Is the Whole Iraq Adventure a Beta Test for the US?

[freelance]

‘Kidnapped’ Filipinos build US embassy

An American civilian contractor has described scenes of panic and hysteria last year as Filipino construction workers were told that they were on a plane bound for Baghdad rather than Dubai.

Passengers jumped out of their seats screaming in protest until a gun-toting air steward ordered them to sit down, claimed Rory Mayberry, an emergency medical technician travelling on the same flight.

Mayberry said the men were “kidnapped” to build America’s luxurious new embassy in Baghdad’s green zone. He gave his account to a congressional committee investigating allegations of fraud at what will be America’s largest diplomatic mission.

The £300m fortified embassy - a cluster of 21 high-rise towers occupying 104 acres on the west bank of the River Tigris - will house 3,000 staff. It is regarded as one of the most dangerous building projects in the world.

Mayberry, who worked briefly at the site, testified that he accompanied 51 Filipino workers who thought they were going to construct hotels in Dubai until 10 minutes into their flight.

More here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article2199263.ece

[cac1963]

Winning hearts and minds around the globe!

[SeanEdwards]

Are you kidding? Those guys had it good, the green zone is the only semi-safe place in the country.

Earlier in the war I heard a story about a bunch of central asian illiterate laborers that got forced into driving truck convoys from Kuwait to Baghdad. These guys all knew they were screwed. Knowing they were doomed they wrote goodbye letters to their family and so forth. On their first trip they all got kidnapped and ended up in beheading videos.

[ShaneC]

Are you kidding? Those guys had it good, the green zone is the only semi-safe place in the country.

Earlier in the war I heard a story about a bunch of central asian illiterate laborers that got forced into driving truck convoys from Kuwait to Baghdad. These guys all knew they were screwed. Knowing they were doomed they wrote goodbye letters to their family and so forth. On their first trip they all got kidnapped and ended up in beheading videos.

that's all fine and dandy when looking at options of worst case scenarios, but what gives anyone the right to impose that upon anyone else?

WTF am I doing responding to a troll?

Oh well, my point remains.

[SeanEdwards]

that's all fine and dandy when looking at options of worst case scenarios, but what gives anyone the right to impose that upon anyone else?

WTF am I doing responding to a troll?

Oh well, my point remains.

Troll? You're the freakin troll. And if you think I'm going to answer any of your questions after that lame ad hominem you better think again. Jerk.

[ShaneC]

:eek:

[freelance]

Are you kidding? Those guys had it good, the green zone is the only semi-safe place in the country.

First, YOU have got to be kidding.

Second, if you stumble upon anything from anyone able to get info out of the Green Zone, it's a myth that they're safe.

Third, they did almost the same thing cleaning up after Katrina. They used illegals, and then didn't pay them.

Gulf Coast Slaves

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,385044,00.html

The Plight of New Orleans Workers

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3238/the_plight_of_new_orleans_workers/

Gulf Coast slaves (Different article)

http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2005/11/15/halliburton_katrina/index_np.html