Erik Prince, CEO of the private-security firm Blackwater, defended his company's performance in Iraq before the House Oversight Committee today. Kai Ryssdal has more.
Senators are considering a defense spending bill that, at nearly $460 billion, won't pay a dime for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Democratic leaders have postponed that debate until later this year. John Dimsdale reports.
In the Iraq war, the spotlight is on the large-scale privatization of what used to be military functions. Kai Ryssdal talked with Steve Schooner, a George Washington University professor who has studied the role of private contractors.
Information about which drugs doctors prescribe for you often ends up in the hands of big drug companies, which use it to market their products. But some states are passing laws to ban the practice. Helen Palmer reports.
The U.S. government says there are about 190,000 private contractors in Iraq, supporting 163,000 U.S. troops. Andrew Haeg has the story of two of them — one civilian, one military.