Who’S Watching U.S. Companies In Iraq?

The Blackwater security fiasco is only the most recent chapter in a tale of apparent White House corruption and hubris in Iraq .Who’s Watching U.S. Companies In Iraq?By Cliff Montgomery – Sept. 20th, 2007The decision of Iraq’s government to place a temporary ban on the Blackwater security company  after its employees fatally shot Baghdad civilians is only the most recent chapter in a tale of apparent White House corruption and hubris.This ugly episode has forced every caring American to ask two questions: Just who in the Bush Administration is watching our corporations in Iraq, and who–if anyone–holds them accountable if they do wrong?Private security companies like Blackwater are an especially worrisome issue in Iraq. While there appears to be a growing set of rules overseeing weapons-bearing private contractors,  administration enforcement of those rules seems to be another matter.It’s been almost a year since the passage of a law which prosecutes errant private employees under the U.S. military code of justice. But the Bush Administration has yet to release a paper informing military lawyers on how to proceed with such cases, says Peter Singer, a security industry expert employed at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.A July Congressional Research Service report previously disclosed by claimed that security employees in Iraq work under the laws of America, Iraq and such inter-governmental bodies as the United Nations.But this is no assurance that clear wrongdoing will be punished, the report added.A court-martial of private employees may prove unconstitutional, stated the report, while the U.S. does not recognize the Iraqi government’s right to bring American-based contractors to justice.”It is possible that some contractors may remain outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, civil or military, for improper conduct in Iraq,” the study reported.”This is what happens when government fails to act,” Singer replied via the Brookings Website after the apparent Sunday massacre involving Blackwater employees.The Iraqi government issued a statement Tuesday that it would take a closer look at all security firms now employed in Iraq, in an effort to ensure that the companies are following Iraqi laws.But this may prove to be an empty promise. About three years ago, the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) issued Order No. 17, which granted U.S.-based security companies a near-blanket immunity from prosecution by the Iraqi government.Iraqi representatives have told journalists that their government can’t afford to rescind the questionable order.”We don’t want to do so because we don’t have the services they are providing for the diplomats and for the American Embassy here in Iraq,” said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh to CNN reporters.Blackwater is based in Moyock, NC. It is one of the three private security companies hired to provide bodyguards for State Department personnel in Iraq. The other two are based near  Washington, D.C.: Dyncorp, headquartered in Falls Church, VA, and Triple Canopy, which is based in Herndon, VA.The Blackwater debacle comes on the heels of a similar embarrassment, involving a team of Defense auditors who in early September were quietly shuttled to Iraq. The group is examining the increasing cases of corruption and fraud being perpetrated through contracts meant to provide weapons and other supplies to Iraqi forces.”The [Defense] Department is concerned with the number of contracting improprieties” that have been discovered, department spokesman Bryan Whitman told the Associated Press (AP) on August 28th.A few members of a group headed by Pentagon Inspector General Claude Kicklighter already were in Iraq by late August, studying the matter. The majority of Kicklighter’s group would join those auditors during the first week of September, Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib told AP.The group is studying “accountability and control problems,” said Isleib, including some questions regarding “weapons and munitions purchased by the U.S. government and intended for use by Iraqi security forces.”The Kicklighter team also will study similar problems in Afghanistan.There were 73 ongoing criminal probes investigating contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait as of late August, Army spokesman Col. Dan Baggio told AP.As a result of one of the most recent contract investigations, the Government Accountability Office issued a July declaration that the Defense Department cannot verify who now possesses at least 190,000 weapons worth $19.2 billion and originally given to Iraqi security units.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) ofe-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!