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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Contractors in Iraq work in gray area |
| 2004-06-02 |
| The parallel work of battle and reconstruction has swelled demand for former military personnel and law enforcement officers to fill roles that a downsized military no longer can or wants to do. Contractors are protecting key leaders, escorting convoys, guarding military installations or oil pipelines, training Iraqi forces, interrogating prisoners. Far from simple guard duty, some have become entangled in firefights, pressed into the work of war. Critics say the pendulum has swung too far. The use of armed "private military" in Iraq discards a long-standing U.S. military doctrine not to use contractors for "mission critical" tasks in war, said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar..."The military has been put in a position where it’s had to basically ignore that doctrine," said Singer. "The scope of functions that have been turned over to private contractors really pushes the envelope way beyond anything we’ve seen before." In the first Persian Gulf War, the ratio of "private military" to U.S. military was one in 100; in Iraq now, it’s one in 10, he said. Private and military personnel frequently work in tandem, under two separate chains of command. The extent of private security work in Iraq has been largely a mystery even to members of Congress. Some are now calling for stricter oversight. Defense officials say they don’t track the number of individual security personnel in Iraq. The 20,000 figure for private security workers is a loose estimate of both U.S. and foreign workers, including more than 6,000 Americans. Their death toll is pegged at more than 50. "There’s no way of knowing how many people the companies who have received the contracts will employ. Their mission is to get the job done," said Pentagon spokesman Glenn Flood. A plan to address accountability concerns is under way, said Flood, but "it’s just not ready for prime time yet." Critics see an invitation for abuse with little fear of discipline, either for security workers or the firms that hire them. Even in egregious cases, rarely do firms lose their big government contracts. They point to civilian contractors with DynCorp who escaped prosecution despite accusations in 2000 of running a prostitution ring in the Balkans. DynCorp is among scores of firms providing security and other services in Iraq. Contractors don’t come under the military justice system, and they fall outside of the definition of "combatant" in the Geneva Conventions, leaving them in a legal gray area. A law passed in 2000 permits the Justice Department to prosecute Pentagon contractors and subcontractors who commit crimes on foreign soil, but it is largely untested. It also applies only to major crimes. In the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, for instance, it remains unclear whether the contractors will face any punishment for their reported involvement in humiliating prisoners. "I think the American people are going to call for change," said Philip Coyle, an undersecretary of defense under President Clinton. "Congress, whether they like or not, is going to have to clarify what the rules are for these contractors. But more than that, re-examining the roles contractors are playing on the battlefield, and whether or not that’s what we really want." But of course, Philip Coyle, speaking from his air conditioned DC office with his tassled leather shoes on his desk, would love love to see more RULES and REGULATIONS passed by Congress and applied to contractors so they play fairly with the barbarians. And if contractors no longer want to take dangerous jobs in the ME, no problemo, Congress just passes H.R. 163 and S.89, which have bi-partisan support and which are simmering on the backburners, for the draft. Then we can send hundreds of thousands of scared and poorly trained young men and women to secure the peace with the barbarians. Sounds good to Philip Coyle because his children are way too young to be affected by the draft. |
| Posted by:rex |
| #3 At the risk of stating the obvious. Private companies not operating under US legal jurisdiction are much harder for the Left/Media to manipulate than the government. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2004-06-02 8:36:04 PM |
| #2 "I think the American people are going to call for change," said Philip Coyle, an undersecretary of defense under President Clinton. Under his boss' watch, much needed divisions were cut from the military. We do not need a draft of marginally trained personnel. We need to enhance our existing professional military in ways that would meet the needs of the mission. We are having contractors there now because we do not have enough of the regular military to go around. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-06-02 7:54:57 PM |
| #1 Or because it would turn these poor souls into anti-war activists ... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2004-06-02 7:27:22 PM |