Iraq and private contractors the risk but the money is good!!

OK the money is good but there is a risk and that's not one I would like to take.... But $17000 per month sounds like a good packet.... !!

The US military depends more than ever on private contractors to keep its operations here going - not just to provide meals and other support services to the 150,000 US troops in Iraq, but to guard the convoys bringing in the food and supplies.

If you can live with the risks, being a contractor in Iraq is lucrative

I was talking to one of these contractors recently, as he started his second tour.

He works as a gunner protecting convoys between Baghdad and Kuwait.

"We bring in everything - food, medical supplies and ammunition," he said.

And the convoys are regularly attacked, with far higher casualties than among US troops.

"We had 160 in our group on my last tour," he said. "We lost 40 guys." He was involved in several serious clashes himself.

I asked him why he kept coming back.

"Simple. The money," he replied.

I won't name his company, but the contractor told me he was earning almost US$17,000 dollars a month, tax-free, and with his health insurance covered.

He has a large family.

"Where else can I make that?"

For him, an early American withdrawal would be bad news.

"I need to do this for another three years. Then I can retire."