Iraq Detains U.S. Contractors

The thousands of foreign contractors still in Iraq are finding it harder to work with the government now that the military has withdrawn. Shortly after U.S. troops withdrew, Iraq stopped issuing and renewing many weapons permits, and made getting visas more difficult. Consequently, in the last few weeks Iraqi authorities have detained hundreds of foreign contractors over issues with their visas and weapons permits. Despite officially withdrawing, the U.S. Embassy employees 5,000 contractors to protect ints employees and to train the Iraqi military. The oil industry also relies heavily on foreign contractors.