You probably missed the Chicago Tribune's series Pipeline to Peril last fall, but it has borne fruit. The multi-part special report "revealed how some subcontractors used deception and coercion to recruit foreigners to work on U.S. bases in Iraq. The series told the story of 12 Nepalese, some of whom thought they had gotten hotel jobs in Jordan. Instead, all 12 were sent to Iraq, where they were kidnapped and killed." The major findings of the newspaper's investigation were:
* To maintain the flow of low-paid workers key to military support and reconstruction in Iraq, the U.S. military has allowed KBR to partner with subcontractors that hire laborers from Nepal and other countries that prohibit citizens from being deployed in Iraq. That means brokers recruiting such workers operate illicitly.
* The U.S. military and KBR assume no responsibility for the recruitment, transportation or protection of foreign workers brought to the country. KBR leaves every aspect of hiring and deployment in the hands of its subcontractors. Those subcontractors often turn to job brokers dealing in menial laborers.
* Working in tandem with counterparts in the Middle East, the brokers in South and Southeast Asia recruit workers from some of the world's most remote areas. They lure laborers to Iraq with false promises of lucrative, safe jobs in nations such as Jordan and Kuwait, even falsifying documents to complete the deception.
* Even after foreign workers discover they have been lured under false pretenses, many say they have little choice but to continue into Iraq or stay longer than planned. They feel trapped because they must repay brokers' huge fees.
* Some U.S. subcontractors in Iraq--and the brokers feeding them--employ practices condemned by the U.S. elsewhere, including fraud, coercion and seizure of workers' passports.
Hot stuff, huh? It won the George Polk Award for International Reporting for enterprising reporter Cam Simpson. The rest of the media -- well, they didn't exactly pursue and follow up. Fortunately, the Trib did. In December, US Stalls on Human Trafficking contrasted President Bush's stated "zero tolerance" for human trafficking with the Pentagon's continued foot-dragging.
A proposal prohibiting defense contractor involvement in human trafficking for forced prostitution and labor was drafted by the Pentagon last summer, but five defense lobbying groups oppose key provisions and a final policy still appears to be months away, according to those involved and Defense Department records.
The lobbying groups opposing the plan say they're in favor of the idea in principle, but said they believe that implementing key portions of it overseas is unrealistic. They represent thousands of firms, including some of the industry's biggest names, such as DynCorp International and Halliburton subsidiary KBR, both of which have been linked to trafficking-related concerns.
In January, the Trib reported on a State Department investigation of alleged abuses to foreign workers brought to Iraq. John Miller, director of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, told the Trib that much of the flow of workers is for legitimate employment, but "There is a dark side to this.... If this turns out to be the case in Iraq, something has to be done about it." US government contractors have to be held accountable at least to some degree, Miller said, for the behavior of their subcontractors and the networks below them that are often used to recruit and deliver laborers to American bases in Iraq.
So finally we get our Frank Capra ending. Goodness and right will prevail, at least that's the idea in today's story. Iraq War Contractors Ordered to End Abuses reports that Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Commanding General
Multi-National Force - Iraq, ordered "sweeping changes," which mainly amount to treating the workers decently, or at least legally. The new policy requires clear, written work contracts; "measurable, enforceable standards for living conditions (e.g., sanitation, health, safety, etc.) and establish 50 feet as the minimum acceptable square footage of personal living space per worker"; the return of the workers' passports, and other measures to comply with international law.
Thanks to the tip from Editor & Publisher, which notes: "Contractors who fail to comply with the new directives could be blacklisted from future jobs, and physically barred from U.S. bases."
True to form, most traditional news media outlets haven't touched the story, though the few dozen papers on the KRT Wire picked up the Trib's version, and UPI reported on Casey's directives without giving any credit to the Trib's investigation.