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US Paying Over 20,000 Mercenaries in Iraq
(Associated Press, 27 April 2004)
That blurring of lines between active-duty soldiers and contracted security personnel is causing unease in Congress, as violence continues to rise in Iraq. Some lawmakers worry that private security forces operate too far outside U.S. military control -- and laws.. . . "It would be a dangerous precedent if the United States allowed the presence of private armies operating outside the control of a governmental authority and beholden only to those that pay them," . . . Roughly 20,000 private security contractors from dozens of companies operate in Iraq under contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led governing body in Iraq, plus the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies. Thousands more are on assignments for the United States and others worldwide, including in Afghanistan, taking on jobs like guarding officials, protecting buildings and supply convoys, and training police and soldiers. . . . Citing security concerns, defense officials won't talk about the rules covering contractors' use of force. Although experts say the policy can vary by contract, private contractors generally are allowed to fire in self-defense but not to fire first. . . . Even so, they have been involved in several firefights from Mosul in the north to Najaf in the south, and at least a handful of security contractors have died. . . . Private personnel sometimes get paid $1,000 a day or more for the riskiest assignments. Defense experts contend nevertheless that they are cheaper in the long term than troops, who rely on the government to support their families and provide benefits. . . . Many of the contracts were thrown together quickly as the U.S.-led coalition tried to establish its presence in Iraq, leaving vague lines of authority, unclear responsibilities and muddled channels of communications with the U.S.-led coalition. As a result, experts say, rules governing the private personnel can vary depending on how their contracts are written. . . . Further complicating the situation, the coalition, contractors and Iraqi leaders are still negotiating what authorities these armed civilians will operate under when the coalition turns over political control to the Iraqis on June 30.

posted by LoZo 11:45 AM