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Use of private security firms in Iraq
draws concerns
By Borzou
Daragahi
THE WASHINGTON
TIMES
KIRKUSH, Iraq — The use by the
Pentagon of more than a dozen private security companies to guard
key installations and train a new Iraqi army has helped extend U.S.
military resources but raised concern among some active-duty
soldiers and civilian U.S. officials.
That trend was on display recently here
in northeastern Iraq, where the U.S. authority proudly displayed a
battalion-size set of recruits it hopes will form the core of a new
pro-American Iraqi army.
The
camouflage-clad recruits — young and middle-aged, Kurdish, Arab and
Turkoman — marched in formation, launched ambushes and fired their
weapons for a group of visiting reporters.
But their training was being handled not
by U.S. forces but a group of gray-suited specialists under contract
from the Vinnell Corp., a subsidiary of American defense giant
Northrop Grumman. Vinnell, in turn, has subcontracted most of the
Kirkush training to MPRI, an Alexandria firm that helped train the
new Croatian and Bosnian armies.
"The
Iraqi army is such an essential component for the future of Iraq in
terms of avoiding civil war," said Rex Wempen, a Baghdad-based
security consultant and former Special Forces member. "It shows how
embedded the [private military contractors, or PMCs] are in the
thinking of the Department of Defense that they would use them to
train that army."
At a time when the
overstretched U.S. military is struggling to persuade other nations
to send troops to help secure Iraq, PMCs can relieve some of the
pressure on American forces.
"If you're
going to keep the number of troops down, this is the way to do it,"
said Mr. Wempen. "The expense is the same or more. But politically
it's much less expensive."
Staffed by
ex-military personnel, the private firms are playing an increasingly
visible role in Iraq:
•Armed employees
of Custer Battles, a Fairfax firm, guard Baghdad airport, manning
the type of checkpoints often operated by American soldiers.
•Erinys, a British company with offices
in the Middle East and South Africa, guards the oil fields.
•Global Risk, a British firm offering
"risk management" advice, has the contract to provide armed
protection for the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led
power.
•DynCorp of Reston has been hired
to help train Iraq's police.
Much of the
work is conducted by former soldiers who retain high security
clearances, said an Iraq-based former U.S. military official who
requested anonymity.
Western security
officials in Iraq say the companies generally do not engage in
combat operations as they do in Colombia and other countries, but
occasionally they are used for a specific task, such as quietly
snatching a suspected Saddam Hussein loyalist.
Coalition and U.S. military officials
say the contractors have the flexibility to do some things quickly
that the armed forces simply can't.
"They could be got here quickly," said
British Brig. Jonathon Riley. "The U.S. or Britain didn't have to
deploy another combat brigade to take this task."
Contractors also can cast a wider net in
hiring, helping to internationalize the forces in Iraq even as U.S.
attempts to attract more foreign troops stall.
"We're trying to get more international
participation here and the contractors can hire internationally,"
said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Johnny Monds, one of the coalition
soldiers in Kirkush.
But many coalition
soldiers are squeamish about the private contractors and say they
hope their role will be temporary.
"This
is a very touchy issue," said a high-level coalition military
official who opposes expanded use of private soldiers in Iraq.
"There's a lot of pressure to use these contractors. Some oppose it.
Some support it."
Some soldiers said
privately that the soldiers-for-hire walk around with their weapons
in full view as if they belong to a coalition army. They worry that
the private-sector soldiers might not be constrained by the same
rules of engagement and that any rogues among them who kill or hurt
Iraqis could bring reprisals on all foreign forces.
"What are the rules of engagement [for
the PMCs]?" asked one coalition military official in Baghdad. "Are
they civilians or are they military? I don't know who they are, and
I don't want to go anywhere near them."
The Coalition Provisional Authority did
not respond to several formal requests for information about private
military activities in Iraq. The coalition military commander in
Iraq, U.S. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, responding to a question at a
press conference several weeks ago, said he did not know of any
plans to use contractors to perform security functions for the
military.
On the ground, however, the
private soldiers are occasionally finding themselves in firefights
with Iraqis.
Richard Galustian of
Pilgrims, a contractor that provides security for many Western media
outlets, described one incident in which his firm's security
officials opened fire on a group of suspected bandits along the road
from Baghdad to the Jordanian border. "Certainly at least one or two
people were hit," he said.
A former
Special Forces member now in Baghdad said military contractors
guarding ministries on behalf of coalition authorities have killed
Iraqis who were trying to loot or attack the buildings.
"It's Iraq," he said. "You're
accountable to nobody. But I guess ultimately you're accountable to
the U.S. military for what happens."
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