Contractors in Iraq continue to be a source of pride

Or something, anyway. A British mercenary group private contractor that has been providing security at the Bagdad airport has apparently been staging work shut-downs in response to a lack of payment. That situation was made even more embarassing this weekend when Iraqi troops sent to reopen the airport and were blocked by US security forces at a checkpoint. eesh. See this previous summary of the great successes we've had thus far with privatization of critical military functions...

Update (tangential variety): also under the hurricane-dominated news radar, a general lets the cat out of the bag that we never really intend to leave Iraq.