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Iraq
US Boosts Oversight for Iraq Contractors
2007-10-24
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday ordered new measures to improve government oversight of private guards who protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, including tighter rules of engagement and a board to investigate any future killings. The steps, recommended by an independent review panel she created after last month's deadly Baghdad shooting involving Blackwater USA, would also require contractors to undergo training intended to make them more sensitive to Iraqi culture and language.

The changes to rules of engagement would bring the State Department closer to military rules. The State Department's rules for contractors' use of force were more detailed in some respects, but the panel found that the Pentagon had clearer rules for the steps a guard must take after identifying a threat.
Seems like a reasonable set of rules, but I'd like to hear from RB citizens who've lived and worked in similar conditions.
The moves will not have much visible effect on the way private guards operate in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq: They will still escort diplomats in highly armed convoys like the one involved in the Sept. 16 deaths of 17 Iraqis in a Baghdad square.

The State Department will set up panels that include security officials and others to look into each shooting or other use of deadly force by private guards and organize rapid response teams to investigate shooting incidents. The department will also require contractors to have Arabic speakers on hand.

The report also identified a gap that left private guards for diplomats in Iraq outside the direct control of U.S. civilian or military law and outside Iraqi law. ``The legal framework for providing proper oversight of personal protective services contractors is inadequate,'' the report said.
Posted by:Steve White

#8  Blackwater should mount security cameras on all their vehicles, including a few controlled by helmets worn by their protective services personnel. Record the incoming fire, record the response, and make DA$$$$ sure the tapes are not capable of being "erased, lost, or exposed to hazardous electronic signals". The next time there's a squawk, air the camera images. If they prove Blackwater screwed up, hang the screwee. If it proves what Blackwater has said all along, that Islamic elements use human shields to maximise casualties, screw the Iraqi "minister" of whatever that complains.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-10-24 21:22  

#7  require contractors to undergo training intended to make them more sensitive to Iraqi culture and language.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Natango said policy recommendations would be up to that panel. "We need to let the joint commission do its work," Natango said.

Sensitivity training, the penecillin of enlightened multiculturalism. Why does the name of Embasssy spokesperson "Mirembe Nantango" leave me cold and questioning?
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-10-24 13:53  

#6  The steps, recommended by an independent review panel she created..

Which means its composed of State personnel. Which means its not 'independent'. Asking any of the DoD departments that provide similar protection services for its senior commanders would have been an 'independent' review by people who know what's going down. Betcha that didn't happen.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2007-10-24 09:43  

#5  It seems to me the rules for bodyguards should be different than those for soldiers engaged in peacemaking, but what do I know?
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-10-24 09:18  

#4  This is as it has to be when things get more peaceful. It is never pleasant, but in the long run it is for the best. Ideally, unless there is an imminent threat, they should have to call a cop.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-10-24 08:55  

#3  The proof will be in the number of bids they get for the next contract.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2007-10-24 08:44  

#2  GUAM K57 Talkradio > IRAQ - BLACKWATER CAN STAY BUT UNDER IMPROVED OVERSIGHT FOR IT AND ALL OTHER US CONTRACTORS BASED in IRAQ.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-10-24 01:41  

#1  State Department and rules? What a can of worms that is.
Posted by: newc   2007-10-24 00:18  

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