Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 8. August 2005 / Timeline August 8, 2005
Version 3.57. August 2005, 9. August 2005
08/08/2005
National Security Watch: The hidden casualties in Iraq
By Kevin Whitelaw
- http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050808/8natsec.htm
This past week was a particularly bloody one for U.S. soldiers in
Iraq. But the conflict has also been deadly for the armies of
private contractors who support the U.S. military effort--and
Iraq's stalled reconstruction work. It has been difficult, however,
to assess the civilian toll. While the U.S. military keeps a
running tally of military (and Pentagon civilian) casualties, few
official statistics have been available on contractors.
Now, in a report the Pentagon submitted to Congress earlier this
year, some partial figures have been released. From May 2003
through October 2004, U.S. authorities recorded at least 1,171
contractor casualties, including 166 contractors who were killed.
Of the dead, 64 were Americans (out of a total of 175 U.S.
contractor casualties). In the same period, more than 220 U.S.
soldiers were killed out of a total of nearly 1,500 casualties. The
Pentagon acknowledges the figures may not be complete because
officials have not been tracking contractor casualties
systematically. The figures also do not cover the most violent part
of the war. The violence has worsened over the past year as the
insurgency has grown increasingly persistent.
08/08/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
General Atomics Aeronautical System, San Diego, Calif., is being
awarded a $214,409,789 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for
research, development, test and evaluation of the Extended Range
Multi Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system. One hundred twenty
bids were solicited on Sept. 1, 2004, and three bids were received.
Work will be performed at facilities in six locations -- San Diego,
Adelanto and Palmdale, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Hunt Valley,
Md.; and Huntsville, Ala. - and is estimated to be completed by
Aug. 31, 2009. (The System Development and Demonstration phase of
the program is anticipated to take two years. The selected ERMP UAV
System is named "Warrior" and leverages technologies from its
predecessor, "Predator.") The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile
Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Their public affairs office can be reached at (256) 955-9174.
(W58RGZ-05-C-0069)
 |
 |