Two contractors are now under criminal investigation for failing to obtain required insurance but charging for it anyway, according to the Associated Press. There may be many more soon to bear the same scrutiny:

The investigation of two companies located in Tikrit -- Sakar al-Fahal and al-Jubori -- led the Army Corps of Engineers to scour its records for evidence of fraud by other contractors hired with billions of U.S. dollars to help rebuild Iraqi infrastructure devastated by the war, the documents reveal.

Under federal law, all contractors doing work overseas for U.S. government agencies are required to insure their civilian employees, many of whom are handling dangerous jobs in hostile areas. The medical and disability insurance is called Defense Base Act coverage, a reference to the federal law mandating it. The State Department and US AID have their own in-house program, but other contractors must go to much more expensive private insurers.

According to the General Accountability Office, Defense contractors were paying up to $21 in workers' compensation premiums for each $100 in workers' salary, compared with as little as $2 in insurance costs for contractors employed by the State Department. The contractors' insurance premiums are borne by the government, which also pays the workers' claims if an injury or death is directly caused by a "war-risk hazard."

That has spawned a long, festering multi-billion-dollar problem and it has grown like a tumor in Iraq where contractors equal the numbers of US troops. As USA Today reported three years ago:

The Defense Department wants to overhaul a controversial $5.5 billion workers' compensation insurance program for its civilian contractors overseas after discovering that it is paying up to 10 times more for the insurance than other government agencies while leaving taxpayers exposed to large uncovered claims.

"The Department of State's actual policies not only contradicted the anti-corruption mission but indirectly contributed to and has allowed corruption to fester at the highest levels of the Iraqi government," said Arthur Brennan, who served as director of the State Department's Office of Accountability and Transparency at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Delivering his statement to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, the long-time Republican and former New Hampshire judge added:

"The embassy effort against corruption, including its new centerpiece, the now defunct Office of Accountability and Transparency, was little more than 'window dressing."

Even more curious is the predicament of Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, the former head of the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity, who testified before Congress about rampant corruption in Iraq. The Iraqi Judge said that nearly four dozen of his staff members were killed while working for him. Radhi is now seeking asylum, but apparently, the State Department has been dragging its feet.

Notes TPMMuckraker:

One of the former officials testified that "a senior State Department official had ordered agency employees not to give al Radhi references or contact him" for help with his asylum.

The State Department has just renewed its contract to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq for at least another year. Threats by the Iraqi government to strip Western contractors of their immunity from Iraqi law have gone nowhere. No charges have been brought in the United States against any Blackwater guard in the September shooting, either, and the F.B.I. agents in Baghdad charged with investigating whether Blackwater guards have committed any crimes under United States law are sometimes protected as they travel through Baghdad by Blackwater guards.

So reports The New York Times.

It is also all too probable, unfortunately, that the men whom they accused of demanding sex in return for pay rises and promotion behaved as men in similar circumstances have behaved before -- boorishly, aggressively and confident that they would not be found out.

Havens have been a long cherished business practice by US-funded contractors.

Farah Stockman with The Boston Globe again began fanning the flames on the use of tax havens last month, triggering the attention of Henry Waxman's oversight congressional committee: Top Iraq contractor skirts US taxes offshore.

She followed up last week with Shell firms shielded US contractor from taxes.

The story first surfaced here: Subcontractors Hit Halliburton with Multiple Lawsuits

"This is a remarkable accomplishment for our company and for the thousands of individuals whose hard work has made it possible. We are proud of our record of achievement in Iraq and regard the completion of the new U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad as an absolute success."

Despite his assurances last summer that the sprawling 104-acre Baghdad embassy complex would open on schedule and on budget in September, the project is likely to be extended well into next year. (The original completion date was intended to be June 2007.)

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Williams, head of the State Department's Overseas Building Operations is the third high-level State Department official to step down amid serious problems related to the U.S. State Department's Iraq mission. Earlier this month, the department’s inspector general also announced his resignation after being barraged with allegations that he covered up and ignored complaints related to the Iraq embassy and other matters. The head of diplomatic security resigned in October following growing concern over the private security firm, Blackwater.

