National Security and Intelligence

Washington Post intelligence reporter Dana Priest was online Thursday, Sept. 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET to discuss the latest developments in national security and intelligence.

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The transcript follows.

Dana Priest covers intelligence and wrote " The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace With America's Military" (W.W. Norton). The book chronicles the increasing frequency with which the military is called upon to solve political and economic problems.

Archive: Dana Priest discussion transcripts

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Dana Priest: Hi everyone. Welcome. Things are poppin' Let's begin.

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Toronto: Thanks for taking our questions. If I read between the lines properly, the loss of Blackwater's contract was triggered by private enterprise soldiers from Blackwater letting the State Department passengers they were escorting see them fire wildly into a crowd of innocent civilians. Is this inconsistent with what you have learned from your sources?Also, given that Bremer granted private enterprise soldiers, working for the USA and US corporations, immunity from Iraqi Justice, and they don't fall under the authority of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, what prospects are there for punishing any of these guys who commit atrocities? Thanks!

Dana Priest: Well, I don't think I'd call them soldiers, of any kind, although many of them are former soldiers. I believe they are still liable for their actions under regular US criminal law statutes, like the kind that would apply if a State Department or other non-military personnel did something criminal. This was not the way things were originally, I believe, but when people realized this big loophole, some adjustments were made. It's not entirely clear, though. Also, I think the tally against Blackwater has been growing for sometime and this was the tipping point, rather than one single incident.

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Annandale, Va.: Thanks for being the guardian angel for troops otherwise forgotten. Blackwater triggers a paranoid question: Could a president give a war, inviting no one except private security firms at call-girl rates charged to the federal deficit, without needing the approval of Congress?

Dana Priest: The president can declare war; but Congress funds it. So, theoretically, he could hold it for a while but not long.

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Valley Forge, Pa.: The French Foreign Minister says the world should prepare for war with Iran because of their nukes; the strange little man from Iran says there will be an October "answer," and Israel raids Syria. Your thoughts -- practice run on Iran, change in foreign policy for Europe?

Dana Priest: No nukes in October, if that's what you're thinking. No practice runs involving Syria (Israel doesn't need the practice). Yes, French foreign policy has changed since the election and they are much closer to the white house position now, philosophically at least.

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Boston: I read reports that Blackwater's restriction to the Green Zone after the shooting incident has curtailed the ability of the CIA to get out and meet with insurgents and other contacts. It seems to be a strange idea that the CIA would need or want "force protection." Could you imagine Bob Baer running around Lebanon with a bunch of Blackwater guys in tow?

Dana Priest: Unfortunately, Iraq is not Lebanon (yes, it's that bad!). CIA officers in Iraq have for years used outside protection to move around Iraq.

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Centreville, Va.: Re: the Blackwater incident. If you wouldn't call them soldiers, what would you call them? Government contractors? Security guards? Mercenaries? Unlawful combatants?

Dana Priest: Private, armed security contractors.

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Washington: I took a flight to Kuwait recently and was one of the few nonmercenaries on that flight. The talk taking place around me turned me stomach, men expressing joy in killing and stuff like that. Was that a rare experience do you think, or a pretty common mentality among the mercenary/"private security contractor" set?

Dana Priest: Well, it takes a certain kind of person to sign up for that kind of job in Iraq at this time, don't you think? Am I surprised? Not at all. "Joy" might not be the word I'd chose to describe it but I get what you mean.

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Austin, Texas: Dana, appreciate your taking to the time to provide your insight. While there will be no Democratic sponsored change in troop deployment and they will continue to fund the troops, why not just eliminate funding for the mercenaries/private contractors? It is estimated that they number around 150,000, of which 20,000-30,000 provide security. What if Congress voted to not allow funding for these activities?

Dana Priest: How would the State Department and other non-military folks, get around? Would they protect themselves? Would you require the US military to do it and take them away from their job of fighting the war? These groups got so big because they provide a service that is necessary to the functioning of the USG in Iraq. You would need to find an alternative to replace them.

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Seattle: Great article today about Blackwater, but I've always wondered and can't figure out: Who are the people at Blackwater? Are they ex-Special Forces, people kicked out of the armed forces, what? Who are these people that do Army-like jobs but with private contractors?

washingtonpost.com: Where Military Rules Don't Apply (Post, Sept. 20)

Dana Priest: They are largely former Army and Navy special operators. Blackwater was started by a former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince. It has some former CIA officials at the top now -- see this page.

The security forces didn't get kicked out of the service, many were attacked by the comparatively large salaries. Since the Iraq war began, in fact, these kinds of companies have been able to steal away even entry- and mid-level military and CIA, and others, with the high salaries.

