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Privatising the Iraq war |
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(Source: Radio Netherlands; issued May 14, 2004)
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The scandal surrounding the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison close to Baghdad has not only caused the United States deep embarrassment, it's also focused attention on the growing presence of commercial US security firms in Iraq.
A number of those suspected of involvement in abuse of prisoners are in fact not US military personnel, but employees of CACI International, a private company contracted by the Pentagon to carry out intelligence and interrogation work.
CACI International, a (stock-market) listed company, has distanced itself from the alleged misconduct of its employees at Abu Ghraib, and announced it would take immediate and appropriate measures if their involvement is proved.
But CACI International's involvement in Iraq is by no means unique. Research carried out by George Washington University in the United States shows that some 20,000 people employed by around 30 "private military companies" are currently working in Iraq.
Taken together, they form the second largest contingent of foreign "troops" in the country, (i.e. apart from those of the United States). As a group, for example, they outnumber the 10,000-strong British force and are much larger than the military contributions from "smaller" coalition partners such as the Netherlands or, until the end of this month, Spain.
A gap in the market
The companies in question provide a wide range of services, and their involvement is a direct consequence of the US government's decision to keep a relatively small occupation force in Iraq. There are currently 138,000 US military personnel in Iraq, plus 20,000 from the coalition partners. Military experts say a minimum of 500,000 troops would actually be needed to "cover" a country of such size.
The resulting "gap" is therefore being partially filled by commercial businesses - mainly American and British companies - which the Pentagon has contracted to perform a wide variety of duties. They are, for example, doing good business in providing personal security for senior coalition figures and guarding military and civilian locations, including oil pipelines.
Violating rules of warfare
But some companies are also reportedly to be taking part in offensive military operations. That's something which is banned under the current international rules of warfare, and makes them fall within the definition of mercenaries. However, the United States just happens to be one of the few nations in the world that have not signed up to what is known as the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions which regulates such issues as mercenary activity in war zones.
Defence ministry officials in The Hague have told Radio Netherlands that Dutch troops stationed in Iraq will act against these ‘mercenaries' if they are found in breach of international rules of warfare. In theory, this could lead to a - politically embarrassing - situation in which a Dutch serviceman uses force against private individuals acting on behalf of the coalition leader, the US, if they're violating international law.
"No legal vacuum"
However, the Dutch defence ministry dismisses the widespread belief that employees of multinational security firms in Iraq are operating in a legal void. Their actions fall under the scope of their own national criminal laws as well as that as those of Iraq, according to officials in The Hague. Ultimately, they say, the country that has hired them - i.e. the US - is responsible at all times for what private contractors do or fail to do.
Some analysts estimate that the Pentagon has concluded as many as 3,000 contracts to the tune of up to 20 billion dollars - quite a considerable chunk of the total budget allocated to operations in Iraq.
Apart from CACI International, these firms include well-known companies in the field like Titan, Control Risks Group, Combat Support Associates and Blackwater. The murder of four private security contractors from the latter company in Fallujah in late March led to a large-scale military offensive by regular US forces resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Iraqis.
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