[Peace-discussion] War as a profitable business

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:24:18 +0000

--NextPart_Webmail_9m3u9jl4l_18667_1183656258_0
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq 

New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush administration has relied on 
corporations to carry
out the occupation of the war-torn nation. 

By T.Christian Miller Times Staff Writer

the Los Angeles Times 
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-private4jul04,1,6564316.sto
ry?ctrack=4&cset=true 
July 4, 2007

The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now
exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released
figures show, raising fresh questions about the
privatization of the war effort and the g overnment's
capacity to carry out military and rebuilding
campaigns.

More than 180,000 civilians -- including Americans,
foreigners and Iraqis -- are working in Iraq under U.S.
contracts, according to State and Defense department
figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Including the recent troop buildup, 160,000 soldiers
and a few thousand civilian government employees are
stationed in Iraq.

The total number of private contractors, far higher
than previously reported, shows how heavily the Bush
administration has relied on corporations to carry out
the occupation of Iraq -- a mission criticized as being
undermanned.

"These numbers are big," said Peter Singer, a Brookings
Institution scholar who has written on military
contracting. "They illustrate better than anything that
we went in without enough troops. This is not the
coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the
billing."

The numbers in clude at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000
foreign contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis -- all
employed in Iraq by U.S. tax dollars, according to the
most recent government data.

The array of private workers promises to be a factor in
debates on a range of policy issues, including the
privatization of military jobs and the number of Iraqi
refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S.

But there are also signs that even those mounting
numbers may not capture the full picture. Private
security contractors, who are hired to protect
government officials and buildings, were not fully
counted in the survey, according to industry and
government officials.

Continuing uncertainty over the numbers of armed
contractors drew special criticism from military
experts.

"We don't have control of all the coalition guns in
Iraq. That's dangerous for our country," said William
Nash, a retired Army general and reconstruction expert.
The Pentagon "is hiring guns. You can rationalize it
all you want, but that's obscene."

Although private companies have played a role in
conflicts since the American Revolution, the U.S. has
relied more on contractors in Iraq than in any other
war, according to military experts.

Contractors perform functions including construction,
security and weapons system maintenance.

Military officials say contractors cut costs while
allowing troops to focus on fighting rather than on
other tasks.

"The only reason we have contractors is to support the
war fighter," said Gary Motsek, the assistant deputy
undersecretary of Defense who oversees contractors.
"Fundamentally, they're supporting the mission as
required."

But critics worry that troops and their missions could
be jeopardized if contractors, functioning outside the
military's command and control, refuse to make
deliveries of vital supplies under fire.

At on e point in 2004, for example, U.S. forces were put
on food rations when drivers balked at taking supplies
into a combat zone.

Adding an element of potential confusion, no single
agency keeps track of the number or location of
contractors.

In response to demands from Congress, the U.S. Central
Command began a census last year of the number of
contractors working on U.S. and Iraqi bases to
determine how much food, water and shelter was needed.

That census, provided to The Times under the Freedom of
Information Act, shows about 130,000 contractors and
subcontractors of different nationalities working at
U.S. and Iraqi military bases.

However, U.S. military officials acknowledged that the
census did not include other government agencies,
including the U.S. Agency for International Development
and the State Department.

Last month, USAID reported about 53,000 Iraqis employed
under U.S. reconstruction contracts, doing jobs such as
garbage pickup and helping to teach democracy. In
interviews, agency officials said an additional 300
Americans and foreigners worked as contractors for the
agency.

State Department officials said they could not provide
the department's number of contractors. Of about 5,000
people affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, about
300 are State Department employees. The rest are a mix
of other government agency workers and contractors,
many of whom are building the new embassy.

"There are very few of us, and we're way undermanned,"
said one State Department official who spoke on
condition of anonymity. "We have significant shortages
of people. It's been that way since before [the war],
and it's still that way."

The companies with the largest number of employees are
foreign firms in the Middle East that subcontract to
KBR, the Houston-based oil services company, according
to the Central Command data base. KBR, once a subsidiary
of Halliburton Co., provides logistics support to
troops, the single largest contract in Iraq.

Middle Eastern companies, including Kulak Construction
Co. of Turkey and Projects International of Dubai,
supply labor from Third World countries to KBR and
other U.S. companies for menial work on U.S. bases and
rebuilding projects. Foreigners are used instead of
Iraqis because of fears that insurgents could
infiltrate projects.

KBR is by far the largest employer of Americans, with
nearly 14,000 U.S. workers. Other large employers of
Americans in Iraq include New York-based L-3
Communications, which holds a contract to provide
translators to troops, and ITT Corp., a New York
engineering and technology firm.

The most controversial contractors are those working
for private security companies, including Blackwater,
Triple Canopy and Erinys. They guard sensitive sites
and provide protection to U. S. and Iraqi government
officials and businessmen.

