csua.org/u/b2s -> www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6947745/
Nightly News US contractors in Iraq allege abuses Four men say they witnessed shooting of unarmed civilians By Lisa Myers & the NBC investigative unit Updated: 7:43 pm ET Feb. In an exclusive interview, fou r former security contractors told NBC News that they watched as innocen t Iraqi civilians were fired upon, and one crushed by a truck. The contr actors worked for an American company paid by US taxpayers.
All went to Iraq months ago as private s ecurity contractors. They worked for an American company named Custer Battles, hired by the Pe ntagon to conduct dangerous missions guarding supply convoys. They were so upset by what they saw, three quit after only one or two missions. "What we saw, I know the American population wouldn't stand for," says Cr aun. They claim heavily armed security operators on Custer Battles' missions among them poorly trained young Kurds, who have historical resentments against other Iraqis terrorized civilians, shooting indiscriminately a s they ran for cover, smashing into and shooting up cars.
sighted down his AK-47 and started firing," says Colling. In another traffic jam, they claim a Ford 350 pickup truck smashed into, then rolled up and over the back of a small sedan full of Iraqis. "I could see two children sitting in the back seat of that car with their eyes looking up at the axle as it came down and pulverized the back." The men assume that in all three incidents the Iraqis were seriously hurt or killed. "It was chaos and carnage and destruction the whole day," says Craun. Two of the men Craun and Colling say they quit immediately. Craun, in an e-mail two days later to a friend at the Pentagon, wrote: "I didn't want any part of an organization that deliberately murders child ren and innocent civilians." Errante says he also quit after witnessing wild, indiscriminate shootings on two other missions. "I said I didn't want to be a witness to any of these, what could be clas sified as a war crime," says Errante. Once back in the US, Craun recipient of the Bronze Star took the al legations to Army criminal investigators. Custer Battles is a relatively new company in the booming field of so-called "private milita ry companies" in Iraq providing veteran soldiers from around the world f or various security jobs. Named for founders Michael Battles and Scott C uster, who are military veterans, the company quickly nabbed lucrative c ontracts in Iraq, where US authorities needed firms who were willing t o accept high-risk assignments. The company is already under criminal investigation for allegations of fr aud centering on the way it billed the government. Those allegations are also at the heart of a lawsuit by former associates. In September, the military banned the firm and its associates from obtaining new federal c ontracts or subcontracts. Custer Battles denies it committed any fraud, and says the company has be en the target of "baseless allegations" made by "disgruntled former empl oyees" and competitors. It has said it hopes that the government will ov erturn the suspension on new contracts. In any case, the ban didnt stop the company from fulfilling its old cont racts, such as the missions performed by Craun, Hough, Colling and Erran te. "These aren't insurgents that we're brutalizing," says Craun.
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