Iraq war winners were oil barons and mercenaries

Iraq war winners were oil barons and mercenaries - Mirror Online:
"But now – a decade after the war began on March 20, 2003 – one group can toast victory most of all.
They are the oil bosses, mercenaries and tycoons who cashed in when the war’s aftermath turned into a multi-billion-pound goldrush.
This gravy train has paid out as more than 100,000 people have been killed in Iraq’s decade of turmoil.
Just 18 months after the invasion, commercial airliners packed with security personnel and business investors were flying daily into the capital Baghdad.
Private security contractors from the UK, European, South African and US special forces were lured by the offer of £1,000 a day to guard dignitaries and prime terror targets.
Tycoons had their eyes on the big prize – a slice of the first £6.6billion in reconstruction money being flown into the city on US military aircraft.
This cash belonged to Iraq. It was the proceeds from the sale of
oil that funded the UN’s Oil For Food Programme and was intended to be used to rebuild the ravaged country.
Disgracefully, much of the money ended up in the pockets of crooks or corrupt officials."