Security contractors draw some of the sharpest
criticism, much of it from military policy experts who
say their jobs should be done by the military. On
several occasions, heavily armed private contractors
have engaged in firefights when attacked by Iraqi
insurgents.

Others worry that the private security contractors lack
accountability. Although scores of troops have been
prosecuted for serious crimes, only a handful of
private security contractors have faced legal charges.

The number of private security contractors in Iraq
remains unclear, despite Central Command's latest
census. The Times identified 21 security companies in
the Central Command database, deploying 10,800 men.

However, the Defense Department's Motsek, who monitors
contractors, said the Pentagon estimated the total was
6,000.

Both figures are far below the private security
industry's own estimate of about 30,000 private
security contractors working for government agencies,
nonprofit organizations, media outlets and businesses.

Industry officials said that private security companies
helped reduce the number of troops needed in Iraq and
provided jobs to Iraqis -- a benefit in a country with
high unemployment.

"A guy who is working for a [private security company]
is not out on the street doing something inimical to
our interests," said Lawrence Peter, director of the
Private Security Company Assn. of Iraq.

Not surprisingly, Iraqis make up the largest number of
civilian employees under U.S. contracts. Typically, the
government contracts with an American firm, which then
subcontracts with an Iraqi firm to do the job.

Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services
Council, a contractors' trade group, said the number of
Iraqis reflected the importance of the reconstruction
and economic developme nt efforts to the overall U.S.
mission in Iraq.

"That's not work that the government does or has ever
done. . . . That's work that is going to be done by
companies and to some extent by" nongovernmental
organizations, Soloway said. "People tend to think that
these are contractors on the battlefield, and they're
not."

The Iraqis have been the most difficult to track. As
recently as May, the Pentagon told Congress that 22,000
Iraqis were employed by its contractors. But the
Pentagon number recently jumped to 65,000 -- a result
of closer inspection of contracts, an official said.

The total number of Iraqis employed under U.S.
contracts is important, in part because it may
influence debate in Congress regarding how many Iraqis
will be allowed to come to the U.S. to escape violence
in their homeland.

This year, the U.S. planned to cap that number at 7,000
a year. To date, however, only a few dozen Iraqis have
be en admitted, according to State Department figures.

Kirk Johnson, head of the List Project, which seeks to
increase the admission of Iraqis, said that the U.S.
needed to provide a haven to those who worked most
closely with American officials.

"We all say we are grateful to these Iraqis," Johnson
said. "How can we be the only superpower in the world
that can't implement what we recognize as a moral
imperative?"
--NextPart_Webmail_9m3u9jl4l_18667_1183656258_0
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

