The Hired Gun's Hired Gun

[maddezmom]

On paper, an academic like Doug Brooks sounds like the kind of guy who spends his time reading rather than leading a band of rifle-toting security guards, fearless truck drivers and daredevil pilots.

Yet, as president of the International Peace Operations Association, the 44-year-old former university professor works with military contractors that are more comfortable in war zones than libraries. Brooks has the difficult task of salvaging the tarnished reputation of an industry beset by high-profile scandals while facing a hostile Congress. His 30-member group of private military and logistics support companies have been the beneficiaries of billions of taxpayer dollars -- particularly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- and hours of harsh congressional hearings.

~snip~

The association now represents companies that perform a wide range of services for nongovernmental organizations in regions where transportation is difficult, government infrastructure is scant or nonexistent and security is dicey. Well-known private military companies such as Blackwater USA, Ronco, Armor Group and Evergreen International Aviation now anchor the association.

"The NGOs are all Democrats; our companies are all Republican. So we're the middle ground between the tree-huggers and the knuckle-draggers," Brooks said during an interview in his cluttered Northwest Washington office where he works with eight employees and researchers.

~snip~

He's got his work cut out for him. After enduring a series of bruising hearings in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., this month, the military contracting industry is in a defensive crouch, its image as a cabal of price-gouging mercenaries as vivid as ever.

more:http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2830.html