Why ignoring the private security option in Darfur is a mistake.

Saving hundreds of thousands of lives in Darfur doesn’t require protests or divestment or U.S. troops. It requires only that we recognize that there is a commercial value to humanitarian security, and then pay to deploy private forces to the region. But the activist campaigns to “save Darfur” don’t seem to be ready to take this immediate step.

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Holiday notice:

17 August - 17 September 2007: Someone's got to have it!

Meet with the Iraq Government at the world's leading energy summit for Iraq

At the energy summit for Iraq on 2-4 Sep the best-in-breed operators and companies will be represented at board level in order to build the relationships that will be crucial to the future of the Iraqi energy sector and include the likes of Aegis, ArmorGroup, Janussian, Control Risks Group, Unity, Hart, Olive Security, GardaWorld and Triple Canopy.

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Over 1,000 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq so far

In response to a request from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., the Labor Department revealed that 1,001 civilian contractors had died in Iraq as of June 30, including 84 during the second quarter of the year. Those contractor fatalities are in addition to the 3,668 military personnel the Defense Department had confirmed dead in Iraq so far,

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House passes Defense bill

The House early Sunday approved a $460B defense spending bill that includes measures aimed at helping the department improve the way it contracts for goods and services. It also would withhold award fees payments to contractors who fail to abide by their contract terms and it would create minimum training requirements for security contractors.

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