Role of battlefield contractors expands in Iraq

1.00pm - By SUE PLEMING

WASHINGTON - Prison interrogations, protection for top US officials and some secret intelligence work are all done by contractors in Iraq where experts say military and civilian roles have merged like never before.

Battlefield contractors are nothing new but what has surprised procurement experts is the extent of sensitive work outsourced by the military, whose own laws and rules are much stricter than those for contractors.

Contractors have been implicated in a prison abuse scandal in Iraq, including the death of a prisoner, and their possible involvement has raised ethical and moral questions about the kind of work civilians should be entrusted with and what safeguards should be in place.

"Nothing is taboo now in terms of what can be outsourced and there is no empirical evidence that suggests there is a line the military is not prepared to cross," said procurement specialist Steven Schooner of George Washington University.

Private contractors guard the perimeter of the protected Green Zone in Baghdad and protect US civilian administrator Paul Bremer while soldiers ride in the cabs of convoys driven by drivers from logistics contractor Kellogg Brown and Root.

"That means if Bremer is attacked, the people who pull the trigger will be private contractors and not the US military," said Schooner, adding that it appeared more logical for the military to protect Bremer.

Dan Guttman, who wrote a book on government outsourcing, said what concerned him was that rules that governed the behaviour of military officials did not apply to contractors.

"This could be a set-up for abuse," said Guttman,

Guttman said what amazed him was how interwoven the roles had become and that contractors were now considered a part of the overall team on the battlefield.

"If you want contractors to run defence, that's fine, but don't pretend that we have rules that cover what they do," said Guttman.

However, Defence spokesman Glenn Flood said privatisation and outsourcing had been the overall policy of the department for many years. "It's all part of the philosophy of the core business of the military and using the expertise of others," he said.

The exact involvement of contractors in the Iraqi abuse scandal is unclear but an internal Army report has named workers from two companies who might be implicated. No charges have been filed against them.

The legal implications of their involvement are unclear.

US Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen George Casey confirmed on Tuesday that contractors were not covered under the Uniform Code of Military Justice that soldiers must adhere to or face possible court-martial.

"I am told that if we, in the course of our investigation, feel like charges are warranted (against a contractor), then we take that to the US attorney and the US attorney conducts the prosecution," he told reporters.

Illinois Rep Jan Schakowsky wrote to President George W Bush and urged him to suspend contracts with private military firms involved in the supervision, security and interrogation of prisoners.

Schakowsky, a Democrat and longtime critic of military contractors, said Bush should make clear his administration's policy on the laws governing the conduct of contractors.

"I have long held that the use of civilian contractors to carry out military functions on behalf of the United States is a dangerous policy, in large part because of the lack of accountability and oversight that exists when contractors are used," she wrote.

The expanding use of military contractors for traditional military work is evident from a burgeoning number of companies and websites advertising jobs in Iraq for the US military.

One site, www.intelligencecareers.com, specialises in finding jobs for people with "top secret" security clearance to do work in Iraq and elsewhere.

Jobs listed in Iraq on the website range from "debriefers", linguists and interpreters to war crimes analysts and counter-intelligence experts.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq