Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (41899)	4/8/2004 11:16:37 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

Senators call for better control of civilian security workers in Iraq Lolita C. Baldor WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon needs to take better control of the civilian security contractors working in Iraq, members of the Senate told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday. In a letter to the secretary, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the security companies need to be properly screened and must operate within guidelines set up by the U.S. government. And he said the presence and number of security personnel in Iraq raises questions about the adequacy of U.S. troop levels there. ''Security in a hostile fire area is a classic military mission,'' said Reed, who circulated the letter and got signatures from 12 other Democratic senators, including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Last week four civilian security contractors were killed in Fallujah, Iraq, in an ambush, and their charred bodies were mutilated and dragged through the streets. The contractors were working for Blackwater Security Consulting when their vehicle was hit by rocket-propelled grenades. The senators asked Rumsfeld to detail how many private, non-Iraqi security workers are in Iraq, and requested that he adopt written guidelines for the contractors and how they should coordinate with the military and the Coalition Provisional Authority. ''Unless these forces are properly screened by United States authorities and are required to operate under clear guidelines and appropriate supervision, their presence will contribute to Iraqi resentment,'' the letter said. The senators also said Rumsfeld should make it clear how the civilian security contractors will operate after June 30, when control of the country is turned over to the people of Iraq. Reed, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger, has been to Iraq three time since last July. boston.com lurqer