US Officials Reach Consensus On Iraq Private Contractor Oversight

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

US Officials Reach Consensus On Iraq Private Contractor Oversight



WASHINGTON (AP)--Defense and State department officials have reached a " general understanding" that the U.S. military command in Baghdad should have more oversight of the U.S. government's private security contractors in Iraq, a Pentagon official said Tuesday.

"We need to be more clear" on rules for the use of force and coordination of the movement of the contractors, whether they work for the State Department or the Pentagon, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.

He said this didn't necessarily mean the Pentagon would have full control over all private contractors. He stressed that the top priority, from the point of view of the Defense Department, is to have better coordination of the movement of security contractors on the battlefield.

He spoke to reporters shortly after Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss ways to improve control over private security contractors in the aftermath of the Sept. 16 shooting involving Blackwater USA security guards that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

Morrell said a working team of State and Defense department officials reached a general understanding on some, but not all, aspects of reforming oversight of contractors. The group will travel to Baghdad in early November to present a set of proposals to Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Morrell said.



Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20071030%5cACQDJON200710301515DOWJONESDJONLINE000689.htm&

[endarkenment]

1. Did they ask the sovereign state of Iraq abou this?

Oh wait, that would be impossible, never mind.

[louis-t]

2. They keep talking about "control' over contractors.

"We're going to watch them more carefully" sez Condi. Which means they will do nothing. They've already proven they don't want anyone to 'control' contractors. That's why they gave them immunity from Iraqi law, US law, military law, and international law. Sheeeesh!

[Javaman]

3. "didn't necessarily mean the Pentagon would have full control over all private contractors" aka

all except for blackwater.

[maddezmom]

4. another link....looks like Pentagon won't have control over any contractors

However, the agreement appeared to fall short of a deal putting contractors under the command of the military, as Pentagon officials had suggested.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said from a practical standpoint, it was decided not to put contractors under military command.

"Once they did an analysis of it, they decided this was not something they wanted to take on," said McCormack.

Gates and U.S. commanders have expressed concern that contractors' actions could undermine the U.S. mission in Iraq.

"If we can agree on a common set of standards, common rules for the use of force and can agree that there will be coordinated movements of contractors ... that may suffice," Morrell said.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N30198899.htm

[Javaman]

5. once again, the devil is in the details. nt

[maddezmom]

6. but looks like the details changed once again

U.S. Military Will Oversee Contractors
Source: NY Times

All State Department security convoys in Iraq will now fall under military control, the latest step taken by government officials to bring Blackwater Worldwide and other armed contractors under tighter supervision.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates agreed to the measure at a lunch on Tuesday after weeks of tension between their departments over coordination of thousands of gun-carrying contractors operating in the chaos of Iraq.

Mr. Gates appears to have won the bureaucratic tug-of-war, which accelerated after a Sept. 16 shooting in central Baghdad involving guards in a Blackwater convoy who Iraqi investigators say killed 17 Iraqis. Military coordination of contractor convoys will include operations of not only Blackwater, formerly known as Blackwater USA, but also those of dozens of other private firms that guard American diplomats, aid workers and reconstruction crews.

In Iraq, the government approved a draft law to overturn an order imposed by the American occupation authority in 2004 granting the employees of foreign contractors immunity from Iraqi law. Also on Tuesday, the State Department confirmed that some Blackwater employees questioned in connection with the Sept. 16 shooting had been granted a form of immunity in exchange for their statements. However, officials insisted that the immunity was limited and that it did not foreclose the possibility of prosecutions.


more:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3048491

[Javaman]

7. Man, there seems to be a major battle going on behind the scenes.

I wish I was a fly in that office.