No Accountability Might Lead to No Security

Who's finger is on who's trigger? Did we forget to contract someone to do oversight?
by Jeff Nelson

Blackwater USA, one of the largest security firms employed by the United States in Iraq, has come under investigation by a joint Iraqi-U.S. commission and the U.S. Attorney General's office within the last two weeks.  U.S. and Iraqi officials are investigating the firm's actions where 20 people were killed in a shooting on Sep. 16, 2007.  Less than a week later on Sep. 21, it was reported that the U.S. Attorney's Office has been investigating Blackwater USA and it's employees for smuggling weapons into Iraq.  Investigations into accountability and inquiries into oversight are just now being conducted.

On Sep. 16th, a shootout in Baghdad between Blackwater security guards and Iraqis took place resulting in 20 Iraqi deaths.  The security detail was escorting a U.S. State Department convoy out of the Green Zone, a U.S. fortified safe area, in the middle of Baghdad.  After the shootout, the Iraqi government announced that Blackwater's license was suspended and the firm would no longer be allowed to conduct operations in Iraq until an inquiry into the incident was made.  The U.S. State Department subsequently had to temporarily suspend diplomatic missions throughout Iraq as a result. 

Blackwater was allowed to resume limited operations on Sep. 21st after the U.S. State Department announced a joint commission of U.S. and Iraqi officials would look into the Sep. 16th incident and the future of private security contractors in Iraq.  The push for the investigation comes from the Iraqi government who wants to seek action against the individuals responsible for Iraqi civilian deaths.  However, since the U.S. lead invasion in 2003, Iraq has not had any jurisdiction over the private security contractors working within its country.  Security contractors are immune from prosecution for their actions under contract, the immunity coming from a regulation put in place during the U.S. administration period in 2004.

Legislation reportedly has been drafted that will address the Iraqi issues with security contractors and bring them under the jurisdiction of Iraqi law. 

Besides the investigations taking place in Iraq, Blackwater is also being investigated for smuggling weapons and military equipment into Iraq.  Reports indicate that weapons and equipment has been shipped to Iraq without the required permits.  This issue being looked into because of complaints from the Turkish government back in July.  Turkey seized U.S. weapons from members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)--a U.S. designated terrorist organization.  Two former employees of the Blackwater firm have plead guilty to receiving stolen weapons and other charges.  They are reported to be working with the federal investigators on the smuggling probe.

This whole issue does not stop there either.  On top of the questionable status of the security firms working in Iraq and the possible smuggling of weapons into Iraq, there are also reports that weapons sent over and distributed by the U.S. government were not properly accounted for.   Some 190,000 weapons distributed during the initial training and stand up phases of the Iraq army and police forces remain questionable to whether or not the Iraqi forces even received them. 

This whole thing is very troubling to me.  First we have security firms operating in Iraq that are not operating under the U.S. Code of Military Justice nor are they subject to prosecution under Iraqi law.   Who do they have to answer to?  The joint commission that was just formed is just now looking into the accountability issues with these contracted firms.   Further there have not been any prosecutions, that I could find, of  any security contractors for their actions in Iraq.   Who do they have to answer to?   I do not by any means like the fact of making these U.S. civilians working under contract with the U.S. Government subject to prosecution under Iraqi law, but they do not even operate under U.S. Military Law.  They operate under the jurisdiction of U.S. criminal law, but where is the oversight and enforcement?

The lack of oversight into those Security Contractors is part of the reason why we have to probe the possibility of them smuggling weapons over there.  Either smuggling the weapons over for their own use or to sell on the black market as alleged.  Either way if there were proper accountability and oversight this might not have been an issue.   But then we have 190,000 weapons that cannot be accounted for out of the distribution by the U.S. government.   At the time there may have not been enough staff to fully track each weapon but that just reminds me of the Army saying, "Train to standard not to time."  It may have taken a little longer but at least a thorough job gets done and done right. 

Now we have have to worry about where the weapons went. It presents questions about how the PKK got their hands on U.S. weapons.  We do not know how the weapons got their but they did, either through the black market or some other avenue.  Where are the rest of the weapons and equipment that neither contractors nor the government cannot account for?  Who's hands are they in?  Why are we just now stressing that oversight and accountability?  I think it should have been done a while ago.

SEE:

Richard Lardner, Weapons sent to Iraq poorly tracked,  The News & Observer (Sep. 28, 2007) available at http://www.newsobserver.com/662/story/718980.html.

Defense secretary sends team to review Iraq contractors, CNN (Sep. 26, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/26/contractor.review/index.html?iref=newssearch.

Mussab al-Khairalla & Aseel Kami, Iraq ministry finishes draft law on contractors, Reuters (Sep. 25, 2007), available at http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL25935003.

Paul Tait, Iraq says no Blackwater move until after inquiry, Reuters Can. (Sep. 24, 2007), available at http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-09-24T174653Z_01_L15544758_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-COL.XML&archived=False.

Iraq: Blackwater staff to face charges, CNN (Sep. 23, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/ 2007/WORLD/meast/09/23/blackwater.probe/index.html?iref=newssearch.

Blackwater 'arms smuggling probe', BBC (Sep. 22, 2007) available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ americas/7008058.stm.

Matthew Lee, Security Firm Is in Smuggling Probe: Blackwater May Be Charged for Bringing Weapons Into Iraq, Wash. Post (Sep. 22, 2007) available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article /2007/09/21/AR2007092102504.html.

Assoc. Press, Feds probe whether Blackwater smuggled weapons into Iraq, CNN (Sep. 21, 2007) available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/21/blackwater.probe.ap/index.html?eref= rss_topstories.

Blackwater resuming operations in Iraq, CNN (Sep. 21, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/2007 /WORLD/meast/09/21/blackwater/index.html?iref=newssearch.

U.S. suspends diplomatic convoys throughout Iraq, CNN (Sep. 18, 2007), available at http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/18/blackwater.iraq/index.html?iref=newssearch.