SALE OF THE CENTURY

Nice to see that all those tax dollars we spent on Iraq and Af/Pak are paying off so well.  If you need a gently used military base or ten in the Baghdad area, come on down and bring the family.

Hundreds of bases, combat outposts and contractor camps established since the 2003 invasion of Iraq are being slowly dismantled and transferred to Iraqi control. Equipment and material worth millions of dollars is being sold off piece by piece, or being handed over wholesale to the Iraqis, creating a thriving new resale industry. 

Hey it's the least we could do, right?  We wrecked the damn place and killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.  Let's make it up with a few volleyball courts and some barracks.

On a dusty lot just north of the city of Ramadi, in Anbar province, Falah Lahej picks through stacks of equipment being sold. The lot is surrounded by flat, brown desert, and the pulsating summer sun gives the goods strewn about the area a burning sheen. 

There are generators with engraved with the words "Made in the USA," barrels, barbed wire, an industrial scale, old wooden crates and other items once used by the Americans. 

Lahej is looking to buy a load-bearing hook. "The things here are better than the ones in the local market," Lahej says. "They are good quality; the ones in the market are not durable." 

Faiz al-Dulaimi acts as a middleman. He buys whatever he can straight from the bases that are closing. "In the past, all this belonged to the Americans and nothing would leave the bases. Now they sell them because they are considered a burden, I guess. There are two ways we get the goods. Some stuff is sold via a Turkish company that buys them from the Americans and sells them to Iraqi traders," he says. 

Nothing says "We're sorry for annihilating your country and your countrymen!" like a load-bearing hook.  Deals so crazy, we're giving them away, folks!  Savings from the Defense Department to you!  Act now!

But hey, if you're looking for personnel and materiel, and you're willing to pay top dollar, none of this used military base stuff for you, no sir.  Step it up to your own private mercenary company and take home Blackwater today!

The security firm formerly known as Blackwater is looking for new ownership, announcing Monday it is pursuing a sale of the company that became renowned and reviled for its involvement with the U.S. government in Iraq and elsewhere.

The Moyock, N.C.-based company now called Xe Services announced its decision in a brief statement that gave few details.

"Xe's new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the U.S. government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser," the statement said.

Owner and founder Erik Prince said selling the company is a difficult decision, but constant criticsm of Xe helped him make up his mind.

"Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics," Prince said in a further statement.

That's right, real performance from a name you can trust, courtesy of you and me, the American taxpayer...

Now how much would you pay?