The Other U.S. Military

[TahitiNut]

MAY 31, 2004

DEFENSE

The Other U.S. Military
The private contractor biz is hot, vast, and largely unregulated. Is it out of control?

Almost since the first American tank rolled into Iraq last year, the role of private military contractors has been controversial. When Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton Co. (HAC ), billed the government hundreds of millions of dollars to support the invasion, critics griped that it was receiving preferential treatment because of ties to the Bush Administration -- and was overcharging to boot. When the bodies of four security guards employed by Blackwater USA were mutilated in Fallujah in March while escorting food deliveries to U.S. troops, Marines laid siege to the city, igniting widespread violence. And when a classified U.S. military report came to light in late April alleging abuses of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison, private military contractors (PMCS) found themselves in the center of a firestorm.

<snip>

TAKING A PLEDGE. Contractor problems are not confined to the headline-making security and interrogation side of the business. The CPA's new inspector general, Stuart W. Bowen, is currently auditing five of the biggest contractors in Iraq -- Fluor (FLR ), Parsons, Washington Group International, Perini (PCR ), and KBR --to make sure they are following U.S. laws and codes of ethics, BusinessWeek has learned. "Our intent is to deter waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure compliance with federal law," Bowen said in a phone call from Baghdad.

<snip>

BIG, BUT HOW BIG? Although many PMCs agree that the industry would benefit from increased oversight, some say Uncle Sam's proposals may go too far. Blackwater USA, based in Moyock, N.C., which has been criticized for employing former Chilean commandos trained during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, takes issue with a Defense Dept. proposal to apply the Uniform Code of Military Justice to contractors. But, says Blackwater spokesman Chris Bertelli, "we have no problem with industry standards for hiring practices."

The exact size of the PMC business is difficult to determine because there is no central register of contracts, and the Defense Dept. sometimes has other agencies do its purchasing. For example, the contract with CACI International Inc. (CAI ) at Abu Ghraib prison was administered by the Interior Dept., according to The Washington Post. Still, P.W. Singer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, estimates it is a $100 billion industry with several hundred companies operating in more than 100 countries.

<more...>

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I support the troops. I don't support the carpetbaggers, mercenaries, and war profiteers!

[maddezmom]

1. adding 2 related articles

WASHINGTON - Army civilian interrogators under scrutiny in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal are working under a contract designed originally for information technology services and overseen by the Interior Department.


Now Interior's internal watchdog is investigating the arrangement. The department, which normally oversees national parks and American Indian matters, has blocked the Army from ordering new services under the contract.


The confusing arrangement adds another layer to the uncertainty over who was in control of Iraqi prisoners and what rules governed treatment of the detainees. Army contract officials are supposed to keep contract workers in line and recommend punishment, Interior spokesman Frank Quimby said Tuesday.


The Army told Interior last week, however, that it had had no problem with the way CACI International Inc. was handling the work, even though an internal Army report has accused at least one CACI interrogator of participating in abuses.

~snip~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=693&e=7&u=/ap...

and UpInArms

http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/04/05/Abu_Israel_link.html

Israeli link possible in US torture techniques

In exchange for interrogation training, did Washington award security contracts?

By Ali Abunimah
Special to The Daily Star

CHICAGO, Illinois: The head of the American defense contracting firm implicated in the torture of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison has close ties to Israel and visited an Israeli "anti-terror" training camp in the occupied West Bank earlier this year.

Jack London, chairman, president and CEO of CACI International Incorporated, traveled to Israel in January this year <2004> as part of a high-level delegation of US Congressmen, defense contractors and pro-Israel lobbyists, sponsored and paid for in part by the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah, a pro-Israel lobbying and fundraising group, and Greenberg Traurig, LLP, a prominent Washington law and lobby firm.

The purpose of the visit, according to a CACI press release, was

"to promote opportunities for strategic partnerships and joint ventures between US and Israeli defense and homeland security companies."

<snip>

Although no evidence has emerged directly linking CACI's involvement in the Abu Ghraib atrocities to Israel, it has long been known that the US military has been interested in "learning" from Israel's experience attempting to suppress the Palestinian uprising. In March 2003, for example, the AP reported that the "the (US) military has been listening closely to Israeli experts and picking up tips from years of Israeli Army operations in Palestinian areas and Lebanese towns."

This cooperation has included briefings of US personnel by Israeli officers, and, according to AP,

"In January and February (2003), Israeli and American troops trained together in southern Israel's Negev Desert ... Israel has also hosted senior law enforcement officials from the United States for a seminar on counterterrorism."

...more...

[maddezmom]

5. kick for CACI and Titan

[denverbill]

2. The INTERIOR DEPT had the contract for the Iraq prison.

Now what the fuck is truly going on here. Who in the hell in this administration decided that funds for the 'interior' are used for prisons in Iraq?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

7. Meanwhile US Park Ranger positions at National Parks

go unfilled due to lack of funds, and piss poor pay.

[TahitiNut]

8. I don't think it means that DOI funds were used.

It's not uncommon for one Department to administer a contract for another Department, and then reimburse that Department for the administrative expenses. This goes on all the time between DOE and other Departments. The "funny stuff" happens in the cost accounting. Believe it. (Contractors "cook the books." True.)

[DulceDecorum]

3. Is that any way to talk

about your vice pResident and assorted Pentagon cronies?

"I don't support the carpetbaggers, mercenaries, and war profiteers!"

[jukes]

4. kick

:kick:

[Just Me]

6. The "private military" issue is so dangerous on so many levels,...

,...that I am appalled it has gone this far. I am going to pick up that book, "Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry" and do a bit more study on the who/what/where/when.

Advocating against the privatization of the military industry is certainly a cause I could sink my teeth into. Are there any non-profits that target this area?