Haliburton is doing quite good too. Chevron Texaco is doing well also as is the Carlyle Group and various mercenary groups. These conflicts are an industrialists wet dream, as is usual in most wars.

there is an awful lot of money involved... I turned down a 100K+ package to go to Basra.

Actualy Boeing, Lockmart, and Raytheon might be doing better without Iraq draining billions from the defense budget. If you break down where the money is going. The number one expense is "beans, bullets and pay". A lot of big ticket items have taken a hit..F22, naval buildup etc. R@D have done pretty good ( R@D is always a good investment). "Hallyburton" is primary a "service" company in Iraq. Total dollars may be large, but no one else out there could get the job done. The term Merc is offensive, many of the so called "Mercs" are greasing the wheels (mechanic, maintance) and the rest are risking their lives to protect the people trying to rebuild the country. The real answer to the original post is "freedom is winning" in Iraq and the Stan.. North Korea is getting closer to the tipping point daily...