One American official said that more than 1,200 specific tasks carried out by the American military in Iraq had been identified to be handed over to the civilians, transferred to the Iraqis or phased out.
To move around Iraq without United States troops, the State Department plans to acquire 60 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, called MRAPs, from the Pentagon; expand its inventory of armored cars to 1,320; and create a mini-air fleet by buying three planes to add to its lone aircraft. Its helicopter fleet, which will be piloted by contractors, will grow to 29 choppers from 17.
The department’s plans to rely on 6,000 to 7,000 security contractors, who are also expected to form “quick reaction forces” to rescue civilians in trouble, is a sensitive issue, given Iraqi fury about shootings of civilians by American private guards in recent years. Administration officials said that security contractors would have no special immunity and would be required to register with the Iraqi government. In addition, one of the State Department’s regional security officers, agents who oversee security at diplomatic outposts, will be required to approve and accompany every civilian convoy, providing additional oversight.
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I wanted to cut this portion out for the reader to focus in on. Does anyone see the possibility here for some real problems if the insurgents in Iraq wanted to target this ‘civilian leadership’ specifically? There is the potential here for multiple ‘Nisour Square‘ scenarios, because it will be this heavy duty contractor army that will be engaging with insurgents if they atttack. And no doubt, the bad guys will love to start a fight in highly populated areas, much like they did with the Nisour Square ambush.
What I would like to hear is if State will stand by this ‘contractor army’ they have created, if in fact they had to actually use their weapons? I mean, you guys are arming them and giving them all of this military hardware to use? Because as much as the media, DoS, Iraq and the entire world would like to believe, civilian casualties happen in war zones, or non-permissive environments. (whatever we want to call Iraq now) It is unfortunate, but they happen. No one plans on a tragedy like this happening, except for the enemy.
Of course no one wakes up one day and says ‘I want to kill civilians’, except for the enemy. When these types of incidents happen, it is extremely damaging to the psyche and to the morale of all involved. It is avoided at all costs, but sometimes this stuff happens. So that is why I continue to ask this question of ‘if you are going to ask these men to protect you in Iraq, and they have to use deadly force, are you going to back them up if they actually kill someone?’. Worse yet, are you guys going to back them up if a stray bullet in that fire fight accidently kills a civilian? Or will you be throwing your heroes into an Iraqi or American prison, for an accident they had no intention of committing?
Finally, as the combat troops leave, and the ‘civilians’ take over, the realities of this war zone are still there. Only when the enemy has lost the will to fight, can you truly say the war is over. So in my mind, I totally think that Al Qaeda and company or any of the Iranian backed groups will continue to cause problems. Not only for Iraq, but for this civilian leadership and cadre left in Iraq. Contractors will be using military hardware like MRAPs and Blackhawk Helicopters, and taking over the various 1,200 military tasks in the country, but will they get the same treatment and legal protections that the military had when they were in Iraq? Because I certainly would hate to see contractors being thrown under the bus, like what happened with Xe, just for trying to do their job in a war zone. –Matt
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Civilians to Take U.S. Lead After Military Leaves Iraq
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
August 18, 2010
WASHINGTON — As the United States military prepares to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, the Obama administration is planning a remarkable civilian effort, buttressed by a small army of contractors, to fill the void.
By October 2011, the State Department will assume responsibility for training the Iraqi police, a task that will largely be carried out by contractors. With no American soldiers to defuse sectarian tensions in northern Iraq, it will be up to American diplomats in two new $100 million outposts to head off potential confrontations between the Iraqi Army and Kurdish pesh merga forces.
To protect the civilians in a country that is still home to insurgents with Al Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias, the State Department is planning to more than double its private security guards, up to as many as 7,000, according to administration officials who disclosed new details of the plan. Defending five fortified compounds across the country, the security contractors would operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs, fly reconnaissance drones and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress, the officials said.
“I don’t think State has ever operated on its own, independent of the U.S. military, in an environment that is quite as threatening on such a large scale,” said James Dobbins, a former ambassador who has seen his share of trouble spots as a special envoy for Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, Kosovo and Somalia. “It is unprecedented in scale.”
White House officials expressed confidence that the transfer to civilians — about 2,400 people who would work at the Baghdad embassy and other diplomatic sites — would be carried out on schedule, and that they could fulfill their mission of helping bring stability to Iraq.