WACKY IRAQI CONTRACTORS GET OVERSIGHT
US boosts oversight for Iraq contractors
By MATTHEW LEE and ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 14 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday ordered new measures to improve government oversight of private guards who protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, including tighter rules of engagement and a board to investigate any future killings.
The steps, recommended by an independent review panel she created after last month's deadly Baghdad shooting involving Blackwater USA, would also require contractors to undergo training intended to make them more sensitive to Iraqi culture and language.
The changes to rules of engagement would bring the State Department closer to military rules.
The State Department's rules for contractors' use of force were more detailed in some respects, but the panel found that the Pentagon had clearer rules for the steps a guard must take after identifying a threat.
The moves will not have much visible effect on the way private guards operate in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq: They will still escort diplomats in highly armed convoys like the one involved in the Sept. 16 deaths of 17 Iraqis in a Baghdad square.
The State Department will set up panels that include security officials and others to look into each shooting or other use of deadly force by private guards and organize rapid response teams to investigate shooting incidents.
The department will also require contractors to have Arabic speakers on hand.
Rice also named a senior diplomat to oversee Iraq management issues. The official will report to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.
Rice was briefed Monday on the panel's findings and the State Department released the document Tuesday.
"Prompt measures should be taken to strengthen the coordination, oversight and accountability aspects of the State Department's security practices in Iraq in order to reduce the likelihood that future incidents will occur," the report said.
Patrick Kennedy, a State Department official who led the review, told reporters that the group focused on management and policy, not possible wrongdoing by Blackwater or others.
The new review board for deadly incidents would have the power to refer cases to the Justice Department, Kennedy said.
The report also identified a gap that left private guards for diplomats in Iraq outside the direct control of U.S. civilian or military law and outside Iraqi law.
"The legal framework for providing proper oversight of personal protective services contractors is inadequate," the report said.
The panel made no specific recommendations about what should happen to Blackwater, whose guards were escorting an official from the U.S. Embassy when the shooting occurred. Iraqi authorities claim Blackwater guards fired unprovoked, but Blackwater's founder has said his employees were fired on first.
The panel recommended that when a separate FBI review of the incident is complete the U.S. embassy in Baghdad should assess "whether the continued services of the contractor involved is consistent with the accomplishment of the overall mission in Iraq."
The killings have outraged Iraqis and focused attention on the shadowy rules surrounding heavily armed private guards.
The Iraqi government is demanding that Blackwater be expelled from the country within six months and that its employees be subject to Iraqi law.
The recommendations would apply to management of all private security contractors in Iraq, and recognize that it is impractical to eliminate such protection altogether. The military has resisted assuming responsibility for guarding large numbers of U.S. officials, and the State Department's own security force is too small and already stretched too thin.
The moves announced Tuesday are among those that Rice opted to make on her own, but further changes are likely after she meets later this week with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The panel made 19 written recommendations, and Rice has adopted 11 so far.
Earlier this month, Rice accepted several preliminary suggestions to improve oversight of security contractors, including having federal agents accompany Blackwater-escorted diplomatic convoys, installing video cameras in security vehicles and improving and recording audio communication between diplomats and the military.
By MATTHEW LEE and ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 14 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday ordered new measures to improve government oversight of private guards who protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, including tighter rules of engagement and a board to investigate any future killings.
The steps, recommended by an independent review panel she created after last month's deadly Baghdad shooting involving Blackwater USA, would also require contractors to undergo training intended to make them more sensitive to Iraqi culture and language.
The changes to rules of engagement would bring the State Department closer to military rules.
The State Department's rules for contractors' use of force were more detailed in some respects, but the panel found that the Pentagon had clearer rules for the steps a guard must take after identifying a threat.
The moves will not have much visible effect on the way private guards operate in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq: They will still escort diplomats in highly armed convoys like the one involved in the Sept. 16 deaths of 17 Iraqis in a Baghdad square.
The State Department will set up panels that include security officials and others to look into each shooting or other use of deadly force by private guards and organize rapid response teams to investigate shooting incidents.
The department will also require contractors to have Arabic speakers on hand.
Rice also named a senior diplomat to oversee Iraq management issues. The official will report to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.
Rice was briefed Monday on the panel's findings and the State Department released the document Tuesday.
"Prompt measures should be taken to strengthen the coordination, oversight and accountability aspects of the State Department's security practices in Iraq in order to reduce the likelihood that future incidents will occur," the report said.
Patrick Kennedy, a State Department official who led the review, told reporters that the group focused on management and policy, not possible wrongdoing by Blackwater or others.
The new review board for deadly incidents would have the power to refer cases to the Justice Department, Kennedy said.
The report also identified a gap that left private guards for diplomats in Iraq outside the direct control of U.S. civilian or military law and outside Iraqi law.
"The legal framework for providing proper oversight of personal protective services contractors is inadequate," the report said.
The panel made no specific recommendations about what should happen to Blackwater, whose guards were escorting an official from the U.S. Embassy when the shooting occurred. Iraqi authorities claim Blackwater guards fired unprovoked, but Blackwater's founder has said his employees were fired on first.
The panel recommended that when a separate FBI review of the incident is complete the U.S. embassy in Baghdad should assess "whether the continued services of the contractor involved is consistent with the accomplishment of the overall mission in Iraq."
The killings have outraged Iraqis and focused attention on the shadowy rules surrounding heavily armed private guards.
The Iraqi government is demanding that Blackwater be expelled from the country within six months and that its employees be subject to Iraqi law.
The recommendations would apply to management of all private security contractors in Iraq, and recognize that it is impractical to eliminate such protection altogether. The military has resisted assuming responsibility for guarding large numbers of U.S. officials, and the State Department's own security force is too small and already stretched too thin.
The moves announced Tuesday are among those that Rice opted to make on her own, but further changes are likely after she meets later this week with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The panel made 19 written recommendations, and Rice has adopted 11 so far.
Earlier this month, Rice accepted several preliminary suggestions to improve oversight of security contractors, including having federal agents accompany Blackwater-escorted diplomatic convoys, installing video cameras in security vehicles and improving and recording audio communication between diplomats and the military.
0
-
Aww shucks... you mean they don't get to play cowboys and Iraqis no more? For shame...! 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
1 comment