<html>

<head></head>
<body>

<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush administration has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of the war-torn nation. By T.Christian Miller Times Staff Writer the Los Angeles Times <A href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-private4jul04,1,6564316.story?ctrack=4&amp;cset=true" target=_blank lid="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-private4jul04,1,6564316.story?ctrack=4&amp;cset=true" el="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-private4jul04,1,6564316.story?ctrack=4&amp;cset=true">http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-private4jul04,1,6564316.sto ry?ctrack=4&amp;cset=true</A> July 4, 2007 The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly r
eleased figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the g overnment's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns. More than 180,000 civilians -- including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis -- are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Including the recent troop buildup, 160,000 soldiers and a few thousand civilian government employees are stationed in Iraq. The total number of private contractors, far higher than previously reported, shows how heavily the Bush administration has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of Iraq -- a mission criticized as being undermanned. "These numbers are big," said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar who has written on military contracting. "They illustrate better than anything that we went in without enough troops. T
his is not the coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the billing." The numbers in clude at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000 foreign contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis -- all employed in Iraq by U.S. tax dollars, according to the most recent government data. The array of private workers promises to be a factor in debates on a range of policy issues, including the privatization of military jobs and the number of Iraqi refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S. But there are also signs that even those mounting numbers may not capture the full picture. Private security contractors, who are hired to protect government officials and buildings, were not fully counted in the survey, according to industry and government officials. Continuing uncertainty over the numbers of armed contractors drew special criticism from military experts. "We don't have control of all the coalition guns in Iraq. That's d
angerous for our country," said William Nash, a retired Army general and reconstruction expert. The Pentagon "is hiring guns. You can rationalize it all you want, but that's obscene." Although private companies have played a role in conflicts since the American Revolution, the U.S. has relied more on contractors in Iraq than in any other war, according to military experts. Contractors perform functions including construction, security and weapons system maintenance. Military officials say contractors cut costs while allowing troops to focus on fighting rather than on other tasks. "The only reason we have contractors is to support the war fighter," said Gary Motsek, the assistant deputy undersecretary of Defense who oversees contractors. "Fundamentally, they're supporting the mission as required." But critics worry that troops and their missions could be jeopardized if contractors, functioning outside themilitary's command and control, refuse to make deliveries of vital supplies under fire. At on e point in 2004, for example, U.S. forces were put on food rations when drivers balked at taking supplies into a combat zone. Adding an element of potential confusion, no single agency keeps track of the number or location of contractors. In response to demands from Congress, the U.S. Central Command began a census last year of the number of contractors working on U.S. and Iraqi bases to determine how much food, water and shelter was needed. That census, provided to The Times under the Freedom of Information Act, shows about 130,000 contractors and subcontractors of different nationalities working at U.S. and Iraqi military bases. However, U.S. military officials acknowledged that the census did not include other government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Departmen
t. Last month, USAID reported about 53,000 Iraqis employed under U.S. reconstruction contracts, doing jobs such as garbage pickup and helping to teach democracy. In interviews, agency officials said an additional 300 Americans and foreigners worked as contractors for the agency. State Department officials said they could not provide the department's number of contractors. Of about 5,000 people affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, about 300 are State Department employees. The rest are a mix of other government agency workers and contractors, many of whom are building the new embassy. "There are very few of us, and we're way undermanned," said one State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We have significant shortages of people. It's been that way since before [the war], and it's still that way." The companies with the largest number of employees are foreign firms in the Middle Ea
st that subcontract to KBR, the Houston-based oil services company, according to the Central Command data base. KBR, once a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., provides logistics support to troops, the single largest contract in Iraq. Middle Eastern companies, including Kulak Construction Co. of Turkey and Projects International of Dubai, supply labor from Third World countries to KBR and other U.S. companies for menial work on U.S. bases and rebuilding projects. Foreigners are used instead of Iraqis because of fears that insurgents could infiltrate projects. KBR is by far the largest employer of Americans, with nearly 14,000 U.S. workers. Other large employers of Americans in Iraq include New York-based L-3 Communications, which holds a contract to provide translators to troops, and ITT Corp., a New York engineering and technology firm. The most controversial contractors are those working for private security companie
s, including Blackwater, Triple Canopy and Erinys. They guard sensitive sites and provide protection to U. S. and Iraqi government officials and businessmen. Security contractors draw some of the sharpest criticism, much of it from military policy experts who say their jobs should be done by the military. On several occasions, heavily armed private contractors have engaged in firefights when attacked by Iraqi insurgents. Others worry that the private security contractors lack accountability. Although scores of troops have been prosecuted for serious crimes, only a handful of private security contractors have faced legal charges. The number of private security contractors in Iraq remains unclear, despite Central Command's latest census. The Times identified 21 security companies in the Central Command database, deploying 10,800 men. However, the Defense Department's Motsek, who monitors contractors, said the Pe
ntagon estimated the total was 6,000. Both figures are far below the private security industry's own estimate of about 30,000 private security contractors working for government agencies, nonprofit organizations, media outlets and businesses. Industry officials said that private security companies helped reduce the number of troops needed in Iraq and provided jobs to Iraqis -- a benefit in a country with high unemployment. "A guy who is working for a [private security company] is not out on the street doing something inimical to our interests," said Lawrence Peter, director of the Private Security Company Assn. of Iraq. Not surprisingly, Iraqis make up the largest number of civilian employees under U.S. contracts. Typically, the government contracts with an American firm, which then subcontracts with an Iraqi firm to do the job. Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, a contractors' t
rade group, said the number of Iraqis reflected the importance of the reconstruction and economic developme nt efforts to the overall U.S. mission in Iraq. "That's not work that the government does or has ever done. . . . That's work that is going to be done by companies and to some extent by" nongovernmental organizations, Soloway said. "People tend to think that these are contractors on the battlefield, and they're not." The Iraqis have been the most difficult to track. As recently as May, the Pentagon told Congress that 22,000 Iraqis were employed by its contractors. But the Pentagon number recently jumped to 65,000 -- a result of closer inspection of contracts, an official said. The total number of Iraqis employed under U.S. contracts is important, in part because it may influence debate in Congress regarding how many Iraqis will be allowed to come to the U.S. to escape violence in their homeland. This 
year, the U.S. planned to cap that number at 7,000 a year. To date, however, only a few dozen Iraqis have be en admitted, according to State Department figures. Kirk Johnson, head of the List Project, which seeks to increase the admission of Iraqis, said that the U.S. needed to provide a haven to those who worked most closely with American officials. "We all say we are grateful to these Iraqis," Johnson said. "How can we be the only superpower in the world that can't implement what we recognize as a moral imperative?" </BLOCKQUOTE>

</body>
</html>

--NextPart_Webmail_9m3u9jl4l_18667_1183656258_0--