Who Watches US Security Firms in Iraq?

The top US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, stands at the compound of the University for Humanities, Science and Theological Studies in Hillah, 100 Kms south of Baghdad, protected by one of his private security guards, Sunday June 27, 2004. Iraq's decision to temporarily ban Blackwater USA after a fatal shooting of civilians in Baghdad reveals a growing web of rules governing weapons-bearing contractors but few signs U.S. agencies are enforcing them. (AP Photo/Saeed Khan/POOL) (Saeed Khan - AP)

WASHINGTON -- The fog of war keeps getting thicker. The Iraqi government's decision to temporarily ban the security company Blackwater USA after a fatal shooting of civilians in Baghdad reveals a growing web of rules governing weapons-bearing private contractors but few signs U.S. agencies are aggressively enforcing them.

Nearly a year after a law was passed holding contracted employees to the same code of justice as military personnel, the Bush administration has not published guidance on how military lawyers should do that, according to Peter Singer, a security industry expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

A Congressional Research Service report published in July said security contractors in Iraq operate under rules issued by the United States, Iraq and international entities such as the United Nations.

All have their limitations, however.

A court-martial of a private-sector employee likely would be challenged on constitutional grounds, the research service said, while Iraqi courts do not have the jurisdiction to prosecute contractors without U.S. permission.

"It is possible that some contractors may remain outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, civil or military, for improper conduct in Iraq," the report said.

Blackwater and other private security firms long have been fixtures in Iraq, guarding U.S. officials and an international work force helping to rebuild the war-torn country.

Prior to the March 2003 invasion, however, U.S. officials paid little attention to how prevalent these security firms would be in combat zones and the difficulties their presence could cause, according to Steve Schooner, co-director of the government procurement law program at George Washington University.

"The real problem is when we went into Iraq none of this had been worked out," Schooner said. "We hadn't thought it through."

The result is dissatisfaction on multiple fronts that is tempered by the acknowledgment these hired hands have become an important part of the long-running effort to stabilize Iraq.

"This is what happens when government fails to act," Singer wrote on the Brookings Web site of the incident Sunday involving Blackwater.

Iraq's government said Tuesday it would review the status of all security firms working in Iraq to ensure each is complying with Iraqi laws.