US debates if security contractors are 'enemy combatants' RAW STORY

Published: Monday October 15, 2007



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Print This Email This Enemy combatants. The two words Bush Administration lawyers used to keep Guantanamo Bay terror suspects out of the purview of US or international courts may come back to haunt them: some are now asking whether private security contractors could fall under the same moniker. According to Julian Barnes, writing in Monday's Los Angeles Times, federal reviews of shootings by Blackwater USA in Iraq have left officials scratching their heads as to whether the Administration could be accused of violating international treaty obligations. If officials admit the use of guards in war zones is a violation, they may have to limit the use of their massive private mercenary armies in future conflicts. Lawyers in the State, Defense and Justice departments are examing issues surrounding the contractors, Barnes says. "I think it is an unresolved issue that needs to be addressed," an unnamed senior Defense Department official told the paper. "But if that is in fact the case, what the heck are we doing?" "The use of private contractors by the U.S. military and governments worldwide began long before the U.S invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, but it has mushroomed in recent years," the paper adds. "With relatively little controversy, contractors have assumed a greater share of support and logistics duties traditionally handled by uniformed military, such as protecting diplomats inside a war zone." A Sept. 16, 2007 shooting in which as many as 17 Iraqis were killed set off a firestorm that sparked myriad US inquiries into the contractors' behavior. Iraq tried, unsuccessfully, to banish Blackwater from its borders. Under a directive approved by the interim US Iraqi government -- the Coalition Provisional Authority -- US contractors are immune from prosecution under Iraqi law. "The designation of lawful and unlawful combatants is set out in the Geneva Convention," Barnes notes. "Lawful combatants are nonmilitary personnel who operate under their military's chain of command. Others may carry weapons in a war zone but may not use offensive force. Under the international agreements, they may only defend themselves. "The amount of force being used in Iraq by security firms like Blackwater has raised questions," he continues. "Lawyers at the Justice Department are skeptical that the contractors could be considered unlawful combatants, but some in the State and Defense departments think the contractors in Iraq could be vulnerable to claims that their actions make them unlawful combatants. If so, experts tell the Times, the U.S. would have to yank them out of Iraq. The full Los Angeles Times article can be read at this link.

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