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How does a former soldier join the ‘Circuit’,
a world of professional bodyguards and soldiers for hire who guard VIP celebrities,
Middle Eastern royalty or diamond mines in Angola with equal aplomb?
How and why have tens of thousands of men on the Circuit moved to work in the heavily armed PSD teams in Iraq?
In the tradition of Andy McNab's "Bravo Two Zero" comes an explosive
insider's account of life as a private security contractor in
Baghdad. In September 2003 James Ashcroft landed in Iraq as
a 'gun for hire'. It was the beginning of an 18-month journey
into chaos. In "Making a Killing", Ashcroft provides a first-hand
view of the secret world of private security where ex-soldiers
employed to protect US and British interests can make up to
$1000 a day. In this action-packed page-turner, he reveals the
dangers of his adrenalin-fuelled life as a private security
contractor in Baghdad, inside the West’s secret army – told
from the front line in a war that is slowly being privatised,
where ex-soldiers earning up to $1,000 a day outnumber the total
number of non-US Coalition Forces.
Through harrowing blow-by-blow accounts of long days under blistering
mortar bombardment, IED ambushes on the streets and murderous
gun fights, Ashcroft describes a volatile war where the rules
are still being written. This is a battle where escorting a
journalist from the airport can quickly turn into a close-range
gunfight; where every insurgent killed only recruits a dozen
more; where soldiers, private contractors and Iraqis are dying
every day, and Coalition Forces are struggling to defend their
own bases, left alone bring order.
Operating from deep within the Iraqi community – not protected
Coalition bases – Ashcroft gained a unique insight into the
Iraq war from the sharp end of the insurgency. In this gripping
and illuminating eye-witness account he tells the real, unsanitised
story of the war in Iraq and its aftermath.
Having worked with Coalition and Iraqi security forces and high
ranking officials, and having lived with Christian, Kurd and
both Sunni and Shia Iraqis, James Ashcroft’s accounts reveal
a unique perspective on the conflict – the real stories behind
current events and the action that were never reported on in
the news .
This book is absolutely essential reading for anyone travelling
to Iraq either as a soldier or contractor, for security professionals
around the world, for military historians and for anyone who
is considering the security industry as a career.
And
if you enjoyed Making A Killing, then click here to follow
up with the sequel, Escape From Baghdad.
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