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Boston: What happens to "private, armed security contractors" when they return home? I believe the development of this internal mercenary force signals the very early beginning of what we like to call "armed militias" when they occur in awkward countries. It should never have been allowed to happen.

Dana Priest: Well, it's been happening for some time, so calm down a bit. Just a bit. What happens to many of them when they return, is that they suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is the cost of a long, counterinsurgency war with an nearly depleted military to wage it. None of this is good in the long run.

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Washington: Hi Dana. I'm considering applying for some Iraq jobs, but I'm obviously concerned about the safety issue. Sources seem to give conflicting reports ... how safe is it really for a nonmilitary U.S. citizen?

Dana Priest: It is not safe. Period. Now, if you stay in the Green Zone, you'll probably be okay, although not completely. The Green Zone is increasingly under attack.

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New York: Reading about a potential Syrian nuke program I began to wonder if Taiwan has a nuke program, and if so, who would help them? I could see the Taiwanese having a survival instinct -- and nuclear interest -- as single-minded and determined as that of Israel.

Dana Priest: Taiwan does not have nuclear weapons, or, I believe, even a viable program.

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Bow, N.H.: Has anyone done a cost analysis to see whether it would be cheaper to expand the size of the Army so that it could do all the things the contractors do (and bring back KP too!)?

Dana Priest: Not that I know of but I think one of the reasons contractors became such a big deal is that it is indeed very costly to sustain one soldiers, with all the training, logistics, equipment and benefits that this entails. Secretary William Perry, Clinton's defense chief, really started the big push to use contractors in non-combat, non-hostile rolls such as running bases, etc. It had both a cost and efficiency (the Army takes forever, etc.) rational.

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Arlington, Va.: You state that the situation in Iraq is "that bad." Is there any reasonable possibility that it will get better by next year so that it will be nonissue in the election, as Karl Rove claims to believe?

Dana Priest: Well, it's always possible that something unforeseen could happen to turn it around.

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Westwood, Mass.: Under the revised surveillance law, if Robin Wright or you were interviewing subjects overseas who the government reasonably believed were terrorists, could your communications/contacts be surveilled? If so, does that reduce your ability to pursue stories?

Dana Priest: Yes. And not necessarily.

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Malvern, Pa.: Hi Dana, a comment not a question. Secretary of Defense Gates is such a breath of fresh air. What a difference! Imagine what things would have been like if he had been there at the beginning.

Dana Priest: Finally, a non-Blackwater comment. Come on everyone!

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Washington: I am an agent with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and after having served in Iraq and Afghanistan I have observed that the State Department is a woefully inadequate operational arm in the counterinsurgency campaigns. It has achieved moderate success within the structure provide by military-run Provincial Reconstruction Team protected by Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), but when left to its own devices the lack of operational experience and ignorance of basic counterinsurgency tenants creates nothing more than an ad hoc shell of separate contracts for logistics and security, with little actual ability to foster stability within its prescribed sector of operations.

Have you witnessed this recognition within senior leadership of Defense and State? I ask this because the vast majority of PRTs are being protected by the military, with only four or so protected by the security contractors such as Blackwater and Triple Canopy. This de facto change of course is a positive sign because of the inability of State to foster the necessary change to confront its inherent operational weaknesses. So while national policy calls for State Department leadership in stability and reconstruction, there is very little capability available.

Dana Priest: The DOD folks are certainly aware of this, so are many SD officials. It's been this way forever. there just doesn't seem to be the interest in changing it. So when leaders say that success in Iraq will come not from the military, but from diplomatic and political solutions, I roll my eyes. Of course this is true, but you're asking the weakest link to play the key role. It just isn't happening.

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San Francisco: Where does Syria fit on the spectrum of allies and foes in the Middle East? Do you think a warmer relationship with that country is possible? It seems to be closer to Iran and Iraq on that spectrum than Jordan, Saudi Arabia or Egypt.

Dana Priest: It follows Iran on the administration's "hit list." (forgetting for a moment about North Korea) Not an ally and will never be an ally of the current White House. Is something else possible? Maybe. But lots would have to change in Syria and I don't see that happening soon.

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Anonymous: How do you feel writing about a relatively trivial issue like Iraq when others get to write about the big stories: O.J. Simpson and Britney Spears?

Dana Priest: Britney who?

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Farmington Hills, Mich.: There has been a lot of talk about building up Iraqi Military. Has the CIA or FBI been working on training an Iraqi Intelligence force? Or is that way, way down the road?

Dana Priest: Yes they have. It's been in the works for some time, with very mixed results.

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Dana Priest: I've notice that some of the questions have gotten really, really long. For those of you with so much to say, I'd suggest the editorial page. I can't do you justice here. Anyway, thanks for joining me. Hope to chat with you next week. Thanks, Dana

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