Concern over Iraq 'private armies'

[FishForLunch]

Death by a thousand cuts, that is the strategy of those democractic Senators, make it as hard as possible to operate in Iraq. These bastards with their phony concerns, all they care is back stabbing the Army and the Bush Administration. This is a way to ban private contractors and make the US army provide more Soldiers to now guard installations, Aid workers, construction sites, thereby making the military task as hard as possible and force the US to pull back ultimately. There is no faster way for the troops to lose moral than asking them to guard these targets. What next making sure the Army in Iraq is not causing environmental damage?

That murdering bastard Tub Kennedy, why doesnt he just drink and go drown another woman. Frustrating how gleeful he is that the Iraqi handover is going through a really rough patch. I just wonder if John Kerry is in the Whitehouse whether he will have the balls to face tough situations that may arise.

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From correspondents in Washington
April 10, 2004

THIRTEEN of the most powerful opposition US senators today released a letter to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking to explain the role of civilian contractors in Iraq.

The letter follows the killing and mutilation of four US security contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, on March 31.

In a letter to Rumsfeld dated April 8 - but released today - the senators expressed concern about "private armies operating outside the control of governmental authority".

The letter also questioned if there were adequate numbers of US troops in Iraq.

Signers included Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, former first lady Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts, as well as Carl Levin of Illinois.

"The shocking deaths of four American security contractors in Fallujah have revealed the growing role that private security contractors are playing in Iraq," the letter read.

It said contractors - often ex-soldiers - operate in a fashion similar to special forces, but they are not under US military control and not subject to rules governing the conduct of American forces.

"It would be a dangerous precedent if the United States allowed the presence of private armies operating outside the control of governmental authority and beholden only to those who pay them.

"In the context of Iraq, unless these forces are properly screened by United States authorities and are required to operate under clear guidelines and appropriate supervision, their presence will contribute to Iraqi resentment," the letter said.

It said that such delegating raised "serious questions".

"The presence and number of these private security personnel again raise the question of the adequacy of United States troop levels in Iraq," it stated.

It closed by requesting a full tally of the number of privately armed non-Iraqi security personnel operating in Iraq, and urged Rumsfeld to adopt written guidelines for their use.