Military Industrial Complex Raises The Stakes In Iraq

This happened a few days ago, but given that the Bush Administration is frantically renegotiating the status of forces agreement with Iraq, and caving in on every detail just so they can keep a foothold in the country, I thought this framing from the real power-brokers in the military-industrial complex was significant.

An American contractor said Thursday that the U.S. mission in Iraq will be undermined if the Iraqi government succeeds in revoking blanket legal immunity for American security contractors.

Carter Andress reacted to a Wednesday government report that said the removal of legal immunity for American private security contractors could set off an "exodus" from war-ravaged Iraq and "impose significant limitations" on American reconstruction efforts.

The scenario is outlined in the quarterly report issued to Congress by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

Andress, whose firm builds bases for the Iraqi army and police and supplies those places with water, food, fuel and maintenance services, said that about 40 percent of his staff is involved in security.

"We would undermine the U.S. mission here because they are so reliant on contractors," said Andress, co-founder of the American-Iraqi Solutions Group. "For better or for worse, that's reality."

Even though 90 percent of his employees are Iraqis, he fears that new laws could force him to shut down.

You can see here the blackmail that has come out of this over-reliance on private military contractors. Decisions that should only take into account the goals of the mission and national security interests now must involve pleasing the likes of Halliburton and Blackwater. There literally is no Iraq war without these contractors, in a very real sense. And that's why the government allows for their protection and their invulnerability, and carries this to ludicrous heights:

Defense contractor KBR Inc. said it has banned the use of personal cell phones by its employees in Iraq for security reasons.

(KBR spokeswoman Heather L. Browne) said the decision was because of "a safety and security concern." She declined to elaborate, but did say KBR officials are reviewing the matter that led to the directive.

What the spokeswoman did not say is that "the matter" leading to the directive was the rape and forcible detention of a KBR employee, Jamie Leigh Jones, who used a colleague's cell phone to notify her father in Texas of the attack. There may be dozens of other victims who have yet to come forward, and KBR's move to tighten down communication is yet another effort to prevent any accountability for the actions of the company or its employees.

We have built this parallel mercenary structure supporting the US military, which is so large and so powerful that it's hard to figure which entity is calling the shots on the relative presence or withdrawal of occupying forces. The contractors in the report is literally trying to dictate a governmental decision about an international treaty - and there's no reason to believe he won't get away with it. Note too how they are really suggesting that if his people aren't allowed to shoot at random without fear of reprisal, your kids will be killed and good Americans will be strung up:

Andress said the removal of immunity would have a big impact on his business.

"You've still got remnants of the insurgents out there. You've still got ... the thieves. So, you've still got to have convoy security," said Andress, whose firm has won a quarter of a billion dollars in Defense contracts.

A security contractor, who asked not to be named because he could lose his job for talking to reporters, said he believes a removal of immunity would have a chilling effect for contractors. He said Iraqi contractors taking over security duties have improved but haven't reached the level of proficiency that Americans have.

The contractor, who said he has worked in Iraq and other countries, believes that non-Iraqi contractors could be be treated brutally and unfairly.

"It's like putting a police officer in the middle of Folsom Prison, on murderers row with five guys he put away," the contractor said. "They're not going to get a fair trial."

One of the most persistent problems we face with respect to foreign policy is that these powerful interests, which extend to practically every state and even every Congressional district, creating incredible amounts of inertia to dismantle them, have become a de facto driver of US foreign policy, and until they are put on ice, questionable interventions and occupations will continue.