I recently came across a blog post by Diplopundit that was very interesting. They are reporting that no Iraqi Visas have been issued to USG security personnel since December of last year. This is not surprising and I posted about guys getting arrested and hassled last year and this year because of visa/paper work issues. Here is the quote and DoS has yet to refute this or comment over at Diplopundit.
“No visas have been issued to security personnel since December and there is no straight answer coming from the Department of State or the Ministry of Interior.”
What is funny is that the DoS stated this in their travel warning for Iraq.
“The U.S. government considers the potential threat to U.S. government personnel in Iraq to be serious enough to require them to live and work under strict security guidelines. All U.S. government employees under the authority of the U.S. Ambassador must follow strict safety procedures when traveling outside the Embassy. State Department guidance to U.S. businesses in Iraq advises the use of protective security details.”
We also know what the Oil Ministry thinks about private security in Iraq. lol
So how is it that anyone can legally provide this security throughout Iraq if they don’t have visas? So I take it that folks are just sitting at the embassy and not traveling throughout Iraq because their security is without a visa? Or I wonder if any other countries have been denied visas and the US is the only one? (There are various oil interests in Iraq, to include China’s, and I wonder how they are being treated?) Let me know what you think or if you have any updates? –Matt
There are a few companies that do have visas. I have also noticed that several international companies appear to have Iraqi gov contracts. G4S is doing security at BIAP and I have seen Sabre working static positions and K9 at Iraqi gov institutions. There are also international PMCs doing K9 at the IZ checkpoints. Unfortunately my PSD does not have visas and outsources our movements to other companies. We get a different company doing our movements each day! Some are better than others but in general I do not like this arrangement. It is a very bad practice. Having some continuity, knowing the guys on your detail, and having a team that knows your common locations is important. Hopefully things will get better soon with licensing and visas but I think the future of this industry in Iraq might be Iraqi run PMCs.
Comment by albaghdadi — Tuesday, April 17, 2012 @ 4:37 AM
There are a few companies that do have visas. I have also noticed that several international companies appear to have Iraqi gov contracts. G4S is doing security at BIAP and I have seen Sabre working static positions and K9 at Iraqi gov institutions. There are also international PMCs doing K9 at the IZ checkpoints. Unfortunately my PSD does not have visas and outsources our movements to other companies. We get a different company doing our movements each day! Some are better than others but in general I do not like this arrangement. It is a very bad practice. Having some continuity, knowing the guys on your detail, and having a team that knows your common locations is important. Hopefully things will get better soon with licensing and visas but I think the future of this industry in Iraq might be Iraqi run PMCs.
Comment by feraljundi — Saturday, February 2, 2013 @ 11:02 AM