Titan Corporation
Titan Corporation was founded in 1981. Based in San Diego, the firm has grown into a multi-billion dollar business employing 12,000 personnel. The firm specializes in 'comprehensive information and communications products, solutions, and services for National Security' and draws annual revenues of approximately $2 billion . One of its former directors is the neocon and ex-CIA director James Woolsey, one of the architects of the Iraq war, a pro-Israel lobbyist, a member of the right-wing Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and a friend of Ahmed Chalabi and famous for the quote: 'only fear will re-establish Arab respect for us'. On June 3, 2005, Titan was acquired by L3 Communications in a $2.65 billion merger.
In 2003, the company earned $112.1 million dollars for translation services to the U.S. military around the world. It reportedly offers linguists an annual salary of up to $108,000. The company is part of Project 25, a $3 Billion joint venture with five other companies to provide communications equipment to the Secret Service, DEA and the FBI. The company also provides the military with the Prophet, a modified Humvee that allows the targeting of individuals using electronic communication devices in the vicinity. The vehicle was first tested in Afghanistan; advanced versions allow multiple vehicles to act coordinated arrays. The company also has a $54.8 million contract to provide support to the AWACS spy planes as well as an $18 million contract to design war games for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet.
The world got a glimpse of the 'strong ethical values' that the company professes adherence to when John Israel and Adel L. Nakhla, two of its employees, were named by Major General Antonio M. Taguba in his report on the Abu Ghraib scandal. According to the report John Israel's presence in itself was questionable since he '[d]id not have a security clearance.' Nakhla was charged with raping a young Iraqi boy. A military report subsequently recommended criminal charges be filed against the two involved in the abuse .
In early 2004 the Army suspended 10% of Titan's payment for work in Iraq pending an audit of employment practices. The company was also being investigated for bribery charges against it in five countries by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Despite the lawsuits brought up against the company for its involvement in the Abu Ghraib scandal and the demands of human rights groups to bar it form future government contracts, it won a new contract from the Pentagon worth $164 million in January 2005.
