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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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December 2nd,
2007 - Security Crews Ponder Future in Iraq |
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Security Crews Ponder Future
in Iraq Several private contractors say that losing legal immunity wouldn’t
drive them from their high-paying jobs. By Christian Berthelsen Los Angeles Times December 2, 2007 Baghdad - The security
contractor settled into the back of the armored Mercedes parked under the
crossed-swords monument, and contemplated the question: If the Iraqi
government follows through with its plan to withdraw legal immunity for
private guards operating in the country, would he continue to work here? "I can tell you there's
a lot of guys that are worried about it," said the burly former
policeman, now in his fourth year in Iraq. He works for an American company
that guards high-level U.S. military officials on daily missions around
Baghdad. But, he added, "I get paid a hell of a lot of money to be here.
I'm in their country, and I need to respect that. "It's not going to make
a difference in how I operate, and it's absolutely not going to cause me to
leave," he said. So it goes for the legions
of armed guards that make up the private security forces in Iraq. In the wake
of a number of recent shootings, most notably the Sept. 16 incident involving
the security firm Blackwater USA that left 17 Iraqis dead and 24 wounded,
public rage has boiled over and the government has aggressively been pursuing
new efforts to bring private guards under control. Chief among them is to
withdraw the immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts that had been bestowed
on the contractors by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority that
helped set up the new Iraqi government after Saddam Hussein was ousted. Prime Minister Nouri
Maliki's Cabinet has approved the immunity rescission, and it awaits adoption
by the parliament. But on Nov. 19, the Iraqi government signaled the
seriousness of the intent to move forward with the new oversight, arresting
43 people involved with a security convoy that shot and wounded a pedestrian
as she crossed a street in the Baghdad neighborhood of Karada. In interviews with the Los
Angeles Times, an executive and four guards from four companies in the
secretive world of security contracting agreed to share their thoughts about
the impending crackdown on the grounds that neither they nor their firms'
identities would be disclosed. Generally, there was a sense
of resignation among the guards about the immunity repeal and a reluctant
acknowledgment that it is probably necessary, because the legal protection
appeared to have given some a sense of impunity - or, at a minimum, a willingness
to cut corners when it came to following rules of engagement or escalation of
force. None said they believed they would receive a fair trial in an Iraqi
court, but none said they would quit the business and leave the country,
either. "From an individual
point of view, I don't think there will be a great reaction, because a lot of
operators live for the day or the week, and as long as the money's there,
there will always be people willing to work in this environment," said
another contractor, who works for a British firm. Losing immunity "does
make people think twice, but when you bear in mind the personal risk people
take in working here, it's probably low down on their list of
priorities," he said. Among some, there was also
frustration - with the high-profile American security firms, particularly
Blackwater, whom they accuse of an over-aggressive attitude that creates more
problems than necessary - and with Iraqis who they say continue to approach
convoys rapidly and provoke guards to fire despite more than four years of
warnings. Some said the U.S. government had not done enough to strike a
balance that would hold contractors accountable for unjustified shootings
while also ensuring complaints would be heard fairly. And one said the debate
over security firm conduct was a luxury afforded by the newfound stability in
the country, and one that wasn't even contemplated when hundreds of Iraqis
died on a daily basis. Though the guards expressed
a willingness to continue working despite the new legal risk, the executive -
who works for an American firm under contract with the U.S. government - said
the company would have to reexamine whether it would remain in Iraq if
immunity for its guards was withdrawn. In two cases, the firm's guards fired
on, and disabled, vehicles that turned out to be car bombs driven by suicide
attackers. But the company also has been accused of killing drivers who were
found to pose no risk. "We have to seriously
think about whether we could do business in Iraq under those conditions,"
the executive said. "I think under normal conditions no company would
have a problem with its employees being accountable to local law. But the
reason we're in Iraq is because normal conditions don't exist." One contractor said the U.S.
might have to hire private guards and make them government employees so they
would continue to receive diplomatic immunity. Some companies are said to be
considering installing video cameras on convoy vehicles to support their
contentions that incidents involving the use of force occur in response to
threats. The contractors operate
under difficult and dangerous circumstances, guarding high-profile diplomats
and military officials who would be prime targets for insurgents. Threats can
lurk anywhere, hidden amid the chaos of Baghdad's streets. In theory, contractors are
supposed to follow rules that call for verbal and visual warnings, warning
shots, and shots intended to disable vehicles before resorting to lethal
force. But in an unpredictable environment where attacks can unfold in
seconds, contractors must sometimes abandon interim steps to act fast. In one year, the contractor
under the crossed-swords monument said, he had to fire only two warning
shots. But then, in one afternoon, he had to return fire three separate times
when his convoy came under attack. Still, he said, he trusted his training
and instincts enough to do the right thing. "If it's done according
to the rules of engagement, you will know that," he said. "You will
know that you did the right thing." His colleague, who also came
to the meeting under the crossed swords, said immunity had allowed some
contractors to skip the interim steps because they would never have to defend
their actions. "Immunity puts you in
an untenable position," he said. "We should all be able to be
answerable to the law. If people aren't accountable, it becomes easy. It's
the easiest thing in the world to let everything go and shoot people in
Iraq." Some say contractors' own
comportment determines how much of a target they or their charges are. By
keeping a low profile, following the rules and doing enough intelligence
research to know where threats exist and avoid them, security contractors can
do their jobs safely and rarely need to resort to force, said a fourth guard,
who has been in the country for more than three years. In the previous year, his
firm moved 1,200 clients - engineers and other workers involved in
development projects - more than 50,000 miles, and had been involved in just
two incidents, neither fatal. But some firms, they say,
choose to operate in a way that invites attention, and puts them in a
position of having to use force. The fourth contractor said he had a run-in
with a Blackwater convoy in which the firm's guards ran him off the road and
brandished a weapon at him, even though he had just passed a checkpoint
inside a secure area and was clearly not a risk. "What I've seen happen
here is some of the companies are taking the law into their own hands,"
he said. "That is not the right thing. We've already got enough enemies
in the country, and we don't need more enemies." He said he recognized the
need for tighter regulation of the industry, even as he believed the new
rules would be slanted against contractors. "People can't do
whatever they want," he said. "There has to be control. And that
goes for everybody. But don't think you'll get a fair trial under Iraqi law.
They don't want us here." External link: http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-contractors2dec02%2C0%2C5239262.story |