For example, he said, the commission hired an Iraqi company to transport printed election material around the country rather than use American military convoys.

This is because the ban prohibts travelers from buying tickets from an Iraqi company.

Bechtel and other contractors have said they plan to hire many Iraqi companies as subcontractors.

While some Iraqi companies have already been taken on, none wanted their names disclosed because of security concerns.

The ministry has overcome its lack of internal support troops by employing private Iraqi companies to deliver food and other daily necessities.

The new projects became targets for terrorists, and contracts did not flow to Iraqi companies.

Many contractors, including Iraqi companies, complain that the process for winning business remains opaque and inaccessible.

Two Iraqi companies, with about 20 armored vehicles, remained in the city and had not attempted to break out during the night.

But there have been few attacks reported so far against Iraqi companies doing business with Iraqi security forces.

Some of the companies then mix it back together and pass it on to Iraqi companies.