Ongoing criminal investigations of the Iraq embassy project by the US Justice Department and Congress continue to focus on allegations of contract rigging, shoddy work and labor trafficking. The embassy contractor is Lebanese-owned, Kuwait-based First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting.

The Associated Press notes:

First Kuwaiti has been accused of tricking foreign laborers into working on the embassy, mistreating them and paying $200,000 in kickbacks in return for two unrelated Army contracts in Iraq. The company denies the charges.

Project creep: The Baghdad embassy originally was to cost $592 million. But the State Department informed Congress this year that design changes and new requirements would cost an additional $144 million. Some believe those revisions will be used to repair and cover up poor work already completed. Interestingly, when the Bush administration first proposed the project, Congress rejected the suggested billion-dollar-plus price tag and trimmed the appropriations request back to $600 million. That cost seems to be creeping back upward through the backdoor.

Ancient people of northern climes rarely opened their window shutters and doors during the dark, chilly depths of winter.

Coop up an extended family of a dozen or so into a small house with little soap and then add in a few dogs and livestock that you don't want to freeze to death. What do you get? A household that probably started smelling awfully ripe around the end of December.

Solution: Air Freshener. A young evergreen tree running flush with fragrant, tangy sap smells wonderfully green....

Opinions vary: on the origin of the Christmas tree, but most concede that dragging trees and boughs into the home long predates Christianity. Some say it was an early Egyptian and Middle Eastern tradition. Others credit the Romans. Most are certain Northern Europeans in prehistory were bringing trees into their homes at winter solstice time.

History.com offers a simplified take:

Before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

The Washington Post fills in some details, but glosses over the allegations of labor trafficking by the embassy contractor -- probably because it was a story broken by non-mainstream media despite the fact that mainstream reporters are frequent visitors to this blog, including those with The Washington Post.

Will this be an end to the questions Krongard neglected to investigate? Or did his apparent foot-dragging cover up any tracks of wrongdoing? Stay tuned.

A Great Idea!!!

When you are making out your Christmas cards this year, please
include one to:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your friends.

One of its convoys transporting low-wage migrant Asian workers to the airport in a dump truck apparently began shooting at civilians, according to The Washington Post:

In total, U.S. military and Iraqi officials said, 43 people were arrested: 21 Sri Lankans, 1 Indian and 9 Nepalese contractors, 10 Iraqi security guards and 2 Fijian guards. The two Fijian guards had U.S. Defense Department identity cards, according to Maj. Brad Leighton.

Soon after the shooting from the security accompanying the convoy, a street crowd surrounded the truck as Iraqi soldiers and police arrived. Then some of the soldiers got on the truck and started beating the workers. It seems the workers in the open truck were mistaken for Afghan fighters, although they were unarmed.

A policeman at the scene told AFP that the incident occurred around noon on Monday and was unprovoked.

"A truck was transporting Asian workers through Karrada, escorted by three vehicles. They were driving on the wrong side of the road and guards in the vehicle opened fire to disperse people," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to talk to the media.

"Because of the shooting, a 20-year-old woman was wounded in the leg," he added.

ALMCO is a US military logistics contractor for food supply, construction and training, not a security firm, Reuters reports. It also holds a contract to build a courthouse as part of US reconstruction efforts.

Statements from the firm's employees, taken in front of a civil judge, "revealed attempted murder of Iraqi civilians and other violations."

It's a sad event, given the heartfelt interview that the Iraqi head of the company, ALMCO, once gave to CNN's Jane Arraf. He says that rebuilding Iraq is his definition of jihad despite resistance from the insurgents. See Almco's Website and look under "news & events."

Obviously, Almco has also made a bundle of money. The company began in 2003 with a $500 contract to transport fuel and now holds US-funded contracts worth hundreds of millions.

Much of the study confirms the obvious, such as KBR's top billing for $16 billion from 2004 through 2006. But it also compiles a handy list of the top 100 contractors doing business in the war zones.

Unknown Identities: One of the most interesting findings is that "Over the three years studied, more than $20 billion in contracts went to foreign companies whose identities -- at least so far -- are impossible to determine." Here's the chart.

Missing Key Company: The report seems to have missed is Kuwait-based Public Warehouse Company -- now better known as Agility. The company has billed billions of dollars on the war effort in Iraq and is a primary logistical supplier for the military and civilian forces.