[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25948]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IRAQ CONTRACTORS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, over the past four years, our 
troops in Iraq have been supplanted by another army of equal size--the 
contracting force. There are as many private contractors in Iraq as 
U.S. soldiers on the ground.
  Outsourcing our military is cause for concern in and of itself. But 
the recent uncovering of indiscriminate hostility toward Iraqi 
civilians and unprovoked killings by security contractors in Iraq is a 
sirens warning that demands immediate attention.
  Blackwater--a company that has reaped over $110 million since January 
2006 in U.S. contracts--offers the most egregious example of what is 
wrong with our occupation of Iraq.
  Last week, Blackwater security protecting State Department officials, 
opened fire in a Baghdad neighborhood. In what appears to be an 
unprovoked incident, Blackwater guards killed at least 11 innocent 
Iraqi civilians and wounded 12 others.
  But because of a decree delivered in 2004 by former Ambassador Paul 
Bremer--on his last day on the job--these contractors are granted 
immunity from Iraqi law and will likely face no charges at home.
  The lack of accountability is anathema to our fundamental principle 
of justice and exemplifies why the occupation of Iraq is a failure.
  Congress must not be silent less we become complicit in these acts. 
The longer we stay in Iraq under the terms of the current occupation 
the more these incidents which undermine our international credibility 
will occur.

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