Rice, Gates, Petraeus "quite satisfied" with PSCs

The Associated Press reports that in joint Congressional testimony Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Bob Gates expressed their confidence in the work that private security contractors (PSCs) are doing in Iraq. Gates said General David Petraeus, Commanding General of Multi-National Force Iraq, was "quite satisfied with the arrangement that exists today" between PSCs and the government. Rice agreed. "I do think we've come to a good modus vivendi."

Petraeus Presence with Blackwater Lays Criticisms to Rest

The presence of General David Petraeus at the Polish Embassy event to bestow combat medals on Blackwater security contractors in Iraq puts an end to the validity of criticisms that the military is at odds with the diplomatic security provider.

Petraeus is one of the busiest men in Iraq, and his time is at a premium. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker, as the supervisor of the Blackwater guards, was already at the event, ensuring a proper level of official recognition from a protocol standpoint. The Blackwater men were not under Petraeus' command. There was no need for Petraeus to attend, but he did it anyway. That's an important indication of his support for Blackwater and its mission.

Though under contract with the State Department, Blackwater has assisted the US military on many occasions in Iraq, and performed a number of unheralded evacuations and rescues of American troops.

(Photo: Petraeus, left, with Blackwater security contractors at Polish Embassy ceremony. Cropped from larger State Department photo from State Magazine, April 2008, p. 3.)

State Department review panel keeps open mind

A State Department panel to review the use of private security contractors has faulted the department for poor coordination and oversight, but reached no conclusion about Blackwater.

AP reports that the panel is keeping all options open, pending the conclusion of an FBI review. Once the FBI report is completed, the US Embassy in Baghdad, in the words of the panel, should assess "whether the continued services of the contractor involved is consistent with the accomplishment of the overall mission in Iraq."

Secretary of State Condolezza Rice has already ordered some interim changes in how the private diplomatic security service contractors are administered and overseen. Blackwater had requested at least one of those changes in 2005, but State Department lawyers denied the request.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to come up with additional changes to ensure that Blackwater's aggressive security services for the State Department do not conflict with the softer counterinsurgency efforts instituted earlier this year by Gen. David Petraeus.