Companies will continue to enter dangerous countries as long as there is a dollar to be made. The type of employee who is attracted to Iraq is a self-starter who thrives on difficult conditions. They tend to like to work in an environment which has a limited bureaucracy and a dress code bereft of suits and ties.

Washington Group International (WGI) began planning its work in Iraq by surveying its 20,000 employees. Four hundred responded with a "yes", they would go to Iraq. Jack Hermann, Vice president of WGI, said that these employees are 'can do' types that can get the job done. And, despite the violence, not one has requested to return.

Part of the recruiter's job is to talk potential employees 'out of going'. Recruiters look to discourage those who are financially needy, have legal issues, or are desperate for work. However, those specifications can be overlooked when job skills match the job. For example, openings occurred in Iraq for energy specialists at the same time Enron was collapsing.

Recruiters report that they prefer people who are already financial secure, display self-assurance in difficult circumstances, are flexible, inventive and adaptable with working with people of other cultures. They also like to hire people who have worked in other danger zones as they tend to be more on guard and are more aware of their surroundings.

Salaries for positions in Iraq can be three to four times the domestic average wage. What has been a mystery is why salaries remain so high when there are so many qualified candidates willing to go there. One explanation came from Robert Band, president and COO of Perini Corp. Some people feel these employees are overpaid, but Band does not. He says that these loyal employees receive satisfaction of getting a job done in a "tough, tough place."

American companies are hiring are Americans, third country nationals and Iraqis. However, the Iraqis are earning only a fraction of their American co-workers. The Iraqis feel they could be doing the higher paid jobs that are going to third country nationals brought in from countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, and Afghanistan.

The reason that companies are not hiring Iraqis goes back to a decision by the Bush Administration not to allow any former member of the Baath party to have U.S. security clearance. However, any Iraqi who had an education or a decent job during Saddam Hussein's regime had to swear allegiance to the Baath party. In April, the Bush administration announced that it would ease its policy on the hiring of former Baath party members.

The cost for protecting the workers is high. Washington Group has hired two security guards for each of its 350 employees, 70 of whom are Americans. That's 700 paid policemen who earn $500 to $1500 a day.

Another organization, Steele Foundation, hires only ex-military personnel. Their wages range from $10,000 to $20,000 a month in Iraq. Companies have increased insurance costs in general liability, medical and dental, death and dismemberment, and ordered Defense Base Act coverage. The total cost of insurance premiums paid to cover the company's employees in the most dangerous areas of Iraq can be as high as $70 for every $100 spent in payroll.

Some companies have taken on an insurance cost not usually associated with satellite branches -the cost of kidnap and ransom insurance. In the event of a kidnapping a third party is brought in to negotiate the ransom and emotional and psychological support is given to the family.

Washington Group forecasts that it may well do $3.1 billion in business at the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers. As long as there is money to be made companies will continue to business in Iraq.