Jesus. Even the Mercs are bailing.

When the guys who are making six figures a year for shooting people in Iraq decide to cut and run, you can safely figure you've got a Grade-A Clusterfuck in progress.

Manhattan security company Kroll has withdrawn its bodyguard teams from Iraq and Afghanistan after it lost four workers in Iraq, its parent company said Wednesday.

Michael Cherkasky, president and chief executive of Kroll owner Marsh & McLennan Cos., told The Associated Press that the business in the two countries wasn't worth risking the lives of their employees.

'Feh,' you say. One measly company's worth of hired guns, you say. But wait - there's more!

Bechtel Corp. went to Iraq three years ago to help rebuild a nation torn by war. Since then, 52 of its people have been killed and much of its work sabotaged as Iraq dissolved into insurgency and sectarian violence.

Now Bechtel is leaving.

The San Francisco engineering company's last government contract to rebuild power, water and sewage plants across Iraq expired on Tuesday. Some employees remain to finish the paperwork, but essentially, the company's job is done.

Hm. The government checks must have finally cleared.

Watch for a lot more companies and merc forces to pull out in the coming weeks, and George Bush's Great Experiment In Democracy circles the fucking drain.

Invictus Adds: Why does a senior Bechtel exec hate America and our troops: "Did Iraq come out the way you hoped it would?" asked Cliff Mumm, Bechtel's president for infrastructure work. "I would say, emphatically, no. And it's heartbreaking." Jeez. Talk about not supporting our troops and providing aid and comfort to our enemies.