[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Pages 28875-28876]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 SECURITY CONTRACTOR PRACTICES IN IRAQ

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today, to discuss a matter of 
serious concern. On December 9, The Washington Post reported that the 
Department of Defense is investigating a video posted on an Aegis-
employee affiliated Web site which contains scenes of violence and 
shooting against Iraqi civilians.
  An estimated 25,000 private security contractors are currently 
working in Iraq, earning anywhere from $550 to $1,500 a day. Many of 
them are doing their best to help maintain security for the 
reconstruction of Iraq. However, if the events displayed in the video 
are accurate, the actions of these few contractors put our troops at 
tremendous risk. The video depicts the back window of a PSD, personal 
security detail, vehicle. In the video you can hear a machine gun being 
fired at cars which are clearly more than 50 meters behind the vehicle. 
The cars drift off the road after many shots, leaving one to assume the 
driver has been shot dead. During the entire video, the Elvis Presley 
song ``Mystery Train'' plays in the background.
  This behavior is offensive. The actions of the individuals in the 
video put our troops at risk because such incendiary behavior only 
increases hatred towards Americans. Whether or not we agree with the 
troops' presence in Iraq, we all agree that the safety of our troops is 
paramount. Our troops in Iraq who wear uniforms are instant targets for 
retaliatory violence.
  The U.S. service men and women who deploy to Iraq serve because of a 
sense of selfless service and duty. As members of Congress, it is our 
duty to conduct oversight into the questionable behavior of the private 
security contractors. While our troops continue to be deployed to Iraq 
and the security situation remains fragile at best, it is in our best 
interest to make sure civilian-contractors do not exacerbate the 
situation any further.
  Therefore, I will be seeking a congressional inquiry into the 
operations and rules of engagement granted to private security 
contractors currently operating in Iraq. I will also recommend a review 
of the contract awarded to Aegis Specialist Risk Management. If

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these events are happening, we must stop them. We must take action so 
that our troops and the Iraqi people know that gratuitous violence on 
the part of the people we deploy or employ will not be tolerated.

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