European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday april 172007 stars and stripes Page Adil a boy runs past a shrapnel pocked Wail on wednesday a Day after a rocket struck a basketball court at a boys school in Eastern Baghdad report Baghdad kids suffering from trauma stars and stripes Usa today reported monday that about 70 percent of primary school students in Northern Bagh dads Shaab District suffer symptoms of trauma related stress such As bedwetting or stuttering according to a sur vey by the iraqi ministry of health the Survey of about 2500 Young sters is the most comprehensive look at How the War is affecting children Iraq National mental health adviser and author of the study Mohammed a Aboudi told the paper the fighting is happening in the streets in front of our houses and schools a Aboudi is quoted As saying this is very difficult for the children to adapt to the study is to be released next month Usa today reported the study was conducted in october Usa today reported the lotto Middle income Shaab District is inhabited by a mix of Shi Ite and sunni arabs a Aboudi told Usa today that he believes the Sample was broadly representative of conditions throughout the capital in the study schoolteachers were asked to de Termine whether randomly selected students showed any of 10 symptoms identified by the world health organization As signs of trauma the paper wrote other symptoms included Volun tary cuteness declining performance in school or an increase in aggressive behaviour this is very difficult for the children to adapt to h Mohammed a Aboudi iraqi mental health adviser Dod studying effectiveness of command fighting less stars and stripes the Pentagon has turned to an Early critic of the Iraq War to Ana Lyme the effectiveness of a Multi billion Dollar command combat ing the Roadside bombs employed to such deadly effect there the Boston Globe reported on Mon Day in late april undersecretary of defense Kenneth Krieg ordered the creation of an Independent sounding Board to Analyse the joint improvised explosive de vices defeat organization called a min Manhattan project when it was established three years ago the Globe reported the review Board will be co chaired by Eric Evans an electrical Engineer and director of Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of technology and Paul e Funk a retired three Star army general who expressed Early disagreement Over whether a pos invasion Iraq could be stabilized through Mili tary Force before the invasion Funk said the Bush administration thought All wars Are Small and will be Over quickly the Zed office has received nearly billion to Date in fund ing with its budget proposed to double Over the next two years republicans and democrats Are questioning whether the organizations secrecy its spiralling budget and its seeming Reliance on major defense contractors and High tech solutions has been the Best approach to Stop the bomb ers which so far have overcome most us countermeasures with relatively Low tech Means the Globe reported Roadside bombs Are the num Ber one killer of us troops in Iraq since March the Pentagon said Roadside bombs have caused More than seven out of every 10 troop deaths we also bleed and we lost friends and Brothers the difference is when soldiers go Home they get a heros Welcome no one takes notice of a contractor coming Home Johann Steenberg contractor providing Security in Iraq since 2004 tiihp1 group Aims to support warzone contractors Botes by Joseph Giordono stars and stripes an association of contractors in Iraq and other combat zones has set out to provide members Legal and moral support the notion that the profession is a bed of Dollar Bills the International contractors association Al ready has More than 400 Mem Bers ranging from Security detachments to information technology professionals to logistical and medical personnel said Jaco s Botes association founder and a personal Security operator in Iraq since 2004 first and Foremost iras goal is to establish a global support forum for International Security contractors where they experience a sense of be longing Industry support and purpose which were lacking previously Botes said from Baghdad the association was founded in october and strives to provide Job information Industry news and negotiate group benefits that Are not provided by the employers of Security contractors Bates said a recent Pentagon census found that As Many As 100000 private contractors work in Iraq itself let alone Afghanistan and other flashpoint coun tries at least 20000 Are armed Security operators nearly 800 have been killed since the War in Iraq began but contractors have also come under heavy criticism for the ways they operate particularly in Iraq us troops and contractors in Iraq have sometimes run afoul of each other in one infamous incident in May 2005 marines detained 16 contractors All of them former us military personnel for three Days the contractors said they were subject to abuse and Humilia Tion in part for their presumed salaries the marines said the contractors had fired on one of their guard towers the contractors were later released without charge in 2004 l Paul Bremer the head of the coalition provisional authority granted contractors immunity from iraqi Law there is now a move afoot to bring them under the uniform code of military Justice and in some instances contractors Are now accused in civil litigation for alleged wrongful kill Ings and coverups if s that image the Ica in part wants to Challenge the priority is to attract members who Are Seri Ous about professional conduct and ideally eliminate the Public image of Security contractors being cowboys for hire or mercenaries running wild Botes said if you happen to be one of those contractors who think you Are doing something illegal or you fancy yourself a gun for hire please take note that Ica is not a suitable association for you part of its web site  reads the site includes discussion forums and tips on such matters As certified training courses and International Money matters along with a Sec Tion devoted to memorials a code of conduct pledges its members work Only for legitimate governments organizations Ngos nongovernmental organizations and Law Ful private companies and support reconstructive and peace operations it prohibits any act of corruption among sever Al instructions members do not pay dues though that could change Johann Steenberg who has worked close Protection details in Baghdad for us military and government officials since 2004 is one of the associations members one of the shortcomings i think it will address is the fact that there is no platform or support net work for contractors at All in Iraq or Afghanistan for that the 51yearold said in an email from Iraq it will also help us Weed out the bad ele ments the so called cowboys the biggest misconception soldiers have is that they somehow forget we All did our bit in other wars As soldiers or cops Steenberg said we also bleed and we lost friends and Brothers the differ ence is when soldiers go Home they get a heros Welcome no one takes notice of a contractor com ing Home because he gets paid a lot of Money Steenberg by his count has been in 25 Roadside bomb attacks and two rocket propelled grenade at tacks in the past 11 months a contract worker is exactly that your con tract can be ended tomorrow and then you can wait six months without income for the next con tract he said in some cases Bosses skip the contract with All the Money and disappear leaving the contractors without a cent in a foreign country in cases like that where do you go to complain the iraqi email Joseph Giordono at contractors vehicle was hit by a Roadside bomb killing three men in May 2005 Courtesy of Jaco Botes