Ammo Dump Explosion Camp Falcon - I spoke to the wife of Halliburton worker

[Mortos]

She is very upset. I was put in touch with her through my sister (our kids go to the same school) and after the attack she asked my sister what to do. Since I had been in Iraq working for the evil empire, she contacted me. I told her to go through the American Red Cross as we had been told during the processing in Houston. She tried but they basically told her they could do nothing unless he was missing for two weeks.

The KBR worker contacted his wife and told her everything at the camp had been destroyed including all of his personal possessions and passport. He was supposed to be home already for R&R but he is stuck in Baghdad with no passport and not much help from KBR.

When I spoke to the woman today, she was in tears. She said that he is at Camp Liberty in Bagdad and has been made to make two trips to downtown Baghdad (in a military convoy) to get his passport but both times has returned empty handed.

She said he went to the contact person at KBR and was told his passport application is still sitting on a desk, 8 days later.

I asked the woman if anyone was hurt in the explosion and she said her husband didn't think so other than minor injuries. She said that was civilians and didn't know about military casualties.

The funny thing is that Halliburton actually has a passport office on the grounds of it's Houston corporate office and they can get passports in a matter of days. I would assume they keep copies of all paperwork used in the process and would be able to assist employees in this situation.

According the this lady, they aren't. They have not helped her and they are not helping her husband who is basically trapped in Baghdad.

I will tell my tales of working for KBR in the future and I know some people here may attack me for it but many of the people working over there are doing it to support their families, pay off debt and do something for the troops. I met many Democrats and liberals there who wanted to experience what is going on there firsthand. Not everyone there is some sort of right wing war profiteer.

KBR is profiting handsomely from the work done by the civilians there. The individual workers are not getting rich and alot of them have died or been seriously injured.

Anyway, I will try to update DU as more information becomes available.

[Howardx]

1. maybe they want to keep him from talking about it

once he gets home

[MADem]

2. Is her husband not a US citizen? Something's not right there

He should be able to do the passport thing without having to go "downtown."

Even if an ammo dump explodes all the ordnance contained in it, if the explosive arcs are adhered to (this has been discussed on this board in other threads--there are strict written rules about how ammo can be stored and how much clearance must be allowed in case of accidental or deliberate explosions) there won't be anyone nearby, save people guarding the perimeter, or if people happen to be loading or offloading ordnance when the attack happens.

Ammo storage facilities are not beehives of activity, with people wandering hither and yon, and no barracks or offices are placed close to them, simply because they CAN blow up.

[Mortos]

The explosions were so large they wiped out everything

for several miles including, according to this woman, her husbands civilian living quarters (usually small trailers or tents) burned up everything he kept there.

He is a U.S. citizen. I don't know if she got everything right but it sounds right to me from my experience there.

The camp I was at had a 500,000 gallon fuel bag farm set up within the perimeter of the 80 acre camp. If it was ever hit, it would be catastrophic.

[MADem]

12. They're not following EOD regs, then. Incredibly stupid of them!

And it's not like they can't grab the land--isn't Camp Liberty the old Camp Victory North, near where Saddam's had his huge private hunting reserve? Sounds like they didn't plan too well when figuring out where they were gonna stow their ordnance...but this whole evolution has been a series of one piss poor plan after another!!!

[hlthe2b]

3. Someone posted this am that Seymore Hirsch was looking into

the ammo depot story (overseas media reporting 100s killed and injured). If your friend is "being kept" there for some reason (i.e., perhaps to avoid there being lots of returnees talking to US press before the election), perhaps this is info your friend's wife should try to convey to him...

[TheWraith]

14. "Overseas media" makes it sound credible. It's not.

Those reports come from Jihad Unspun, Mafkarat Al-Islam, and a bunch of conspiracy theorist websites that picked it up from them. These sites are demonstrably unreliable.

[hlthe2b]

19. ...which is why it is note worthy to have a reputable journalist like

Sy Hirsch look into it.... I offered no conclusion, nor interpretation of the overseas media reports... It just seems strange that such a very large story, just died with no explanation nor follow up. We certainly have not found our own MSM (and certainly not the Pentagon nor administration) to be "reliable."

[Rex]

4. This fits into a new way to control US citizens thanks to the MCA

and the NSA. If an American citizen loses his/her passport in a foreign land they are persona non grata. The Unitary Branch can now decide how to abuse their new powers on citizens trying to get back into the country. Especially ones that lose their passport or ID.

[Mortos]

5. I told her to contact her senator or congressman

but all of ours are Bush supporting right wing repubs. I don't know if that would be much help.

Maybe the media.

[Rex]

10. Well hopefully she can get her husband back without too much

red tape. These new laws (until challenged in court) are horrible. I wish her luck!

