http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01407.html


http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/200 ... aq-pu.htmlFearing Iraq Pullout, State Boosting Private Chopper Force
Share August 01, 2007 4:59 PM
Kirit Radia Reports:
Fearing an imminent drawdown of U.S. troops and equipment from Iraq amid escalating violence, the State Department is hiring its own private helicopter squad to ferry its personnel around the country.
Government military contractors Blackwater, DynCorp and Triple Canopy are the only three companies competing for the contract, possibly valued at more than $100 million a year for up to the next five years, sources tell ABC News.
The requirements call for approximately 20 helicopters with maintenance, storage and crew to ensure 24-hour availability.
It represents a recognition that Iraq may remain as dangerous for years to come and that the department cannot depend on the use of military assets in the future.
A senior State Department official, asked to comment on the contract, said, "In accordance with federal law, I cannot discuss any contracts that are in the solicitation process. I can tell you that there are existing contracts for support in Iraq to the State Department that already include such air assets."
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
The choppers, said to be around 12 medium-capacity and eight light-capacity, would be deployed to three sectors in Iraq. Three helicopters would be sent to the north, three would operate in the south, and the remaining 14 would be stationed in central Iraq.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and some other diplomats already travel around the country via private helicopters because ground transport is considered dangerous.
The new contract would dramatically increase both the number of contracted aircraft available to State Department officials as well as the amount of money the department will spend on these services.
Crescent Security Press Release Response to:
"Cutting Costs, Bending Rules, And a Trail of Broken Lives - Ambush in Iraq
Last November Left Four Americans Missing And a String of Questions About
the Firm They Worked For" - By Steve Fainaru, Washington Post Foreign
Service, Sunday, July 29, 2007; A01
Published on August 2, 2007
www.crescent securitygroup. com/Press% 20release% 2002-08-07. pdf
"Reporters broke many stories before and after the war.but when the stories
themselves later broke apart, in many instances readers never found out.
Some remain scoops to this day" Public Editor Daniel Okrent
Crescent Security Group wishes to take the opportunity to respond to the
main points of a recent press report in the Washington Post, published on
Sunday, July 29th 2007.
It is requested that should any of the answers to points below be
reproduced, the answer be used in its entirety and not be changed to alter
the meaning or context for which it was produced.
_____
"Crescent is shuttered, like dozens of other companies that have come and
gone."
Crescent Security remains an active Iraq registered Security Company and is
not closed.
CSG took the initiative to utilise its facilities and manpower to gather,
analyse and decimate information regarding the 5 missing contractors. This
remains and will remain our prime concern.
CSG holds regular weekly / daily meetings at its facilities with the
Austrian officials and communicates electronically with the US officials in
Baghdad.
_____
"In March, the U.S. military barred Crescent from U.S. bases"
Crescent Security Group is not banned from any bases.
Certain (now former) contractors are blacklisted from bases in Iraq, this
list of personnel populated in March 2007 by the US military included
contractors who were kidnapped in November 2006 and contractors who had left
the employ of CSG prior to the manufacture of the list.
After several months of requests to have both the kidnapped and former
contractors removed from the list, the kidnapped men are finally off the
blacklist, the former contractors remain blacklisted.
_____
"it [CSG] was found with weapons prohibited for private security companies,
including rocket launchers and grenades"
"Private security companies may be licensed by the Minister of the Interior
to possess and use licensed Firearms and Military Weapons, including Special
Category Weapons" CPA Order 100, Page 5, e,
""Special Category Weapons" are any explosives, improvised explosives or
incendiary devices, grenades, rockets, shells or mines and any means of
discharging such items, crew-served weapons of any kind, and Man Portable
Air Defense Systems of any kind." CPA order 3 (revised), Section 1, 9)
Crescent Security remains an Iraq Ministry of Interior registered Security
Company. Further, the initial Military reports were followed up by US
Military CID who cleared CSG of any wrongdoing and gave the company a clean
bill of health.
_____
"Crescent crafted its own military identification badges"
The Identification cards shown in this report are and were (in the case of
the JTF card) manufactured by CSG. An explanation of each card follows:
CSG ID: This card is still in use and a proportion of the contents include:
Contractors name, height, weight, blood group and allergies. This card is
used both as a means of identification and, in the case of the holder
incurring an injury / disease which requires medical attention, shows his
vital details.
JTF IRAQ/KW: This card was a requirement to gain entry into a secure
facility utilised by the Italian JTF in Kuwait. It was identified as a
necessity for the guard force utilised as primary entry control to identify
permitted access whilst preventing unauthorised entry into the facilities.
The reporter was shown documentary evidence of the authenticity of the ID
cards.
Crescent security maintains its business, however its priority and
commitment to the release of the kidnapped contractors remains its primary
mission.
Crescent maintains its support of the missing contractors and is not
prepared to offer speculation on what could have been changed prior to their
apprehension. That is something that can only be verified once they are
safely returned from Iraq.
CSG understands and positively accepts constructive criticism but would
prefer that the main sources utilized had proceeded on more than 4 missions
in the case of Mr. Horner and had not been subject to serious negligent
discharges (accidental firing of a weapon) resulting in damage to company
property and a round hitting a competitors security vehicle prior to Mr.
Ford accidentally dropping the weapon out of the window of a moving vehicle,
he continued onto his destination. The weapon was subsequently recovered by
the security Team Leader on his behalf.
As a reference, CSG has successfully escorted over 22,500 vehicles into and
out of Iraq.
We have suffered 4 company fatalities:
1 x USA 'Wolf' a former USMC Force Recon Killed by Blue on White (caught on
video from our vehicle camera) still awaiting action by US Military north of
Baghdad
1 x Iraqi 'Bob' Killed in a Road Traffic Accident near Kirkuk
2 x Iraqi 'Basheer' & 'Mustapha' Killed by an insurgent EFP south of Scania
Other losses whilst under CSG escort:
3 x drivers Killed* during insurgent convoy attack on route Sword, Baghdad.
*2 of which would most probably have survived had they worn the protective
equipment provided to them.
CSG assisted 'free of charge' the security details utilised for the
retrieval of the remains of MIA and POW's taken during the invasion and
subsequent occupation of Kuwait by Iraq Military in the early nineties.
The list of 'free of charge' charitable work that CSG has undertaken is
considerable. CSG neither asks for nor expects any more than the thanks it
already received for undertaking such missions.























