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Private Firms Gather Intelligence in Iraq
In Iraq, a Private Realm Of Intelligence-Gathering
Firm Extends U.S. Government's Reach
Front page WaPo, continued on page 20 and continued again on page 21, where the headline is, Firms Relieve Chronic Troop Shortage

I didn't see anything about troop shortages, just dirt on the British firm and ...oh, wait ... here it is:

The military relies on private contractors to offset chronic troop shortages. "If we had a 2 million-man army, we wouldn't be having this conversation," said Ed Soyster, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Posted by: Bobby 2007-07-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=192244