US private contractors by Claudia Sonea

After Bush's meeting on Tuesday with Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, Defense Secretary Robert Gates debated on Congress the issue of private contractors on Wednesday due to the incident involving Blackwater that killed 11 Iraqis on September 16, while protecting a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Baghdad. He said to the Senate Appropriations Committee that the presence of 137,000 private contractors in Iraq is justifiable under the condition that US forces have to focus more on combat and they can fulfill the simple tasks of providing food, laundry services and guarding fixed sites. However, he added that there must be law that controls their rights and actions. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also asked last week for a full report of State Department security in Iraq and of the rules governing security contractor actions. Moreover, a joint U.S.-Iraqi commission will take a look the September 16 events. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said in a statement to the committee said that in 56 missions Blackwater used weapons, but each time the situations were reviewed and nothing wrong was found. Loren's Thompson, a defense expert at the Lexington Institute, declaration of the fact that terrorists do not obey laws, therefore making it difficult for the contractors or militaries to fight according to the laws, but she also said that private contractors were a problem from the beginning. Gates say that the Pentagon should have sufficient legal authority to control the contractors, especially now that they can be prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice unlike before November 2006. Another concern of his is the luring of soldiers due to the big salary the contractors offer and that is why five-person team including Gen. David Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno was sent to Iraq. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England issued a memorandum reminding the commanders about the fact that they have the legal authority to check the private contractors if they comply with US rules and that they are all authorized and trained for their jobs. The initial purpose of the speech was the request for nearly $190 billion in new funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it ended in debating the private contractors' issue. Like always, they cannot stick to one thing, especially when it comes to the financial aspect. Stay connected see where the investigation is heading.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_contractors;_ylt=Ak8vQRQZtEVxr3ZOCQFT2_us0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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