But the award of contracts to build the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting left many analysts scratching their heads.

It did? Why?...I wondered. Did they think an American company should get the contract...or an Iraqi company...or was something else going on??? So I went online.

There is a charge of "war slavery," "forced labor," and "human trafficing" against the Kuwaiti company which they deny. Investigations are ongoing in the Philipines and the US. In the mean time organizations like the AFL-CIO, a freelance journalist, David Phinney, and weblogs huffingtonpost, MotherJones, and uslaboragainstwar are hyping the story with sensational titles:

* US Labor Against the War : 'Kidnapped' Filipinos build US embassy

* WarSlavery.org | Stop taxpayer-sponsored trafficking in Iraq.

* AFL-CIO Weblog | Iraqi Workers Fight Intimidation, Forced Labor

* Human Trafficking in Iraq: Exploiting People to Supply Our Soldiers

A premature congressional committee hearing found one lawmaker, Tom Davis saying:

Based on media reports alone, the Committee scheduled today’s testimony before completing a thorough investigation of thinly sourced, sensationalized charges of shoddy construction and labor abuses. In what has become an unfortunate modus operandi, the Committee’s politically charged allegations are marching miles ahead of the proven facts. Whenever a news story jumps to a convenient conclusion about suspected Administration malfeasance or misconduct, the Majority rushes to see how high they can elevate mere questions, concerns and speculation over real fact finding. As I’ve said before, it’s oversight by firing squad: Ready, Fire, Aim! The most significant waste, fraud and abuse we’re likely to uncover today may be our own.

Allegations about labor abuses and human trafficking violations are far more serious, and it appears State took them seriously. We can be proud of U.S. labor protections, but shouldn’t be naïve about their application elsewhere. Nevertheless, complaints about working and living conditions were referred to the State Department Inspector General who, in conjunction with the IG for the Multi-National Forces – Iraq, conducted on-site inspection and interviews with foreign workers and U.S. personnel. The State IG team found “nothing that caused us to believe that TIP [trafficking in persons] violations” had occurred at the site. The military IG did find illegal and deceptive hiring practices by recruiting agencies. But he found no evidence of the alleged abduction, abuse, overcrowding or unsanitary facilities. In fact, the MNF-IG concluded of the 58 living areas inspected, the State Department facility “rated in the top third with above average quality of life conditions.”

He also revealed the following:

First Kuwaiti got the work only after no U.S. contractor offered to meet the ambitious twenty-four month schedule while facing substantial financial and logistical risks building in a war zone on those terms. They wanted a cost reimbursement arrangement. Under the fixed price contract vehicle, disputes over electrical wiring loads and dripping pipes can have little impact on ultimate cost. In effect, we’re here litigating a punch list, the usual inventory of fixes and finishing touches generated by any project of this size. http://republicans.oversight.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=211

First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting was founded in 1996. The US Marines gave the company a citation for the work they did in support of our troops in Iraq.