US has Thrown DoD Contractors 'Under the Bus,' IPOA says

The United States government has thrown its contractors in Iraq "under the bus" by caving into Iraqi demands that they be subject to the country's dysfunctional and corrupt judicial system.

That's what the main trade association of security contractors, the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), is saying about the new arrangement.

The main companies involved - Blackwater, Fluor Corp., KBR and DynCorp, wouldn't tell Bloomberg News what they think of the arrangement.

But IPOA President Doug Brooks says flat-out: "This agreement throws DoD contractors under the bus." And State Department contractors as well, one presumes.

Iraq's judicial and corrections systems are "way below" global standards, says Brooks.

According to Bloomberg, "The Defense Department and State Department briefed their private contractors today on a provision of the so-called status- of-forces accord that eliminates contractors' immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. While the agreement applies to U.S. military operations, the State Department told its contractors today that Iraq will make them subject to the same rules.

"The provision is part of an agreement that would govern U.S. military operations in Iraq after a United Nations Security Council resolution expires on Dec. 31. About 28,000 of the 163,500 people employed as Pentagon contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens," and about 1,000 or so reportedly work for Blackwater as personal security detail professionals.

The deal is likely to increase financial and political costs for the incoming Obama administration. "This is going to create costs for contractors because every contractor will need additional insurance coverage'' to protect against the risk of prosecutions, a Virginia lawyer who has represented US private security contractors in Iraq tells Bloomberg. "There's an increased likelihood of civil litigation costs for companies in the U.S. every time an investigation is opened in Iraq.'"

The Pentagon doesn't seem worried. "I would imagine that no matter what the legal protections are for contractors" serving in Iraq, Iraq "will remain a profitable enough business that you will see a number of contractors willing to do this," a Pentagon spokesman says.

That means that DoD will have to build untold millions of dollars a year into its contractor budgeting to cover the costs of defense against prosecution, and the huge costs of litigation and any payouts awarded by courts.

US House approves Blackwater-backed legislation

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation backed by Blackwater CEO Erik Prince to fill legal gaps concerning accountability for private contractors abroad.

Prince complained to Congress on October 2 that existing law did not allow him to take action against Blackwater diplomatic security personnel abroad who were suspected of committing crimes. He referred specifically to the highly publicized case of an off-duty guard who got drunk and allegedly shot a bodyguard for an Iraqi vice president. All Blackwater could do in that case, Prince said, was fire the guard, make him pay a financial penalty, send him back to the US, and urge that the government revoke the guard's security clearance.

When lawmakers suggested that Blackwater should have apprehended the alleged killer, Prince said that US law forbids the company to detain people. "We fired him. We fined him. But we, as a private organization, can't do any more," Prince told congressmen at the hearing. "We can't flog him. We can't incarcerate him. That's up to the Justice Department. We are not empowered to enforce U.S. law."

The Blackwater CEO publicly backed a bill by Rep. David Price (D-NC), HR 2740, to expand US law to make non-Defense Department contractors abroad accountable for wrongdoing or criminal activity.

Congressman Price's legislation also had the strong support of the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), a trade group of which Blackwater is a member. "Anything that enhances the accountability is good for our industry," says IPOA President Doug Brooks.

The White House opposes the legislation, and Republicans argue that Democrats are ramming the bill through Congress without adequate review.

Harvard scholar says Blackwater may have Darfur solution

A scholar at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government writes in the Boston Globe that Blackwater USA might have the solution to the human tragedy in Darfur.

The scholar, Rebecca Ulam Weiner, discusses the failure of the African Union, NATO and the United Nations to help bring an end to the Darfur horrors and other atrocities in Africa. She argues that private military companies are right for the job - but those she interviews say that world leaders don't have the political will.

"There's little question that companies like Blackwater could be more effective operationally than the African Union, which has been hampered by its peacekeepers' lack of command and control experience. Private military companies boast a roster of former special forces officers and law enforcement officers who are accustomed to volatile conflict and post-conflict areas like Sudan," Weiner says.

"Blackwater also subjects all of its personnel to an impressive array of extra training-whether they're training to work in Baghdad or the firm's North Carolina headquarters. They take classes in international humanitarian law, leadership, ethics, regional awareness, and ''customs and traditions.' They've recently approached Amnesty International about teaching human rights education classes. And the International Peace Operations Association [IPOA] boasts that its code of conduct was written by human rights lawyers.

"The industry also claims that it's far cheaper than its multilateral or military counterparts. ''We offer the ability to create a right-sized solution-which creates a cost savings right off the bat,' says Taylor. By contrast, [IPOA President Doug] Brooks notes, ''NATO is insanely expensive; it's not a cost-effective organization. Neither is the [African Union]. Private companies would be much, much cheaper. When we compared their costs to most UN operations, we came up with 10 to 20 percent of what the UN would normally charge.'"