John Berger - You are right on the mark, in my opinion. There are some smaller companies here that treat their men better and pay them more. PPI is the jugernaut with far and away the largest work force, lowest pay and poorest living conditions. They seem to be very cozy with KBR and it wouldn't surprise me to find out KBR execs own shares of PPI.

John Firth - Since Cam Simpson's article, Pipeline to Peril, was published in the Chicago Tribune in October of 2005, little has changed. The military, pressured by the State Department, (which I'm told was the result of Cam's article. Though it didn't "grow legs", and was summarily ignored by the nation's other papers, it did catch the attention of State Dept officials) issued a "FRAGO" (don't ask me what that acronym stands for), which established new rules including, passports to be returned to TCNs, a copy of the contract they signed in India be in their possession, living space increased to a minimum of 52 square feet per person (I'm told military K-9s get 65). It is also against the new rules for a TCN to be in Iraq if it is illegal in his home country. This has been ignored, as India, Nepal and the Philippines all have such laws. And the issue of unscrupulous agencies and exhorbitant fees was addressed in the FRAGO, but there were no objective yardsticks to determine what is unscrupulous or what is an unreasonable fee, so nothing was changed. The State department was appeased and everyone went back to sleep.

Incidentally, when it was brought to KBR's attention that the contracts signed in India stated the employee would receive a day off each month, they replied that it was between PPI and the Indians - KBR could not interfere. Of course that's the reason for the arm's length relationship between KBR and PPI in the first place. No days off have been granted. Just being allowed to have possession of their contracts means nothing without the means to enforce them. But it makes the military feel like they've done something.

The camps have been improved somewhat over the past two years but some issues still exist - monotonous diet of mostly rice, and poor medical and no dental care.

It's also hard to see these guys confined to their crowded camp like prisoners. They are denied access to the very facilities they built, maintain and clean. And their mobility is being reduced. Some of my guys who've been here three years now - and once had an orange badge that at least permitted them to take a walk outside their camp - have been issued red badges. That means they can not be without an expat escort.