Randy J. Ray ([info]rjray) wrote,
@ 2007-09-17 14:43:00
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Entry tags:politcs

This Could Get Awkward
Iraq expels American security firm

Blackwater USA is not just a simple private security firm. It was co-founded by a pair of far-right religious former Navy SEALs. The two have major Republican ties, and have enjoyed no-bid contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan and New Orleans. Sourcewatch.org has more about them. Google will turn up plenty, too.

One very telling passage in the story:

But it was clear that the U.S. hoped the Iraqis would be satisfied with an investigation, a finding of responsibility and compensation to the victims' families — and not insist on expelling a company that the Americans cannot operate here without.

Apparently even our own diplomats rely on Blackwater for security. If the Iraqi government does in fact order them to leave, it could get sticky, to say the least.

Edit: Larry Johnson, who has cred, points out that they probably don't have or need a "license" anyway...

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[info]shoutingboy
2007-09-17 11:04 pm UTC (link)
I think this kind of outsourcing makes a lot of sense for troops and missions in peaceful areas, but is just a bad idea in a war zone.

In a really peaceful posting--a military hospital in Germany, or a base in Georgia--sure, there's no reason why you need to have uniformed troops sworn to defend the Constitution doing every job. Typing, slinging hash, even a certain amount of security could be done by contractors. But in a war zone, that doesn't work so well. For the non-violent work, you really need people you can count on to be there--if you contract with McDonalds, and they pack up and leave after a bombing, well, your troops still need to eat.

And for the possibly-violent work, contractors can be politically really awkward. If they do something wrong, they aren't subject to either Iraqi law or military discipline, which means there's nothing anyone can do. And because of that, I suspect they're a convenient punching bag even when they haven't done anything wrong--an Iraqi rabble-rouser can always blame the American mercenaries for poisoning the wells.

I suspect our heavy reliance on contractors is a vestige of our earlier pretending that occupied Iraq wasn't actually a war zone. But it is, and that means most of this work really needs to be done by uniformed troops, ours or Iraq's.

The trick will be finding the troops, of course. Me, I'm inclined to find them in Germany. I think after sixty years, Germany can defend itself now...

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