[Imagevision]

6. KBR, well,get back to work until we can get a copy of your passport...

[izzie]

7. Getting a passport is most likely one H---- of a job now.

Nothing seems to work any more any how.

[Ian David]

8. I watched the tearful testimony of Halliburton employees on C-SPAN...

as they lamented delivering fecal-contaminated water to the troops.

I saw as they cried over the unfairness of going there to help the troops, and instead being forced to rip them off, endanger them, and poison them.

I know that many of them, like you, are there for the right reasons.

Thank you for your service and for keeping us posted.

[Ian David]

9. Uhm... what about the Depleted Uranium shells? n/t

[TheWraith]

15. What about them?

The explosions were reportedly centered on a series of containers which primarily held tank shells, so it's possible that there might have been depleted uranium-tipped shells involved, though I doubt anybody but the quartermaster would know for certain.

[Ian David]

16. I imagine that hundreds of exploding DU shells would be especially bad. n/t

[sandnsea]

11. Thank you

It sounds very bad, with a lot of injuries. I still say the story of 300 deaths got confused because it really is true that casualties don't always mean deaths. In any event, I think the media is covering this up because it would embarrass the White House on Iraq even more, not because they're trying to hide deaths. I think if we lost 300 people, civilian or troops, the media would report it. I hope everything works out okay for your friends.

[Ian David]

17. In the absence of real reporting by the MSM, a vacuum has been created.

Into that vacuum, we can find people willing to believe almost any outlandish thing.

This report by the OP sounds credible, by the way.

In any case, there is an obvious cover-up, and that implies something particularly bad has happened.

The media needs to do its job, stand-up to the government, and tell us just how bad it is.

At worst, it will hurt the Repukes at the ballot box.

At best, it will do away with some of the more extreme rumors on the internets.

But in no way will telling us the truth help the insurgents.

I'd bet the insurgents know more about what happened there than anyone in the media does.

[brokensymmetry]

13. Thank you for the report.

I'll look forward to more real-life information...

[mb7588a]

18. contact your senator or congressman

They're good at getting help for people in this kind of situation. Because, if they don't get help for you, you can write a nice and rude letter to the editor!

[Tin Man]

20. Yep, prepared to get yourself beat-up a bit for your employment history

Had a big discussion here some days ago about American contractors killed in Iraq. A few of the posters couldn't seem to comprehend there might actually be some good people working in Iraq - claimed they were all "mercs" or "war profiteers" and went so far as to say they "deserved what they got". Needless to say, it made me pretty sick to read that kind of rubbish on a liberal website.

But odds are that most of these same ranters won't have the balls to directly confront someone who would burst their "omniscient" insight. Looking forward to reading more of your reports and will back you if/when any of the shitbirds actually pipe-up.

- the Tin Man

[Howardx]

21. got a link to that?

i missed that

[Tin Man]

22. link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Howardx]

23. thanks

n/t

[nomatrix]

25. Shadow Company the movie

"The film takes a thorough and balanced look at the use of private security forces in Iraq and raises serious policy questions,"
- U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

http://www.shadowcompanythemovie.com /

"In the late 20th Century the distinction between soldier and mercenary became blurred. The recent use of private military companies (PMC) in Iraq has been more extensive (and more high profile) than at any time in modern history. The issues raised by the brutal killing of four PMC staff in Fallujah in April 2004 and the subsequent reaction of the general public and the US Army make it clear that these “contractors” are not merely workers in a foreign land. James Ashcroft, a 28 year-old employee of a large PMC currently under contract in Iraq, is our guide to this world. James’s job differs little from his colleagues in the Coalition Forces -- there are many similarities in loyalty, honor, code of ethics, chain of command and operational conduct—but James’s salary, for one thing, tops that of a US soldier three times over. Through letters, photos and personal video, James provides an intimate introduction into his life as a modern day “soldier for hire”.

To counterpoint James’ personal views – directors Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque traveled the globe, interviewing PMC staff, owners and lobbyists, former mercenaries, academics, journalists and top authors. They complimented these interviews with pop culture representations of mercenaries culled from TV shows, video games and, of course, action adventure films. As a result, Shadow Company contextualizes, at both a personal and a global level, the role of private soldiers and PMCs in modern day conflicts. The film explores the moral and ethical issues “private military” solutions create for Western governments and the United Nations and addresses the risks of allowing profit-motivated corporations into the business of war."


I think that the public knows very little about this.
It is worth the time to find out more about it because not only is it the conflict of today, but could be the police of tomorrow.

Those with the most money to hire mercenaries (globally) are willing to spend $$$$ to get what they want.

[Mortos]

24. Thanks

I have held back telling my story exactly for that reason.

[stephinrome]

26. Forgive me, but...

...I think you should tell your story for that very reason. A lot to ask of you, I know, but I think it would be very helpful.

And many of us will be here to support you.

Steph