British forces were awarded a reputation for commonsensical care and calm when handling the natives in Basra, the ever-present implication being that those dopy, vulgar Americans didn’t know how to deal with savages on account of their Hollywood blow-‘em-up mentality. Lessons were learned, however, when it turned out that the residents of Basra could kick some occupier ass too when the mood took them. Recalling an earlier time when New Labour was maligned for using mercenary companies like Sandline International to do its dirty work in Sierra Leone, the British (and Americans) now employ mercenaries in both Baghdad and Basra. Global Risk Strategies (which sounds vaguely like a student thesis on Ulrich Beck) is a British-based firm which drafts ex-servicemen and cops from across the globe to take care of menial security duties in Iraq. Ghurkas are employed, Fijians are recruited, but no Iraqis. Not only are these mercenary armies creating a fat profit margin for a British company, but they’re also much cheaper for coalition authorities because they are largely non-European. Iraqis are also "non-European" but they are, for obvious reasons, considered a "security risk".
The British envoy to Iraq is called Brian Wilson, and part of his remit is to ensure British companies get a slice of the reconstruction cake as the US serves it up. To which end, he secured the accompaniment of various UK companies to a conference in Kuwait called "Rebuild Iraq 2004" , among them Securewest International (which is at least honest about whose interests it serves), which supplies "security guards" from its subsidiary, Ghurka Manpower Services , based in Nepal.

Take a look at the operating bases of this company, notice its contiguity with US imperial prerogatives - notably its continued occupation of Guam, which "relies heavily on military spending" to sustain its economy. It also protects US bases in the United Arab Emirates, as well as guarding US Naval bases in America itself. The 'special relationship' congeals money and violence in more ways than this. Everything is up for sale in Iraq, and the Kuwait expo mentioned above discusses them all in some depth. Oil , technology, water, communications, healthcare , power, education , and the list goes on.

And don't think that the US has excluded itself from cashing in on repression. "Nour USA, a privately held U.S.-led consortium, has won a $327 million contract to supply Iraq’s new armed forces and the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps ... "


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 http://leninology.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_leninology_archive.html#107593253367870859