Monday, October 8, 2007

Private Soldiers, Public Concern: Accountability of Privat Military Companies in Iraq

On Christmas Eve 2006 a drunk Blackwater USA employee shot and killed the bodyguard of the Iraqi vice president in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The private military company fired Andrew Moonen for “violating alcohol and firearm policy,” according to Blackwater CEO Erik Prince. Moonen was able to leave the country and shortly after was hired by another US defense contractor, Combat Support Associates, to work in Kuwait. The State Department and Blackwater kept the incident quiet and off Moonen’s record, said a spokesman for Combat Support Associates. If he were a uniformed soldier in the US military Moonen would likely be standing trial, but since he was a privately contracted security guard Moonen has yet to be indicted. (above,Blackwater bodyguard protecting Paul Bremer)

Private military contractors make up a large portion of the Iraqi war effort. An article by Renai Merie for The Washington Post states there are 100,000 government contractors in Iraq, about 10 times the number of contractors deployed in the 1991 war. The amount of contractors almost equals the number of US troops in Iraq, about 140,000. However unlike the US troops, private contractors operate under their own regulations. According to a 2005 Government Accountability Office report, the lack of coordination between contractors and the military results in accidental shootings. Private defense firms also lack the same standards placed on US soldiers. William L. Nash, a retired Army general and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations told the Washington Post, “If you’re trying to win hearts and minds and the contractor is driving 90 miles per hour through the streets and running over kids, that’s not helping the image of the American army. The Iraqis aren’t going to distinguish between a contractor and a soldier.” (Blackwater CEO , Erik Prince at right)

Also, if an armed guard in Iraq is not subject to the same rules as everybody else who establishes the limits on what they can do? Contractors work in relative obscurity, under the jurisdiction of the company rather than the US military or State Department. With no oversight there is less pressure to exercise discipline on the trigger finger which results in more incidents and deeper mistrust of the US occupation. Collateral damage is a horrible yet unavoidable reality in any war, but soldiers accountable under the law know they face consequences if they fire at people indiscriminately.

Contractors have been operating in Iraq since the war began in 2003, and only now is the Pentagon and the State Department looking into how to police defense contractors, according to a Reuter’s article. The investigations began after a shooting incident involving Blackwater USA claimed the lives of 11 Iraqi civilians in September. Iraqi investigators say the number is higher, 17 people killed and 27 wounded. The New York Times reported that investigators could not find evidence that Blackwater guards were provoked while escorting a convoy. Spokesman for the prime minister, Ali al-Dabbagh, called the shooting a “deliberate crime.” Some Iraqi politicians even want Blackwater banned from the country because of past incidents. But the company has long-term plans to stay, according to an American official. This almost sends a worse message to the Iraqis than the shooting incident. Americans are communicating that they are above the law; a counter productive signal to send in a country where the law is desperately trying to be established. By ignoring the government’s concerns for safety, the US is fueling suspicions that Americans do not have the Iraqis best interest in mind. (above, Blackwater guards in helicopter above Baghdad)

Rep. David Price, D-North Carolina, got the ball rolling on fixing the private sector problem by sponsoring a bill that places military contractors overseas under US jurisdiction. The bill was approved by the House. Another representative, Jan Schakowsky D-Illinois, told CNN “Is it US policy that contractors can get away with murder? In the short-term, we need to bring private military contractors under the rule of law. In the end, military functions belong to the military.”
Private military firms are not going away any time soon, especially as the war continues and US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are stretched thinner. But outsourcing combat duties should not be an excuse to circumvent the law.

1 comment:

NYM said...

I think this post does a lot of things right. You explain the situation and introduce an argument very quickly. “With no oversight there is less pressure to exercise discipline on the trigger finger which results in more incidents and deeper mistrust of the US occupation.” In this quote you aptly summarize the problem and lead us into your argument for a solution.

The quotes you have in your post are well picked and deal directly with my thoughts on the topic at the moment. One that was especially timely as I was reading your post was, “If you’re trying to win hearts and minds and the contractor is driving 90 miles per hour through the streets and running over kids, that’s not helping the image of the American army. The Iraqis aren’t going to distinguish between a contractor and a soldier.”

You lay down a good argument with a well defined position, and you brought up the same questions that I had. Also, your links in the post are very relevant and informative. The pictures are well sized and placed, and the feed items that you have are very relevant for this topic in particular. All in all, I think this was a very well done post.

 
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