War is Good. For Some Companies, Anyway…

War is never good. Unless you’re a company that profits from wars. Below are some stats provided by AOL about moneymakers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not that any of this will come as a suprise to anyone, but Bush and Cheney have plenty of contacts, I am sure, in all of the below doling out of contracts. I guess they are businessmen year-round.

$151 Billion
Amount the U.S. government spent on private defense contractors in 2006

40%
Share of Defense Department contracts that are awarded on a noncompetitive basis

180,000
Estimated number of private contractors working in Iraq

1,000
Estimated number of private contractors killed

165
Number of private contractors taken hostage

6,000
Estimated number of private military contractors in armed tactical combat roles

78%
Increase in the number of Pentagon defense services contracts over the past decade

Jacob Silberberg, AP
$400-$1000
Average daily pay for former Special Forces soldiers working in Iraq