR2007111901942.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/19/AR2007111901942.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Federal authorities have convened a grand jury to investigate multiple shootings involving private security contractors in Iraq, including a Sept. 16 incident in which guards for Blackwater Worldwide killed 17 civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle, according to sources familiar with the investigation. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru and Carol D. Leonnig]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Grand]]></category><category><![CDATA[Jury]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Probe]]></category><category><![CDATA[Shootings]]></category><category><![CDATA[by]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guards]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of State]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blackwater Worldwide]]></category><category><![CDATA[Triple Canopy Inc.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[Anne E. Tyrrell]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nisoor Square]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Armed Forces]]></category><category><![CDATA[ABC Inc.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Alexandria]]></category><category><![CDATA[Patricia A. Smith]]></category><category><![CDATA[Spencer S. Hsu]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Defense]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Justice]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Marine Corps]]></category><category><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ How Blackwater Sniper Fire Felled 3 Iraqi Guards ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/07/AR2007110702751.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/07/AR2007110702751.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD -- Last Feb. 7, a sniper employed by Blackwater USA, the private security company, opened fire from the roof of the Iraqi Justice Ministry. The bullet tore through the head of a 23-year-old guard for the state-funded Iraqi Media Network, who was standing on a balcony across an open traffic circle. Another guard rushed to his colleague's side and was fatally shot in the neck. A third guard was found dead more than an hour later on the same balcony. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[How]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blackwater]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sniper]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fire]]></category><category><![CDATA[Felled]]></category><category><![CDATA[3]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guards]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nabras Mohammed Hadi]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blackwater USA]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of State]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mohammed Adel Ali]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sabah Salman]]></category><category><![CDATA[Al-Iraqiya TV]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mohammed Jasim]]></category><category><![CDATA[Thair Salaam]]></category><category><![CDATA[Adel Saadi]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad Green Zone]]></category><category><![CDATA[Faisal Rahdi]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hussein Abdul Hassan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Abu Sajad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Anne E. Tyrrell]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nadim Salim]]></category><category><![CDATA[AK-47 Assault Rifle]]></category><category><![CDATA[AM General Humvee]]></category><category><![CDATA[Abbas A. Salim]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ahmed Thamir Abood]]></category><category><![CDATA[Azhar Abdullah al-Maliki]]></category><category><![CDATA[British Broadcasting Corporation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Faisal Circle]]></category><category><![CDATA[Julie Tate]]></category><category><![CDATA[L. Paul Bremer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Naseer Nouri]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nisoor Square]]></category><category><![CDATA[Richard Griffin]]></category><category><![CDATA[Saddam Hussein]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sadr City]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bureau of Diplomatic Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Interior Ministry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Ministry of Justice]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Police Service]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Armed Forces]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform]]></category><category><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Blackwater Faced Bedlam, Embassy Finds ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092702498.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092702498.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The initial U.S. Embassy report on a Sept. 16 shooting incident in Baghdad involving Blackwater USA, a private security firm, depicts an afternoon of mayhem that included a car bomb, a shootout in a crowded traffic circle and an armed standoff between Blackwater guards and Iraqi security forces before the U.S. military intervened.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014906194" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014906194" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru and Sudarsan Raghavan]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Blackwater]]></category><category><![CDATA[Faced]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bedlam,]]></category><category><![CDATA[Embassy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Finds]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad Green Zone]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Police Service]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[United States]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Armed Forces]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of State]]></category><category><![CDATA[California]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blackwater USA]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Washington Post Company]]></category><category><![CDATA[El Cerrito]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Armed Forces]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi Interior Ministry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Julie Tate]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. Army]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S. State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ U.S. Repeatedly Rebuffed Iraq on Blackwater Complaints ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201424.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201424.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD, Sept. 22 -- Senior Iraqi officials repeatedly complained to U.S. officials about Blackwater USA's alleged involvement in the deaths of numerous Iraqis, but the Americans took little action to regulate the private security firm until 11 Iraqis were shot dead last Sunday, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Sudarsan Raghavan and Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Repeatedly]]></category><category><![CDATA[Rebuffed]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blackwater]]></category><category><![CDATA[Complaints]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Where Military Rules Don't Apply  ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091902503.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091902503.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Blackwater USA, the private security company involved in a Baghdad shootout last weekend, operated under State Department authority that exempted the company from U.S. military regulations governing other security firms, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials and industry representatives. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Where]]></category><category><![CDATA[Military]]></category><category><![CDATA[Rules]]></category><category><![CDATA[Don't]]></category><category><![CDATA[Apply]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Cutting Costs, Bending Rules, And a Trail of Broken Lives ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/28/AR2007072801407.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/28/AR2007072801407.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD -- The convoy was ambushed in broad daylight last Nov. 16, dozens of armed men swarming over 37 tractor-trailers stretching for more than a mile on southern Iraq's main highway. The attackers seized four Americans and an Austrian employed by Crescent Security Group, a small private security firm. Then they fled. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Cutting]]></category><category><![CDATA[Costs,]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bending]]></category><category><![CDATA[Rules,]]></category><category><![CDATA[And]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Trail]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Broken]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lives]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ In Iraq, a Private Realm Of Intelligence-Gathering ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/30/AR2007063001075.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/30/AR2007063001075.