We’re all in favor of pressure brought by the press. And these words, from an Iraq war veteran in a damning Washington Post article authored by Sudarsan Raghavan and Tom Ricks (see the story here), make it clear that the press is doing its job. In the end, if the media takes up this challenge, more informed pressure can be brought to bear on the Bush administration, which must urgently address the problem of private contractors in Iraq – if only to protect the latest version of its strategy.
People inside Iraq have lost confidence in the ability of the two key contracting agencies – State and Defense – to fix this problem. U.S. military officers are tired of dealing with cowboy contractors who “are immature shooters and have very quick trigger fingers.” Iraqi citizens are tired of contractors shooting at them. Now the entire U.S. effort to stabilize Iraq could be threatened by the contractors. According to one official, the latest incident with Blackwater employees killing civilians may be more damaging to the U.S. mission than the crimes at Abu Ghraib.
It’s an open secret that soldiers and Marines serving in Iraq dislike the overwhelming presence of contractors handling security in Iraq. But at this point the system is so entrenched that it is hard to imagine it changing. This in spite of what Raghavan and Ricks heard senior military people describing as “a record of recklessness” and a situation “out of control.” When the people in charge of military intelligence ask why we are “relying on . . . mercenary forces,” you know you have a problem with the long-term mission.
The question is: when will public servants in the executive branch take responsibility and take action? Understanding Government asks for your help in determining what specific steps are needed to reduce our armed services’ and diplomats’ dependence on private contractors. Realizing that the issue is complex, and that there is plenty of blame and plenty of responsibility to go around, we still must decide what to do, and then do it.
Ned Hodgman
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Ultimately, this “outsourcing” of military manpower exists because the US armed services lack the personnel to carry out these important missions. A reasonable solution to this dilemma would be to re-institute conscription. On first blush, such a proposal may seem an anathema to your readers. However, having a more representative cross section of Americans in Iraq could only lead to a better understanding by our voting public of the true situation there. And if this war is really worth fighting, Americans in turn should rally behind it. Thus freeing ourselves up to do what is genuinely necessary to win it. As you wisely suggest elsewhere on this site, if one has nothing to hide, then by all means, step through the front door.
comment at 27. September 2007