Reply #19: U.S. should not use private security as surrogate soldiers [View All]

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It’s wrong for these groups to perform U.S. military functions. It may make these tasks more dangerous than they would be if under military control, and it conflicts with the notion of a military that is supervised, through the chain of command, by elected authorities.

Members of these groups cannot access the same intelligence that the military uses; the security of that data could be breached. In a hostile insurgency, such information can be life-saving. Would intelligence that only the military had have prevented what happened to those four men at Fallujah? That’s unclear, but a commander sending them into such a dangerous place would want the best information available, and that’s just not what a private company can offer.

Do these troops obey the codes of conduct that we expect of U.S. forces, and have adequate, up-to-date training to handle dangerous situations? There is no outside, public review to assure that, and Blackwater, for one, will not describe its training at all. Are they fully briefed on the current rules of engagement, and to what extent are they bound by them? Having armed men in a war zone who are not directly under the control of military authorities can be a potential threat not only to our troops, but to our nation’s overall strategic goals in Iraq.

Employment of these private groups also sends the wrong message. As we struggle to persuade Iraqis to abandon private militias and embrace the ballot box, they see U.S. private forces in plainclothes rolling through the streets, not answering to local authority.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/state/news/opinion/8452940.htm

Bechtel: fails to fulfill its contractual obligations to delivery potable water in Iraq

o On April 5, Public Citizen called for an investigation of Bechtel’s failure to provide adequate water services to Iraqi citizens. Bechtel Group Inc., one of the lead contractors in the reconstruction of Iraq, has failed its contractual mandate to develop essential water delivery and sewage disposal, according to information Public Citizen forwarded to the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). A copy of the letter sent to DOD Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz is available at: http://www.citizen.org/documents/bechteliniraq.pdf

Private commandos shoot back on the Iraq firing line
A company spokesman, Chris Bertelli, said the group had 450 people in Iraq, most armed with the 5.56 mm M4 rifle. Employees there - many ex Navy SEALs or Army Rangers - were restricted to rifles of a calibre up to 7.62 mm.

"Almost all of them are weapon-carrying," Mr Bertelli said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1089777.htm