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD -- On the first floor of a tan building inside Baghdad's Green Zone, the full scope of Iraq's daily carnage is condensed into a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014906638" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014906638" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru  and Alec Klein]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[In]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq,]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Private]]></category><category><![CDATA[Realm]]></category><category><![CDATA[Of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Intelligence-Gathering]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Iraq Contractors Face Growing Parallel War ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061502602.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061502602.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD -- Private security companies, funded by billions of dollars in U.S. military and State Department contracts, are fighting insurgents on a widening scale in Iraq, enduring daily attacks, returning fire and taking hundreds of casualties that have been underreported and sometimes concealed, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials and company representatives. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Contractors]]></category><category><![CDATA[Face]]></category><category><![CDATA[Growing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Parallel]]></category><category><![CDATA[War]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Contractor Says Army Unfairly Closed Bidding ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060602196.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060602196.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ A British firm said the U.S. military improperly excluded it from bidding on the largest security contract in Iraq, blaming the U.S. government for what it calls an "arbitrary and capricious" decision that could cause "harm to U.S. policy and goodwill" in Iraq, according to newly released court documents. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Alec Klein and Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Contractor]]></category><category><![CDATA[Says]]></category><category><![CDATA[Army]]></category><category><![CDATA[Unfairly]]></category><category><![CDATA[Closed]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bidding]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Judge Halts Award Of Iraq Contract ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102261.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102261.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ A federal judge yesterday ordered the military to temporarily refrain from awarding the largest security contract in Iraq. The order followed an unusual series of events set off when a U.S. Army veteran filed a protest against the government practice of hiring what he calls mercenaries, according to sources familiar with the matter. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Alec Klein  and Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Judge]]></category><category><![CDATA[Halts]]></category><category><![CDATA[Award]]></category><category><![CDATA[Of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Contract]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ U.S. Security Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/26/AR2007052601394.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/26/AR2007052601394.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 27 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week, and one of the incidents provoked a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014906821" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014906821" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru and Saad al-Izzi]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[Contractors]]></category><category><![CDATA[Open]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fire]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Second British Firm Bids for Iraq Security Contract ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/11/AR2007051102086.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/11/AR2007051102086.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The British company ArmorGroup International has emerged as one of the bidders for what is believed to be the largest U.S. security contract in Iraq, posing a challenge to another British firm that currently holds the job and is vying for the new contract, according to sources familiar with the matter. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Alec Klein  and Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Second]]></category><category><![CDATA[British]]></category><category><![CDATA[Firm]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bids]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[Contract]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Firms Protest Exclusion From Iraq Security Bid ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402113.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402113.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sat, 05 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Two private security contractors have lodged formal protests against the Army, claiming they have been unfairly excluded from competing for one of the largest security jobs in Iraq, according to government documents and sources familiar with the matter. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Alec Klein and Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Firms]]></category><category><![CDATA[Protest]]></category><category><![CDATA[Exclusion]]></category><category><![CDATA[From]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bid]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Abduction of Americans Reflects Fraying Security in Iraqi South ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111700261.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111700261.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD, Nov. 17 -- It was a routine trip, along the same stretch of highway the contractors of Crescent Security Group drove nearly every day. As their convoy neared the Iraqi police checkpoint outside the border town of Safwan on Thursday afternoon, everything seemed normal, according to accounts later provided to company officials by men who participated in the convoy. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Sudarsan Raghavan  and Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Abduction]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Americans]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reflects]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fraying]]></category><category><![CDATA[Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi]]></category><category><![CDATA[South]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ U.S. Soldier Gets 25 Years In Murder of Iraqi Guard ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/09/26/AR2005040209323.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/09/26/AR2005040209323.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 26 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD, Sept. 25 -- A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of an Iraqi National Guardsman in May, the U.S. military said Saturday. <br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014907577" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/world/mideast/iraq;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=143014907577" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Soldier]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gets]]></category><category><![CDATA[25]]></category><category><![CDATA[Years]]></category><category><![CDATA[In]]></category><category><![CDATA[Murder]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraqi]]></category><category><![CDATA[Guard]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Militants Behead Kurdish Hostages ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/09/20/AR2005040209231.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/09/20/AR2005040209231.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 -- A militant group beheaded three Iraqi Kurdish hostages, showing the killings in a videotape posted on a Web site on Sunday, while another group announced that it had kidnapped at least 15 Iraqi National Guardsmen. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[Militants]]></category><category><![CDATA[Behead]]></category><category><![CDATA[Kurdish]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hostages]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ 2 Soldiers Among 21 Killed in Iraq Blasts ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/09/19/AR2005040209225.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/09/19/AR2005040209225.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq</guid><pubDate>Sun, 19 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  BAGHDAD, Sept. 18 -- Insurgents killed 19 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers Saturday in bombings across Baghdad and in northern Iraq, and kidnappers threatened to kill two Americans and a Briton within 48 hours if their demand was not met.  ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Fainaru]]></dc:creator><category><![CDATA[2]]></category><category><![CDATA[Soldiers]]></category><category><![CDATA[Among]]></category><category><![CDATA[21]]></category><category><![CDATA[Killed]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Blasts]]></category><category><![CDATA[]]></category></item>
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